And God said, "Let there be Spark!"

After rebuilding the engine in the last post, I have spent the last two weeks working on the timing.  That is a job that should take about 20-30 minutes for a novice.

I don't know many times I have found top-dead-center, then 27º before-top-dead-center, checked for the break in continuity at 27º btdc, put the flywheel on... then tried for a spark.  

NOTHING!

Over and over.. tear down, set points, flywheel on, try for spark.  NOTHING!

I have been in a trouble-shooting email conversation with Rick Chapman in Ohio looking for answers.  About 10 emails from each of us describing the problem and restating the correct procedures.  And of course there are the alternate procedures on the karting forums from Steve O'hara and others.  

Still NOTHING!   

I worked on it for over an hour yesterday and finally took a walk to pray about it.  Yes, that should have been first.  I just was so frustrated and felt like screaming.

Rick had suggested there may be a short somewhere.  OK... But I am a total novice at electrical stuff.  But I love schematics, so I drew up this of the ignition system:

I was looking for the short so the diagram shows the two "sides" to complete the circuit. One is the condenser side(dotted lines); the other the block side(slash lines).  I did this just before going off to bed (I only dreamed about it a little).

Today I bought a new points file... and filed the @#$% out of the points. And rebuilt the points, timing, coil, etc.

NOTHING!

aaaaaaggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

I did scream a little.  I felt like have been banging my head against the wall for two weeks.

With everything put together, I used a drill to turn over the crank to test for a spark.  NOTHING!  Then there was....

BANG!  TINGLE-TINGLE-TINGLE-TINGLE!   My pinky finger that I was holding the spark wire with got shocked!  That was a surprise.   But there was a spark.  So I did it again.  TINGLE-TINGLE-TINGLE-TINGLE.  Crap!  That means a the current is getting to the shroud... so there is a short somewhere.  

I left my schematic beside my bed this morning, so I turned to go get it to try to find the short.  

BANG! (this was in my brain, this time)   In my minds eye I saw the area schematic at the spark plug.  THE SPARK PLUG NEEDS TO BE TOUCHING THE BLOCK  to complete the circuit!  I was getting shocked because I WAS THE BLOCK carrying the current.

So I pressed the spark plug to the shroud... and... BRIGHT, BEAUTIFUL, HOT SPARKS!

I sort of remember Sonny Gerber showing me that, but it was over shadowed by an old prank he told me about.  (I will not discuss it here.  I will show you if you mess around the engine)

Now I feel so dumb!  or at least ignorant.   But I did learn a lot about setting the timing...over and over and over.  

Now I can move on to putting the engine on the frame and trying to fire it off.

Rebuild

Due to the huge pressure leak the engine had to be torn down. I thought it would be fun to record the process.  Below are links to two time-lapse videos of the process. One frame was taken every second then compiled into movies running at 24 frames per second. 

There was one major hang-up.  I made a huge mistake.  

I had noticed the crank had a little lateral movement.  After investigating it, I found the ball-bearing was floating in its housing.  I had read on the kart forums that Loc-tite would hold it.  Soooo.......

I put some Loc-tite on the housing, getting the drips to go all the way around.  Then put in the crank and ball-bearing, then started putting in the bolts holding on the crankcase cover.... with the cover facing up with bearing below.

After a few minutes of tightening, I turned the crankshaft.  NOPE!  IT WOULD NOT TURN.  

When I turned the crankcase cover over, gravity pulled the Loc-tite INTO THE BALL-BEARINGS.
I had a pretty good freak for several minutes.


It took some time, some heat, some "blaster" solvent, some big ol' wrenches, and some patience... but the bearing was singing again before the rebuild.  Hopefully, it will be OK.  We will see when it finally gets running.


Here are the links to the videos on YouTube: 


Tear-down


Rebuild




Enjoy!

Pressure Test

Yesterday I pressure tested the engine.   The test consists of attaching a couple of specially built pieces to the engine.  One is a thick aluminum plate that goes over the exhaust manifold and has a stem to add air, like on a car or bike tire, except it is stainless steel.  The other is another aluminum plate which attaches where the carb goes and has a pressure gauge attached.  I created seals from a sacrificial bike inner tube.

I got everything tight and put in a few pounds of pressure, not knowing what to expect.   The pressure needle went to 25lbs then fell to 13 in a few seconds.  Then down rapidly from there with a low, slow, whooooshing, sound.  I applied some soapy water to the pressure test seals.... Nope.  I had to pump in air several times until I found the culprit...behind the flywheel.  After removing the flywheel, adding pressure, and moving my ear down to the crank, the sound was as plain as a mare passing gas (thanks for that visual, Randy). It was the crank seal!

Oh, FUI! (that's Latin, you know).  I chuckled a bit and got choked up because I heard and saw Dad crunching his face up, wincing, almost in pain, saying softly, "Dammit, dammit, dammit. Todd, we should have changed those."

But all is not lost.  I conferred with Sonny and Rick Chapman and they kindly pointed me in the right direction. 

What does this mean?  I get to tear the engine down, again, and replace the seals.  I see it as a good practice.  Plus, I will take a look at the lateral play in the crankshaft.

Back on the bicycle....

Yesterday I worked on the kart for the first time since Dad passed away.  It was a good day.  I didn't know what  emotions would flow, but all I could do was smile and work.  So, we have fallen down, now it's time to get back on the bicycle.

I finished up the brakes, except for the tether.  Bleeding them alone was a humorous chore, but I got it done.  But there were still some bubbles.  I found out the secret later from John Copeland after getting the timing done by Sonny Gerber.

There it is.  Still there.

Just documenting how it is put together to compare to pre-restoration images

Just documenting how it is put together to compare to pre-restoration images

There... all done.  NOT!  I bled the brakes as if it was a car, but John Copeland straightened me out.
1. empty the master cylinder and keep cap off
2. set caliper below master cylinder
3. open bleeder at the bottom
4. use bottle of fluid to fill caliper; air will be forced into tubing
5. keep filling so fluid moves up the brake tubing and fills the master cylinder
6. fill up master cylinder and cap off

It's info like that which I will be missing from Dad.

Carb!

Here is the carb taken apart with the original gaskets and parts.
Then cleaned all parts with gas and a good blow of air to dry

the main body with the hi and lo jet holes on the near side

I can't have kart work day without using the grinder brush!

This is the container of small parts from the carb.  DON'T LOOSE THESE!

The old and new carb kit pieces

Hi and Lo needles before...

...all buffed up after "the wheel"

ready to reset the float and needle.

***NOTICE THE LARGE HOLE AT LOWER LEFT***
This is the spot for the duckbill.  When we disassembled it in the fall, it was reduced to a puddle of goo.
Use carb cleaner to remove any trace. 

with float tight, put on the plate with gasket

as you see here, without screws in yet

All done... OOOOOPS.  forgot the duckbill!  take it apart, put in the duckbill, put back together

reed cage.  the reeds were not seating well, so had to be flipped.  Easy... but the screw on the right is stripped.
Big screw driver... no
pressure... no

deeper slot with hacksaw... YES

reed cage, reed, reed support, screws

hi lo needles in place.  make sure the washer is soft.  I put on in from the spare engine but it was hard and crispy

points ready to be set

I drove up to John Copeland's Fox Valley Kart Shop in Lafayette, IN.  Sonny Gerber showed me how to do the  timing.  Sonny is the MAN!  He has rebuilt over 30,000 Macs!  THANK YOU!!  I won't give away the tricks.

timing wheel. Dad's will work, but it needs to be able to lock down.

no need for a special tool.  just use a screw driver as a piston stop.

 

after not getting continuity, Sonny had to file down the points .. a few times.

Finally, it worked and to provided a nice spark

 

checking for continuity

with timing done, time for the flywheel. the nut needs to be TIGHT!  use of power tool is good to do first tightening, then us a good wrench to finalize by hand.

Sonny suggests the modern Autolite 411 spark plug

then put the coil on... and it's done!

Kart wisdom from Dad

new tires with tubes since the wheels are two piece

only fill the tank near the engine.  no ballast in the other, it's a bumper

before we run it, we'll get four scales and put one under each tire. then "flex" the frame to balance it

balance the tires!

inventory the extra parts and put in new boxes (although I love those old cardboard boxes)

don't pull hard on the belt when starting.  you could flex and break the cam shaft.  you'll wished you hadn't

put the castle nut flush with the axle when hitting with hammer (i did not do that and ruined a castle nut... and almost the axle threads)

cotter pin or safety wire as you go.  don't forget

thread lock almost every bolt on the engine.. or they will vibrate out

the engine temp gauge lead goes around the spark plug against the head

He did not know why people feel the exhaust

the brake tether can just wrap snuggly around the lever and be secured with a cable lock

if your hi/lo jets are set right it will sing.  it sounds really good just before it blows up

don't get too lean

fingering the carb is not choking it.  use your finger to cut off the fuel hole to lean it out for power

set your hi / lo needles to closed.  work in half turns.  a half turn is "one".  then work on small divisions of that "one"

do we need a banana for vintage?

zip tie the throttle cable.  must be free

Larry Gioe never let anyone see him rebuild an engine.  and he always had a rag in his back pocket

look at the reeds from the bottom.  see any light?  before we put them back, we'll flip them so they flex against the frame

when running methanol (i love the smell of methanol!), immediately run a quart or half gallon of gas to clean out the alcohol.

Tighten everything.  then tighten it again

*** carb needles and other small engine parts are in a clear plastic container upper right of bench.  even with the vice above eye level.

lots of kart parts in the little cubbies, including a couple spark plugs

=-=-=--=-=-=-=
Pressure test Mac
Plates cover carb hole and exhaust
Have plates and pressure gauge
Air up to 20psi or so
Let sit over night check pressure
Find leaks.  Soapy water works fine
=-=--==-=-=-=-=

because it's fun!

In Memorium

My Captain is gone.  I have no where to go.

Simon Peter answered him, 

“Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life."

John 6:68

Lyle Ernest Giles

1940 - 2012

Engine Rebuild

Today is centered around rebuilding the engine, but we must consider the brakes again.  Here is the brake lever which we tried to drill in order to hold the safety tether.

Christmas in May!!

Here are the piston rings...again, from Terry Ives.   Notice the original box... and the date.

 What a COOOOLLLL box!

 Forty-two year old rings!  That's original !

Dad uncovered the kart to find this little guy.

It's a Wolf Spider.. on top of a 9/16 inch wrench....  YOU DO THE MATH!

 OK.. off to work!  

This is looking down the cylinder from the top end.

 PORTS!  but there are some imperfections

To get rid of the imperfections we need to do some honing.

 After the cylinder was cleaned-up, we better take care of the piston and rings.

Notice the pips on the piston rod...by Dad's thumb.

First, the crank needs to go in. But make sure the bearings are all free and oiled.  We had to work out what held the crank in place... ah!  the yellow cover.

Putting on the cover.

 Crank is in.  Rings... Ready to go.  But wait, not so quick.

The rings must have the correct spacing as noted in the owner's manual.  Special tools are required.
The set Dad reached for first in his tool box had not been used in 40 years and were rusted/corroded. I took a chance and checked the kart tool box. After digging around for a couple minutes, there they were. (I knew/hoped he would have them!) Two sets...somewhat rusty under 40 years of dirt, rust, and dust.  This one has spanners .016 and  .020 inches.

 So a few seconds on the wheel and they are almost perfect.

 RINGS!  Easy does it!  Don't move quickly.  Don't bend them!

Here they are in the grooves.

 It is hard to see, but the yellow cover is nearly blocking the cylinder.  It needs to be twisted so the short skirt allows the arm to be placed into the cylinder, then the twist the piston back into position.  IMPORTANT: the arrow stamped in to the top of the piston needs to be nearest the exhaust ports.

Once the piston is in, the careful work starts to get the rings in.  Slide in to the bottom ring, compress the ring from the bottom up to close the gap.  BING!  Just a little pressure and it pops in.

The bottom end, with crank shaft and piston arm.

 Ready for needle bearings!

 Need a little dab of grease.  Make sure there is no grit or grime or dirt... like this little black dot of dirt.

 Needle bearings!  There are 24 bearings... COUNT THEM AND COUNT THEM AND COUNT THEM.

Use a magnetic screw drive to move each bearing to the crank.  Place in the space between the crank and the piston arm.

 Bearing is just peeking out on the bottom.

 Magnetic screwdriver makes the work easier.  GO SLOW!  COUNT THE BEARINGS!

 It looks easy, and it is. But I dropped one bearing into the crank case.  Found it and put it back.

 When half the bearings are in, put the other half in.

Here is the bottom end all together.  Turn the crank (on one direction) to make sure the grease is working in and there are no gaps.  But there was a slight gap. Turned the engine on end and shook.  OOOPPPSSS!!!  a needle bearing popped out.  So do it again.

Turn the bolts to just tight.

 AHHH, my first crack at using a torque wrench.

 With the bottom end done, the head can go on. Just watch which way the it is aligned.  But to tighten the head screws with the torque wrench we needed a longer straight allen wrench.

 So we improvised.  Here is my brother Steve giving a hand cutting a spare allen wrench.  Dad, where are hacksaw blades?  The tightened down just fine.

Well, someone needs to hold the hot end of the sacrificial allen wrench

 Here are the Giles Boys on their way to town for some Kopper Koat.

 The bottom end being put together, but wait...

 Where are the bolts to hold the bottom end together??  OH YEA!  the engine mounts hold it all together.

 Ahhh... I need more torque wrench!

 With the engine together, it was time to start the timing.  Here is the old box with the timing wheel.

 Goes on the the crank.

 Then there was lots of reading aloud from the owner's manual.

 Might be easier to read if it was turned around.  YEP!

Time ran out! so that's how we left the engine.  

=-=---=-=-=-=-=-

Here are some pix of us working...

Becky knows her engines... 

Showing progress to Becky

Just 'cause...