JMJ
Greetings! Welcome back to the shop!
Today was a cleanup day. I spent some time getting tools back to their proper drawers, mounting a new shelf, and puttering in general. I changed out the foam sheet wrapping the connecting rods with a short section of pool noodle. A perfect fit for about a buck. Since I only needed about 6 inches and the rest will go to the grandsons, I’m not charging the project for the noodle. The actual time on the engine was short, but highly entertaining. I hope you enjoy.
Reading ahead into the Bottom End Disassembly section of the service manual, I was concerned about acquiring a Cam Chain Tensioner tool to get started on the teardown. As it turned out, I can wait on that tool for a bit.
Once the cover came off, the main problem was fairly obvious.
I suspect that the metal shavings we saw on the oil plug during the initial draining may have come from this part.
Seeing the size of the debris, I think that this part failure could have been a lot worse. The cursory inspection of the sprockets and chain revealed no obvious damage. The orange flecks that we found in the oil, the oil pan, and the oil filter were strewn about the crankcase as well.
In hindsight, I probably could have started this whole process by removing the cam cover to verify the original suspicion. Full credit to the Remus manual (Remus, 2017) for this tip — they nailed it.
We’ll soon get started on the rest of the teardown for a thorough cleaning. Then we can start measuring parts for wear and planning the reassembly. Who knows? I might even get a ride in this season.
Cheers,
Howard