Recent content by Al Smith

Usually the tanks will fail,rust out on the botom of the tank near the drain valve .A dryer works if it's not already water logged .However peroidcally the drain valve should be used to allow the condenstate to leak out .I'm guilty of not doing that myself as often as I should. I do however...

This whole thing could be a design problem related to aluminum alloy to thread engagement .For example in aluminum it takes approx 4 times the thread depth related to the fastener IE spark plug ,cylinder head bolt etc to maintain max. holding strength .Ford used extremely long thread holes and...

On the above a story about another model ,this time an 038 mag that spent twenty hard years in a tree service .Over that twenty years I had rebuilt it twice .Finaly it grenaded a piston so badly it fouled one of the main bearigs and it was given to me and I did it a third time .It became a shelf...

In my case with the 441 it was relatively new .The owner ,an owner of a tree service thought it blew a hole in the piston ,bought another new saw and gave the 441 to me.I did not get to it for a week or two and discovered the blown out spark plug and gave it back to him .Over a period of several...

There has to be a reason why this is happening .Figuring thermal expansion unless I've missed something I would not think the higher section of the cylinder would be any different than a standard non low emission design .Based on my falf-fast theory the top of the cylinder would have to expand...

I had to look it up and evidently it's a low emissions engine .That I once worked on an early 441 that also blew out plugs .If I recall the owner took it to a shop that used a time-sert style insert .I suspect but can't prove it that the partial fresh air portion of the transfer cycle was...

I've got a NOCO but I don't consider it a battery charger .Just a tiny jump box they must use fairy dust to make it work,which BTW it works very well

I have no idea what a "starting" battery is or all the rest of that gobbley gook that means exactly nothing to me .What I do know it's the plate sizes that make a more extended power resource .Try lifting a size 24 standard duty battery and a size 24 marine deep cycle .it's pretty obvious .As...

A few weeks we got hit with the"Siberian express " .Just flat took the stuffing out of my tractor battery which was a size 27 marine deep cycle 12 volt .It was old anyway but when the temps dropped to below zero and it couldn't cut the mustard .Replaced it with a size 24 due to physical size...

Something that might have not been considered using the hammer method .It might be possible to nock a piece of chrome from one of the bearing balls which over time could create a failure point .Just a thought .Remember on Stihls those are heat shrink fit bearings .

I do have an 805 Mac with an 850 cylinder I managed to cook just with a straight gasoline prime,my fault entirely .I think the cylinder might clean up and just need a piston .If so I have enough parts to built another 82 cc engine .Worst case would be a sleeve which I can aleady tell is much...

I've only got one sleeved engine which is a Mac125 C .I made and fitted the cylinder using a Lisle precisian hone to factory specs using grade 50 cast iron .Which I might mention is the same alloy Harley Davidson used on iron cylinders . It's been so long ago I have forgotten exactly how the...

Off topic except for a hammer part .I once dissasembled a Caterpiller D4 pony motor that went through a fire .I think the burned up engine cost me 20 bucks .I cracked that thing like big hickory nut to salvage the crank shaft and one piston assembley using a die grinder and a 3 pound ball peen...

If you going to get medevil with a hammer it had better be a dead blow or a lead hammer else even with soft brass you can f---k it up . Then again who am I to tell anybody how to work on their equipment ? You can thump it apart with an 8 pound sledge as far as I'm concerned ..

Sidetrack regarding metric threads cut on a lathe .Firstly I have one of the finest toolmakers lathes ever built which at the moment is not operational ,Monarch 10 EE .That said I don't have the change gears to allow it to cut metric threads so I had to find another way .Seek and ye shall find...