[Bilgemaster]

I just had a recurrence of something weird I had experienced only briefly a few weeks ago. While riding along happily at about 50 mph the engine started to lope and lose power and then the motor quit. When I pulled over to investigate, the kickstart would kick through without any compression...then a bit...then little or none. Eventually I got it started and limped on home, taking it very easy.

My working hypothesis is that the decompression valve may be sticking or clogged with some carbon or something. Perhaps it is just overdue for some adjustment?

Once home, I spent a few minutes running the engine with a bit of throttle and engaging the decompression lever on and off, hoping to blow out its valve and seat a bit, and sure enough, there's good compression again when I try the kickstart. Does my hunch that it's the decompression assembly getting a little cloggy or perhaps loose on its valve seat sound likely? My bike does run a little rich, though not alarmingly so. But some carbon buildup cannot be ruled out.

I haven't yet pulled the decompression assembly for a looksee and cleaning, but as far as I can tell the tappet pushrods are adjusted tip-top, spinning but with no noticeable upward-downward play. If it were a burned or broken intake or exhaust valve, I doubt good compression would have returned, right?

Any advice or tales of similar experiences and their resolutions would be most welcome...

Original


Bilgey's Extra Crispy

[cyrusb]

What would cause the comp release to open by itself while running? Once the mill is running I can't see how any debris could get under the decomp valve (it's closed). But getting crap under the exhaust valve is possible. Is your upper end still stock (Indian?)

[Bilgemaster]

What would cause the comp release to open by itself while running? Once the mill is running I can't see how any debris could get under the decomp valve (it's closed). But getting crap under the exhaust valve is possible. Is your upper end still stock (Indian?)

I haven't looked at the decomp assembly yet, but I'm wondering if it's been actually closing the whole way all along. The fact that I was able to run the engine with the decomp valve open today with just a little extra throttle gives me hope of an easy fix. I'm not exactly eager to pull the head. Another thing that comes to mind is that just awhile back, a month or so ago, it was taking a bit longer than normal to stop the engine with the decompressor, which is what I usually do. It would just keep churning along for half a minute or so with no extra throttle, though lately this hasn't been the case. I'm sort of wondering if the idle's just been set all along to compensate for a leaky decomp.

[ace.cafe]

Maybe the head needs a decoke?

[cyrusb]

Maybe the head needs a decoke?

That sounds about right ! After reading Bilgmasters second post, with the mill still running with the decomp valve open, it must be that. So I guess it's still stock Indian? With lots of miles?

[Bilgemaster]

That sounds about right ! After reading Bilgmasters second post, with the mill still running with the decomp valve open, it must be that. So I guess it's still stock Indian? With lots of miles?

I've no idea what number owner I am, but guessing the guts are still stock, with just shy of 14,000 miles on her, about 10,000 of which are mine.

I guess I'll be hauling out the Harbor Freight Inspection Camera boroscope kit for an intimate looksee into The Great Within. I'm REALLY hoping I don't need to pull the damned head off, but I guess it is the right time of year for it, if it comes down to it. Good riding days will be few and far between until the daffodils bloom again.

[axman88]

Carbon flake on the exhaust valve seat?

I was experiencing a an issue with what I thought might be carbon on the valve seat some months ago.  Mileage on the engine was less than 5000 but the decomp. cam on my 2012 UCE had gone problematic and noisy, then failed outright in the active position.  After I fixed that, I noticed a high frequency "frying" sound in the exhaust note that I hadn't previously.  Before taking off the head, I tried the Seafoam ingestion treatment and it did seem to improve things quite a bit, so that might be worth a shot.

I put about 4 ounces of Seafoam into a trigger pump oil can, removed the air cleaner and intake hose, and started squirting the juice into the throttle body with my left hand while keeping the engine running with my right hand on the throttle.  As I neared the end of the squirt can full, I increased the dosage until it choked the engine, then let it sit for a half hour before starting and running the engine.  It really seemed to help and I no longer feel any need to take the head off.

[fernf5]

On page 86 of the Snidal manual he mentions removing the exhaust pipe and looking at the deposits on the exhaust valve to get an idea of the extent of the problem.
Don't know yet how this will turn out on my "new" RE bike but when I fill up with gas I put a cap full of MMO in. On the old boxer sidevalve I have it's recommended to remove the head every few thousand miles to decoke it. I've used the MMO pretty faithfully and when I removed the head the last couple of times I found no built up carbon deposits at all.

[Bilgemaster]

Thanks axman88! Lazy fatass that I am, I do like the idea of trying the aggressive SeaFoam chemical treatment and soak before undertaking major surgery. As it happens, last month I had the bike on a SeaFoam regimen just in the fuel--a couple of ounces per tankful until the bottle was done. I am now wondering if this may have dislodged just enough crud in the combustion chamber to foul up the decompression or other valves. I normally run just an ounce or so of Marvel Mystery Oil per tank in the ethanol-free fuel I use. Ironically, it seems, I use these additives to try to keep that combustion chamber tidy.

When it warms up a bit later, I'll likely be taking a closer look in there. In the meantime, I'm gonna go grab a can or two of SeaFoam and pick up my new $99 Craftsman tool kit special at the local Ace Hardware.

[fernf5]

Sorry, a case of preaching to the choir on the MMO. Fingers crossed for you....

[cyrusb]

With the amount of oil most stock Infields burn I'm not surprised about the coke problem. Odd that Japanese machines and any other modern bikes do not have this problem. Mine shows no smoke during a day ride, but at night with the lights of a car behind, the oil smoke can be seen.

[ace.cafe]

Most Bullets have worn valve guides, and even on the models with stem seals, the seals could be shot.

The valve gear on stock Bullets is poor, and rocker geometry is terrible.
Earlier Bullets didn't even have stem seals. Side thrust on the valves from poor rocker geometry wears out the valve guides fairly quickly.

On top of that, the factory piston rings are "lawn mower grade", and pass a lot of oil compared to modern designs.

[Bilgemaster]

I didn't have a lot of time to tinker today, but I did manage to pull the spark plug and plunge the business end of my Harbor Freight Inspection Camera down in there for a looksee. As you can see from the attached photos, the plug looks pretty reasonable, but then it's only a few weeks old. As for the top of the piston, I'd say it's about as coked up as Steven Tyler's nasal cavities in the hotel room after a '70s Aerosmith concert. One imagines the head and valves must be similarly grimy.

So, for the time being I got a spray can of SeaFoam with one of those clever tubes for injection into an intake manifold vacuum hose or port and one of the bottles too. I sprayed just a bit into the spark plug hole, buttoned it back down and kicked it over a few times. I did this twice, the second time with the decompression lever engaged in order to let it get all up in there. Now I'm gonna just let it marinate until nicer weather is said to return in a couple of days. I also dumped about 2/3 of the bottled SeaFoam into the fuel tank as a sort of shock treatment. Lots of folks do this as a quick Spring Shock Cure for the "ethanol snots," stale crap fuel having often mucked up the system over the winter. I imagine a little overdosing might also do my combustion chamber the power of good and perhaps help trim down at least a few of those black stalactites.

On Wednesday or Thursday I'll pull the decompressor assembly off to see what's going on there, clean it up, adjust as necessary, re-install it, and then fire her up. Once she's warm, instead of pulling the air filter assembly, I might just rig up some reasonably airtight hose from the spray can SeaFoam into the little Pulse Air Valve vacuum hose port on the underside of my intake manifold. Bit by bit I'll empty the can and then stall it with the stuff for a good hot soak for a bit. After a quick run I'll then see how she looks.

Plan B is that I might break out my little handheld steam cleaner for drapes and upholstery and such, jam its little nozzle into that PAV vacuum hose tube off the intake manifold, and just let it and the bike run together for a bit. Nothing gets a combustion chamber so squeaky clean as water injection.

Plan C is to probably repeat Plans A and B...maybe a couple of times.

Plan D is to be a man, and pull off the damned head already.

[ace.cafe]

See all those little pockmarks on the piston crown?
Every one of those is from a "ping"(detonation) event.

[ROVERMAN]

I see a de coke in your future Bilge! I had an exhaust pushrod come off during riding, might of over revved it a bit, which effectively dumped most of my compression. But it did make it to work and i fixed it in 20 minutes, loved my old Iron Barrel! Good luck.
Roverman.

[mattsz]

Bilgemaster, I'm pretty sure your bike is ruined.  I'll do you a favor and give you a few hundred for it...

Plan D is to be a man, and pull off the damned head already.

[mrunderhill1975a]

Pulling the head and jug is not as difficult as it may sound.  I think my first time it only took the afternoon to do. You just need to have the appropriate gaskets on hand.  Grinding valves is straight forward as well (30-45 minutes).  I haven't done valve guides, need a special tool, maybe an oven to heat.  Don't overtighten the nuts on the rebuild, they are drilled into aluminum.

[ddavidv]

Head R&R is a pretty easy task. The difficulty for mere mortals is getting the valve keepers out to do a proper valve grind. Neither spring compressor tool I had would work on the heavily canted Bullet springs.

[axman88]

The difficulty for mere mortals is getting the valve keepers out to do a proper valve grind.

The 2010 service manual I have for my 2012 UCE C5 says Special Tool ST 25123-1 is the gadget to have.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Royal-Enfield-Valve-Spring-Spanner-Std-ST-25123/263463586927?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D61112%26meid%3Da283a762090643818d048c36f28ec71d%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpf%26sd%3D264074301589%26itm%3D263463586927%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

The 11/95 workshop guide I have for the iron barrel bullets called for PED 2018 ST, which to my eye, looks pretty identical.  I'm guessing that big cutaway is how you access the retainers.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ROYAL-ENFIELD-WORK-SHOP-TOOL-HEAD-VALVE-SPRING-COMPRESSOR-PED-2018-US/264234344876?hash=item3d859821ac:g:Z54AAOSwAYtWM3jP

I'm not sure how or where this ST 27528 fits into the mix?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Royal-Enfield-Valve-Spring-Compressor-ST-27528/263586140564?hash=item3d5ef55194:g:GCkAAOSwXvNZrnm9

I set myself up with one of these modular kits, but haven't put it to the test yet.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Engine-Overhead-Valve-Spring-Installer-Remover-Set-OHV-OHC-Compressor-Tool-Kit/192543740019?hash=item2cd4805073:g:qxgAAOSwY4Fa~kF4

[mrunderhill1975a]

The PED 2018 tool is made of mild steel, very mild, Kevin Mahoney pointed out that this tool is prone to bending under the 500 cc spring pressure load for the larger engines. Mine bent after one spring removal, I used a large vise to return it to shape. I then had to beef mine up by welding support steel at the tube bends. I see the  ST 25123-1 tool has some added support steel in the corners to keep the tool in alignment.

[heloego]

During the first head I reworked I found the valve retainer collets like to be stuck to the valve stem and the retaining plate. The result was a bending of my tool while removing the intake valve.
Once I straightened the tool the exhaust valve came out much easier with some penetrating oil and good tapping with a hammer on the spring end of the tool.
Tighten/Tap/tighten/tap/tighten/tap, and so on until the collets are loose. Tighten about a 1/4 turn each time.

[ace.cafe]

You can get a decent valve spring compressor at nearly any major auto parts store.

[ddavidv]

You can, but...they may not work.
I own one of these:

Won't work.
The bike came with one of these:

Also won't work.

[ddavidv]

Browsing photos of valve spring compressor tools I found this clever solution. Don't know if it has enough clearance on the spring side to not foul the head but interesting nonetheless.

[mattsz]

FYI... I own one of these... and it works on the UCE head:

[cyrusb]

Is anybody still GRINDING valves? I hope not. Check out Neway cutter set.

[Bilgemaster]

Browsing photos of valve spring compressor tools I found this clever solution. Don't know if it has enough clearance on the spring side to not foul the head but interesting nonetheless.

That's interesting. Looks like they took a plain old humble Harbor Freight c-clamp and attached a socket that they'd taken a grinder to. Probably works just fine on whatever engine they used it on.

[Cat3625]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Engine-Overhead-Valve-Spring-Installer-Remover-Set-OHV-OHC-Compressor-Tool-Kit/192543740019?hash=item2cd4805073:g:qxgAAOSwY4Fa~kF4

Bought one of the modular ones last year to do my 350 head,works well and did the job.
Top tip is load a bit of tension on the spring and give the end of the tool a tap with a mallet to break the collets free from the spring collar.
Saves bending the tool!

[axman88]

Yeah, I went with the chinaman's modular spring compressor as well.  With that tool priced at $13 including shipping, it hardly seems worth committing a $9 C clamp, and welding then grinding.

And why buy a dubious quality India RE aftermarket tool, when you can have a dubious quality Chinese tool at half the cost?

[mrunderhill1975a]

As far as grinding valves......I ground mine about 5000 miles ago,  is there some new way of which I am not aware? What is a Neway cutter set?

[cyrusb]

The Neway cutters very accurately cut your 3 angles. You do it by hand with a T bar, so it happens under control. Google it, you'll see the system. The kit is around $350, so I do not personally own one. But I bring my heads to someone who does.There is also no lapping when your seats are done this way. That grey finish that grinding and lapping produce are microscopic pits that form the nuclei of the larger pits to come.

[Adrian II]

These:

http://www.newaymfg.com/parts/cutter-kits_motorcycle

A.

[cyrusb]

Holy cow! those are expensive! The sets I saw were on eBay and were $400 to $600 range. They also were not bike specific. My pals set can do air cooled vw's to Shovelheads. I believe it will fit the bullet also. But certainly not the multivalve engine valve sizes.

[ddavidv]

Not to be a contrarian, but hand lapping valves was common back in the day these engines were designed. Why can't one still do it today?

[Adrian II]

You still can, just that some modern methods claim to be better.

A.

[cyrusb]

Have you ever noticed that most engines almost never need valve jobs anymore? Most engines go to the junkyard with the original heads, and that is with a shitload of miles on them. This was not always the case. That is the difference between the old way and the new way(no pun intended). When you cut a valve seat as opposed to grinding you leave a polished surface that is  less likely to burn. But as mentioned lapping still works and is cost effective.

[ace.cafe]

All the top quality valve seat machines today use cutters, not grinding stones.
They have cutters with multiple angles for flow, besides the seat contact angle, and they are all cut at the same time with these cutters.

All the Fireballs and heads we have done had seats done with these types of multi-angle cutters.

[ddavidv]

I don't doubt cutting is superior. It just seemed like we were dismissing home grinding as something that shouldn't be done.

We don't do valve jobs anymore on modern vehicles for a myriad of reasons. Different fuel, better oil sealing and significantly better metallurgy--particularly compared to that on Iron Barrel Enfields.

[ace.cafe]

I don't doubt cutting is superior. It just seemed like we were dismissing home grinding as something that shouldn't be done.

We don't do valve jobs anymore on modern vehicles for a myriad of reasons. Different fuel, better oil sealing and significantly better metallurgy--particularly compared to that on Iron Barrel Enfields.

You can stilll use stones if desired.
Especially if you need to do stuff at home.
But, the state of the art for commercial valve jobs has moved on.

[axman88]

Have you ever noticed that most engines almost never need valve jobs anymore?

And what manufacturer puts periodic de-carbonization into their maintenance schedule, other than two strokes and Royal Enfields?

[cyrusb]

I don't doubt cutting is superior. It just seemed like we were dismissing home grinding as something that shouldn't be done.

We don't do valve jobs anymore on modern vehicles for a myriad of reasons. Different fuel, better oil sealing and significantly better metallurgy--particularly compared to that on Iron Barrel Enfields.

  Grind away if that is what you want to do. As mentioned earlier it works and is cost effective. But when it comes to burning valves, the fuel now has no lead (bad news for valves) , Stellite is still Stellite,and Stainless steel is still stainless steel. It's just a tip, you are free to do what you like. 

[Paul W]

I presume this was resolved? The fault sounds very similar to that on my 350. The fault with mine was a soft exhaust valve seat and a burned valve edge. The engine lost compression every 100 miles or so and to get any compression I had to loosen off the tappet adjuster.

I had a new seat fitted and rebuilt the engine with a stainless exhaust valve. I’ve done about 13,000 miles since and the problem hasn’t recurred.

[Bilgemaster]

I presume this was resolved? The fault sounds very similar to that on my 350. The fault with mine was a soft exhaust valve seat and a burned valve edge. The engine lost compression every 100 miles or so and to get any compression I had to loosen off the tappet adjuster.

I had a new seat fitted and rebuilt the engine with a stainless exhaust valve. I’ve done about 13,000 miles since and the problem hasn’t recurred.

I suspect my hunch about the decompressor valve just being gunked up and not seating properly may have been correct. But whether disassembling and cleaning the decompressor assembly (with a small handheld brass wire brush after its parts had marinated a few hours in SeaFoam) or my subsequent SeaFoam induction and steam treatment with a little handheld steam cleaner both shot into carb throat while fast idling actually cured the issue I cannot say for sure. But over a year on and with nearly 4,000 miles on the clock, that loss of compression has not recurred.

The spark plug also seems a bit cleaner whenever I pop it out every couple-few weeks for a quick dressing. So perhaps a combination of those techniques has put off a proper "decoking" for a bit

[Paul W]

It might also have been a sticky piston ring, your efforts to de-gunk the cylinder could well have freed it off by softening carbon deposits.

[AzCal Retred]

A "partial seizure" can give the same effect, a common two-stroke issue, wiping a bit of aluminum into the ring grove. Cooling down sometimes brings them back to life. The factory piston is a poor part.
I like the "flake 'o carbon on the exhaust valve" theory. If that's it, you should have no more issues after decarbonizing. If not, it's a pushrod motor & you have the head off anyway...   

"No problems that Cubic Dollars won't fix!!" - Some Ancient Wag -

[Bilgemaster]

Well, I'm pretty sure something was "gunky", and I managed to "ungunk" it without pulling off the head. It's been running great, so I'm OK with that.

[CMR]

I had same thing happen to me on my 2006 iron barrel.
During a ride motor died on me, noticed kick starter had no compression resistance. Was able to start it after motor cooled and limped home. Now it will not start, low or no compression. Have not removed head  yet.
Let me know what you come up with on yours.

Thanks,
Always enjoy your posts !

[Bilgemaster]

I had same thing happen to me on my 2006 iron barrel.
During a ride motor died on me, noticed kick starter had no compression resistance. Was able to start it after motor cooled and limped home. Now it will not start, low or no compression. Have not removed head  yet.
Let me know what you come up with on yours.

Thanks,
Always enjoy your posts !

I may have just been lucky, but before removing the head from yours you could always try my lazyass method. You'll need a can of liquid SeaFoam, a spray can of SeaFoam, some distilled water, and ideally a small handheld steam cleaner (about $20), though a small misting spray bottle should also do, but is riskier if you overdo it. All should be available at Walmart, so here's the play-by-play:

• Before commencing, check that tappet adjustments are correct. A too-tight valve pushrod will cause a valve not to fully seat, obviously causing loss of compression.
• Remove spark plug and pour an ounce of so of SeaFoam into hole. Replace spark plug and with the decompressor engaged (opened) kick the piston through several times. This should coat the piston crown, combustion chamber, intake and exhaust valve seats and also the working surfaces of the decompressor with SeaFoam. Wipe away any mess around the decompressor and allow it to "marinate" a couple of hours or overnight, then repeat once with another ounce or so of Seafoam
• Remove and thoroughly clean and lubricate decompressor assembly--especially its little valve and its seat (I used a little brass wire brush)
• Replace decompressor assembly and adjust its operating cable if necessary (leave just enough slack to be noticeable)
• Check for renewed compression with kickstart lever. If compression exists, then continue by removing air filter or air filter assembly. If no or little compression returns, then more serious issues such as a damaged valve, valve gear or other problems may exist requiring removal of the head to correct.
• With at least some reasonable compression restored and the air filter removed, start engine and allow it to warm up. You can expect lots of white smoke as the SeaFoam burns off. If you have trouble starting, try removing and cleaning or replacing the spark plug for a time, as it may well be fouled or wet from the SeaFoam.
• Once the engine is quite warm to the touch, begin spraying SeaFoam directly into the carb throat in short bursts, varying throttle. Expect lots more white smoke.
• After a few minutes, once it's really warm, give it a really good shot of SeaFoam until it stalls and allow it to "marinate" several minutes. Then restart and resume, stalling and "marinating" a couple-few times.
• Once your spray can of SeaFoam is used up, you can either dump any remaining SeaFoam in the bottle into the fuel tank, put back on the air filter, go for a ride and, as they say in the Haynes manuals, "observe effect on performance", or proceed to the steam cleaning/water injection portion of our program... (For more about Water Injection, one by-product of which is a squeaky clean combustion chamber, please see: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_injection_(engine))
• Fill your handheld steam cleaner or small misting spray bottle with distilled water (if using a steamer, obviously let it brew up to operating temperature.)
• Start the bike and adjust to a fairly high idle
• Commence steaming or lightly misting directly into the carb throat, trying NOT to stall. Easy does it! You do NOT want to "hydrolock" your engine! I ran about three pints of distilled water at varying high idles through my little steamer for just shy of an hour
• Button it back up and go for a ride

Anyhow, that's how I degunked mine last year with about 4,000 miles on the clock since then, and have had no recurrence of loss of compression. But then, maybe I'm just lucky, and she was just a bit grungy. SeaFoam and steam ain't gonna fix a chipped valve. But give it a try and let us know how it worked out for you.

[tooseevee]

I may have just been lucky, but before removing the head from yours you could always try my lazyass method. You'll need a can of liquid SeaFoam, a spray can of SeaFoam, some distilled water, and ideally a small handheld steam cleaner (about $20), though a small misting spray bottle should also do, but is riskier if you overdo it. All should be available at Walmart, so here's the play-by-play:

Anyhow, that's how I degunked mine last year with about 4,000 miles on the clock since then, and have had no recurrence of loss of compression. But then, maybe I'm just lucky, and she was just a bit grungy. SeaFoam and steam ain't gonna fix a chipped valve. But give it a try and let us know how it worked out for you.

        The way you describe is more or less how we used to do them back in the dark ages (the 1950s). I can remember doing my mom's '47 Chevy a couple of times. I still see my skinny ass leaning in over the fender dribbling water into the carb with a teaspoon with one hand and diddling the throttle with the other.

        It did my teen brain good to think that the engine was nice and clean inside. I changed her oil a lot, too. Probably more than necessary.

[Paul W]

This was why my 350 kept losing compression:

[Bilgemaster]

This was why my 350 kept losing compression:

Looks like some carbon flaking from the piston crown or head got caught there on the valve. Though hammered right in there, a good SeaFoam and steam treatment might have coaxed them out the pipe.

I've also made a practice of splashing about an ounce of Marvel Mystery Oil into each tank of fuel (89 Octane ethanol-free treated with StāBil 360 for storage of not usually more than 6 months) with occasional dashes of SeaFoam every couple-few months to try to keep those grundgies at bay or at least just kept moving along. Frequent checks of the spark plug and less often with a boroscope show some real improvement over when I first got the bike. A couple of years ago it looked like Al Bundy's grill with Aunt Mabel's ashes in there. Now? Not so dire at all. But then I also give her good longish runs fairly often. Prior to my taking her on, she'd gotten only about 300 miles a year to stretch her legs. Nowadays she's getting well over 4,000.

[Paul W]

The bike had only done 3,000 miles and there was very little carbon in there when I stripped it down. The valve seat seemed as if it had distorted, or actually been machined, rather than burned, as if it were too soft. I have no idea how it had been ridden before I bought it (with that mileage) but it’d had four previous owners! After setting the correct valve gear clearance, it would close up again to nothing after another 100 miles or so.

A new seat insert and a stainless steel exhaust valve instantly cured it. I’ve ridden it 14,000 miles since and not had to adjust the clearances once

Unfortunately here in U.K, “Sea Foam” and “Marvel mystery oil” are not products on general sale.

[Bilgemaster]

That's really too bad about the Marvel Mystery Oil being scarcely available over there in the UK. I could do without SeaFoam. There are lots of alternatives to that--many even contend better ones. But offhand I cannot think of a direct alternative to Marvel's wonder spew. I thought I'd seen it on Amazon UK, but I guess not. I did find SeaFoam offered on their UK website via some affiliate, but asking for stupid money (£24.99). Here it's like $6.

I dunno man, maybe we should start exporting that marvelous wintergreen goodness to your sceptered isle?

[Paul W]

I don’t know what’s happened to postage costs from USA to U.K. Over the past few years I’ve bought quite a number of car parts (Geo Metro/Suzuki Swift) from “Rock Auto” because they were cheaper than sourcing them from suppliers here. Unfortunately, a few times recently I’ve prepared an order only to cancel it just before payment because of very large postage costs, which don’t appear until right at the end of the process.

[Adrian II]

I was hesitating to order a RE Fury top yoke (OK, triple tree upper) from an ebayer in the US because of the outrageous postage cost his listing was quoting to the UK. I got in touch with the guy who said the the shipper (I think it was the USPS) was quoting a range of prices, of which this was the upper one. I have ordered it anyway, and he has since managed to refund me $37, having found a cheaper if possibly slower option. Contact the seller and see if there's room for savings.

A.

[Bilgemaster]

I was hesitating to order a RE Fury top yoke (OK, triple tree upper) from an ebayer in the US because of the outrageous postage cost his listing was quoting to the UK. I got in touch with the guy who said the the shipper (I think it was the USPS) was quoting a range of prices, of which this was the upper one. I have ordered it anyway, and he has since managed to refund me $37, having found a cheaper if possibly slower option. Contact the seller and see if there's room for savings.

A.

From personal experience I can well understand a seller's point of view in choosing the most expensive (and quickest) international shipping option by default and just passing that along to the buyer, especially in these days of the Amazon Prime delivery guy leaping out of the shrubs with one's package just as soon as one hits that "Buy Now" button. Expectations are higher. Even years ago, before Amazon sold much more than books, I used to do a lot of eBay auctions. One Volkswagen Bug service manual I no longer needed was bid on by some idiot woman "Proto-Karen" in Australia who seemed genuinely dismayed that the surface rate (slow boat to Oz) she'd opted for didn't magically appear in Melbourne within the week, and wouldn't stop pestering me about it, like I was supposed to row faster or something. Of course, it did eventually get there, but the near daily naggings I endured in the meantime led me to do "US Only" auctions from then on. So hell yeah: If they really want that "Collectible John Cleese PEZ Dispenser" for five bucks, presume they want it there in Antarctica's McMurdoo Station or that hermitage in Nepal only accessible by yak, or wherever the hell they are by the end of the week, and just go ahead and ask that $72 for premium shipping. Or arrange some measured understanding and expectations. I totally get it. Otherwise just let it go to Cleveland.

On the bright side of things, it's astonishing how quickly our Forum hosts Hitchcocks can move something door to door. I just got a replacement for one of those funky see-through tappet adjustment covers under warranty, and it took less than 3 days via DHL...almost alarmingly prompt, and with texted updates from the package at every step along the way ("It's 8:13 and I'm in a dark place with loud whirring. I think I might be on a plane"...."So it's about midnight now, and I smell pizza. So I'm probably in New York"..."9:18 on a beautiful morning on the New Jersey Turnpike, just passing the Vince Lombardi Service Area. I could really go for some fried clams."). It was almost more than I really wanted to know. I was beginning to grow somewhat envious of my world traveling tappet cover, you know? I mean, I could have gone for a fried clam roll too! But all parts envy aside, rest assured that if you order some gasket or whatever from those kids in Solihull, you won't be waiting around until the woodbine twineth for it to get there.

[Adrian II]

Just to be clear, I wasn't criticizing the seller (I have messaged him with my thanks for his money-saving efforts on my behalf), or setting out to give him a hard time. The item gets here when it gets here, if I'd needed one in a hurry I'd have ordered one from Hitchcocks', though it occurred to me I should perhaps not plunder their stock of these particular items any further. So far after leaving Mobile AL, my top yoke/triple tree upper has actually gone via Cleveland OH, then on to Cincinnati OH and across the river to Erlanger KY, from where I'm guessing it will shortly be clocking up some air miles.

A.

[axman88]

Unfortunately here in U.K, “Sea Foam” and “Marvel mystery oil” are not products on general sale.

I have read that Sea Foam is mainly just Naptha, but apparently there is some alcohol in there too.  Here's the MSDS:  https://seafoamworks.com/uploads/2019/10/SFMT-SDS-CA-ENG-v20191001.pdf

Petroleum distillates can be a lot of things.  Here's a recipe for DIY engine cleaner, a la "seafoam"  http://hildstrom.com/projects/seafoam/

Kreen is another product that I have used, that works similarly, and is more potent, in my opinion, than SeaFoam
http://www.kanolabs.com/engCle.html
I've used Kreen as an additive and as a cylinder soak, but not tried spraying it into a throttle body with the engine running. 

I am convinced that the spray and smokescreen method works.  I used the liquid SeaFoam in an oil squirt can, and it nicely remediated an issue with my C5, that I believe was due to carbon on the exhaust valve.  Like most similar testimonies, I can't offer a control group, nor did I take off the head and make pictures before and after.  I was having a peculiar "sizzle" sound from the top end, did the "smoke-out treatment", and the sound went away, and I was happy.  Did it on a drizzly evening in Chicago to minimize neighbor involvement.

[Paul W]

Thanks for the information.

We are able to buy fuel system cleaners in U.K. of various types. I suppose they must be similar. In fact just last week I bought a few small dose bottles from a local supermarket because they were less than half price. These are designed to be added to the fuel tank; there’s nothing mentioned about other ways of using them. They aren’t something I buy on a regular basis but with our vehicles not being used so much I thought it was possibly worth adding to the fuel a few times.

I have heard/read that modern unleaded fuel goes off very quickly, preventing engines from starting. I’ve not experienced this problem but I have noticed that the exhaust gases of old fuel smell very unpleasant but clear once a couple of tanks of fresh fuel have been used through the engine.

[ddavidv]

The US negotiates (annually?) shipping rates with other countries. This is why my magneto cost over twice to ship to Canada as it did for Canada to ship it back.

I always try to order enough from Hitchcocks to make the parcel DHL worthy. The one time I ordered a small item it came via regular post. The USPS played around with it for 2 weeks. DHL has never taken more than 4 days.

[Karl Fenn]

Well looks as it's time for a soada blast.

[Bilgemaster]

I just thought I should briefly revive this elderly thread, which discusses both various valve spring compressors and also old fashioned valve lapping with grinding paste vs. cutting with "Neway" brand or other similar specialized tools.

New (to me at least) approaches to both are shown in Mustie1's recent video "Blown Up VW Bus Engine, Can We Fix It For Free?" at https://youtu.be/-98lHANpXHY, the second in a series.

If you skip forward to about 20 minutes in, you'll see a nice tabletop valve compressor given to him by a fan in action, while a few more minutes on he demonstrates a valve lapping technique using an electric drill and rubber hose on the valve stem instead of one of those little double-ended suction cupped lapping tool doodads, with which I had been familiar.

He then also shows a technique of using the cylinder spigot face with grinding paste to dress up the facing portion of the head to reduce blow-by.

Enjoy!