Saturday 17 November 2012

Engine Clean Preparation (Day 91)

After 91 days on the job, I am now going to start moving from dismantling to whatever comes next (which I don't really know what it is).  I really want to get the engine cleaned up and inside so I can work on it over some of the colder darker winter nights.  First job then is to clean it off.
 
I haven't got a pressure washer, I might rent one for a day but in any case the engine will need to be made water proof if I am to wash it (they don't tell you any of this anywhere!).  This means putting the stator cover back on, closing off the carb intakes, closing off the exhausts, putting back the rocker cover breather plate and checking for other ways of water ingress.
 
As part of this exercise I thought I ought to get the starter motor out as I didn't want to drown that. Ha!. When you take the starter motor out there are 2 more holes into the engine.
 This one where the starter drive goes into the stator housing to turn the starter flywheel and

this one that appears directly underneath the starter motor.  I pulled this little pipe out (it was just sitting in the hole) and looked inside.  Not being an expert with this engine yet but I would say I was looking directly into the gear box.  I could see cogs and oil and things.  Can there really be an unprotected hole on the top of the engine that would allow water and other contaminents inside?  I am very puzzled.  To be safe I put the starter motor back in.  I also found that it was a sealed unit so it should survive being washed and doused in water.

So next up was to seal the carb intakes.  I decided to cut up some rubber gloves and bolt them across the intakes using the engine / carb boots to hold them.  I left the wadding in the intakes as well to soak up any water that might get past.

No yet worked out a method on sealing the exhaust ports. I will do some more research.