With a month to go before getting this rig up north for some winter use, I figured I should give it a once over and sort out the niggling issues while I could still feel my fingers.
I compiled a list (as I tend to do) of all the things I had planned to sort out, and set about getting into the machine to tackle them. I popped the rig up onto a Macguivered stand to make it more comfortable to work on, and removed the hood for easy access. the wiring harness was the first thing to be removed. Several wires and clips had melted when they were jarred loose in the past and rested on the muffler, and one of the connections was fried inside one of the stab-lok connectors.
Also took stock of the rather dented bodywork on this machine, and decided that since it threw the hood out of alignment, I would straighten it back out and maybe weld in some gussets. I spent a few hours and wired in a 20 amp outlet off my other 20 amp outlet so now I could weld on both sides of the garage.
In order to pound out the tray dents I would have to remove the muffler; no big deal as it was in good shape and held in by springs which seemed well oiled by 2 stroke exhaust. I popped off 3 no problem but the 4th one decided to spring off and dive beneath the engine into an unreachable crevice. After fishing around in te cavity, pulling out old belt pieces, plant life, and the occasional mouse bone, I decided that my time would be better invested in popping the 4 engine mounts, the fuel line, and the belt to allow the engine to lift free. An hour later I had the block out, and was able to simply pick up the spring from its hiding place.
With the engine out, I realized I could give the engine bay a much needed cleaning, which would help me in future work not to get so dirty, and to help the engine run cooler and cleaner. The coating of dirty oil had acted as an undercoating, limiting the rust on this 32 year old machine, and with a good wiping with cleaner the grime came off and the engine bay brightened up. this means that working on it wont be such a dingy affair. So far with the engine out I have cleaned the pan, straightened the dents, pulled the front bumper support back out, serviced the steering linkage, greased the spindles (after boring the ski mounts and installing a bushing), adjusted and tightened the brake, cleaned the fuel system, and much more outside the engine bay which I will cover in a subsequent blog.
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