Sunday, January 27, 2008

Engine tear down

Yesterday, I finally got the piston loose from the engine. I just decided to get out a hacksaw and cut the connecting rod in half. After that, one good whack on the sliced half of the rod connected to the piston got it un-seized. From what I can tell, the piston will be fine. But I will need new rings and a new connecting rod. The cylinder will be fine after a good cleaning.

After freeing the piston, I could finally finish splitting the engine case. I took a heat gun to the main bearing for a few seconds then lightly tapped the seem of the engine case with a rubber mallet and it started to slowly come apart. Then I realized the gear selector needed to come off. You may have noticed in my previous engine pictures, there was some sort of cement all over the gear selector. I guess the previous owner decided it was a good idea to do that instead of replace a gasket. Luckily, it all came off with a chisel and light hammer
taps. But the gear selector is so rusty that I might as well replace the whole thing.
I still don't have the tool to remove the clutch, so I got it as disassembled as I could and then just did a lot of cleaning with paint thinner and a wire brush and rags. You would really be surprised what a little bit of elbow grease can do to these old engines. You can really bring them back to looking just like new. And it really isn't hard work, in fact it's pretty relaxing. If you are doing a restoration, do yourself a favor and opt to rebuild your own engine instead of buying a new one or having some one else do the work. It is so rewarding to see how everything works and bring all the luster back into the heart of your scooter. When I split the case, there was rust, grime, sludge, and dirt everywhere (see pictures). I'm not done yet, I'll post pictures in the next few days of how clean it all is when it's ready to be put back together.

I can't get to the clutch assembly yet, so I can't tell if anything in there needs to be replaced. As far as I can tell, everything is alright. The bearings are even in pretty good shape. But I would still like to replace them. Does anybody have any tips for getting those suckers off? I can't get to the clutch side one yet, but I am having trouble with the crank side one.

That's all for now, be on the lookout for some clean engine photos in the next few days.
Ciao.

4 comments:

Scooter Couple said...

Eric,

Just buy an entire new crank. It will be cheaper than buying a new rod, having it installed, and then true'd by a professional. It must be balanced correctly. Sorry you had to cut through your crank rod as it would have been cheaper to destroy the piston. Unless of course your crank is a rust bucket like mine and could not be saved.

For my disassembly the the piston wall was cut and the top of the piston was chipped through as to preserve my crank.

When you run your finger along the inner wall of the cylinder do you feel any bumps at all -- even micro ones?

Scooter Couple said...

Check out good ol'guy Garner. He sells your crank for $145.

131897____ VLB, VBC, VNB, VBB, VLA $145.00

http://www.garnersclassicscooters.com

I think to rebuild your crank, with service, you'd be close. For service pricing, check out:
www.motorapido.net

Will you be rebuilding the carb soon?

Scooter Couple said...

By the way, Garner is less than ScooterWorks and many of the competitors by $30.

A connecting rod will be in the area of $60 and then you will need a few more parts and I guess $100 to have it your stock crank rebuilt. So maybe around $190-200 you can salvage your crank for -- just a guesstimate at best.

Make sure your crank is MeCur or higher in quality. Preferably Italian.

You can also call Danell at Scooter Parts Direct and tell her I sent you. She took very good care of me.

Scooter Couple said...

Congrats Eric. 151 visitors from 9 countries in six days. People are reading your blog.