one thing leads to another

[chuck foster]

i have a perkins gas engine that i built 12 or 13 years ago, while running it this summer i noticed a knocking sound. i thought it was just the wrist pin making the noise, so today i took it apart and discovered the wrist pin was nice and snug.
the rod bearing was fine so i checked the main bearings and discovered that they were worn really bad
i didn't measure them but i would think that they were worn as much as .020", so new main bearings will fix that problem.
i figured i might as well lap the valves and just give everything a once over, i also want to put one of jerrey howells electronic ignition kits on the engine. so what started out as a simple fix has turned into a complete overhaul.

oh well the engine has run very well and deserves a tune up after all dad and i figure it has run about 4000 hours at shows and just running in my shop while i work.

just my ramblings for today

chuck
p.s i hope to have some pics tomorrow of what i'm doing.

 

[wareagle]

You know, as with anything mechanical these things do require maintenance, and that can require new parts every now and then. I am just glad it didn't result in a catastrophic failure requiring a lot of hours to repair!!

Do take us along for the ride!!!

 

[jack404]

Chuck

looks like you have better quality than many tools i have bought that have worn out after 20-100 hours useage

i'd be absolutley rapt if i could get 4000 hours out of some i've bought and had die on me

glad its not a big deal

cheers

jack

 

[dsquire]

i have a perkins gas engine that i built 12 or 13 years ago, while running it this summer i noticed a knocking sound. i thought it was just the wrist pin making the noise, so today i took it apart and discovered the wrist pin was nice and snug.
the rod bearing was fine so i checked the main bearings and discovered that they were worn really bad
i didn't measure them but i would think that they were worn as much as .020", so new main bearings will fix that problem.
i figured i might as well lap the valves and just give everything a once over, i also want to put one of jerrey howells electronic ignition kits on the engine. so what started out as a simple fix has turned into a complete overhaul.

oh well the engine has run very well and deserves a tune up after all dad and i figure it has run about 4000 hours at shows and just running in my shop while i work.

just my ramblings for today

chuck
p.s i hope to have some pics tomorrow of what i'm doing.

Chuck :bow: :bow:

I would say that is incredible to get that much time on an engine. If you drove a car 40 hours a week at 30 miles per hour for 200 weeks that would be 120,000 miles. I think that is pretty impressive for your engine.

Cheers

Don

 

[Philjoe5]

Chuck,
I know some will think I'm bonkers for suggesting this but....assuming all mechanical things will wear with time, I actually look forward to taking an engine I've built that has some hours on it (not 4000 yet, but I'm gettin' there) and stripping it down to see where the wear is or isn't. The concept of having a machine that is "repairable" even by someone who's mechanically challenged like myself is quite out of favor these days. Good luck in your rebuild and may you go another 4000 hours :bow:. That's an accomplishment!

Cheers,
Phil

 

[T70MkIII]

That's a lot of running, Chuck!

If everything else in the engine is ok, how is the oiling to the main bearings? Any room for easy improvement?

 

[chuck foster]

ok first off thanks to all for the replies and intrest in this adventure 8)

this is the engine in question

after pulling it apart i decided to remake some of the worn out parts and redesign them as well.
the first part to get remade is the timing gear/push rod holder.
this pic shows it on the engine

this pic shows it off the engine

the round hole in this next pic is were the cam follower/push rod goes, the original engine has a square cam follower so i have made a new one to suit

new one with old one

with cam follower installed

in place on engine

the next item was the exhaust rocker arm support, the pivot pin for the rocker is .093" diameter. now the pin is like new but the support arm was a diffrent story. the hole in it was elongated by about .020". i guess the pressure of the exhaust valve spring caused that.so i made a new one and that took care of that. (sorry no pics of the support)
the main bearings are next and as far as i can tell they were getting greased fairly well so i guess they just wore out from all the running.

now i must tell you that this engine runs at shows all day long, then on the weekends and evenings when i'm in my shop it is not uncommon for it to run all day. about 6 years ago i set this engine up in my shop and let it run for 7 days non stop, so it has had allot of running.

the next new piece is the lock off lever, it is the brass horizontal part that pivots on the cam shaft

the next thing do is change the ignition system. i have used a buzz coil since day one with this engine but it is big an bulky. so i thought i would try one of gerry howells electronic ignitions and see how well they work. gerrys systems are very compact but the are electronics and i'm not too good with surface mount stuff. will keep you posted on how that goes!!!!!!

chuck