Two questions, completely unrelated:
The simple one: Sarah's exhaust system is rattling around. I don't know
who or what installed it, but it's largely wrong -- there's no
suspension clamp at the middle, and the muffler is completely the wrong
shape (it looks like one side of a dual exhaust system, but there's only
one). Anyway, every bump on the right rear yields a hollow thump as the
joint just upstream of the muffler wiggles and the pipe hits the frame.
Is it worth trying to salvage this, or should I just get a new exhaust
system/rear half? If I should get new, any recommendations on what to
get?
The harder question: I've been hearing a sharp tapping from the valve
train, so I set about to check the gaps. (This is a longish story...) I
pull the plugs, and get my first surprise: 3 and 4 are very lean, 1 is
fine, 2 is rich (almost fouled). OK, I'll enrich the rear carb later.
I check and set the gaps -- they're almost all off some. I think I got
them right this time, though I can never decide just how much pressure
is 'too much' to try to get the feeler in -- can you advise on this?
Put the cover back on, clean and gap the plugs (swap 2 and 3 for luck),
start the engine. Seems much better. (oh yes, this reminds me of a third
question) But there's still something. So I leave the engine running and
pull the valve cover. I can't quite isolate which rocker is making the
noise, but it's certainly here (any hints on this?) I notice that rockers 3&4
have much less oil on them -- they're wet, but nothing is coming out the
holes on top. What does this mean? Could this be related to the fouling?
Also, one of the pushrods is visibly bent -- when I rotate it, I see the
clearance to the sealing tube change. Should I worry? Replace it?
Replace all of them? There's also oil leakage around the sealing tubes
-- can I seal these? How?
Third question. The water pump bearing seems to be making a lot of
noise. There's supposed to be a grease nipple to lubricate it, but there
isn't -- just a boss where it should have been drilled and tapped. I
suspect a replacement pump. Is there anything to do other than pull the
pump, disassemble and lubricate? (I guess I'll drill and tap while I'm
at it...)
chris
----------
|