The ebay generator restoration thread
Discussion
BFG TERRANO said:
Hats off to the OP.
I do the same with 2 stroke flymo hover mowers. Emission and noise regs mean they are no longer available. The 4 stroke just isn't the same! Good solid 2 strokes fetch good money.
Makes sense. I understand it's a similar situation for 2-stoke outboards. I do the same with 2 stroke flymo hover mowers. Emission and noise regs mean they are no longer available. The 4 stroke just isn't the same! Good solid 2 strokes fetch good money.
Daniel
guindilias said:
If there is no output it might just need flashed - only takes a minute to do, one of my gennys needs flashed after about 6 months of not being used, without fail!
Cleaning the brushes worked, the output voltage was a bit high as it had been set to run at 60Hz for some reason.Got the cylinder head and piston cleaned up.
Re assembled the generator and ran it up, and I sounded like a bag of nails were rattling around inside so ended up stripping the engine down.
The bottom of the engine was full of sludge.
Found the oil splasher hiding in the sludge, it’s supposed to be part of the con rod.
Decided to remove the con rod to see if there was any other damage and there was…
Big end bearing
The con rod wasn’t much better
Fortunately the crankshaft is ok, just a minor mark and no nasty ridges.
Based on the state of the oil that drained out before the strip down the damage was probably caused by lack of servicing.
I have ordered a gasket set and a new con rod so will be able to get it fixed and running like a Honda engine should.
@Blue32 - Don't want to detract from this awesome thread - but I did come across this guy on youtube, who does exactly what you do
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcSeeATlWJJbXpOZR...
Has 195K subscribers! - Just a thought if you wanted to do video updates as well
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcSeeATlWJJbXpOZR...
Has 195K subscribers! - Just a thought if you wanted to do video updates as well
Edited by Brother D on Friday 19th October 19:06
Brother D said:
@Blue32 - Don't want to detract from this awesome thread - but I did come across this guy on youtube, who does exactly what you do
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcSeeATlWJJbXpOZR...
Has 195K subscribers! - Just a thought if you wanted to do video updates as well
Thanks,https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcSeeATlWJJbXpOZR...
Has 195K subscribers! - Just a thought if you wanted to do video updates as well
Edited by Brother D on Friday 19th October 19:06
Funnily enough that channel popped up as a suggestion for me on Youtube a few days ago. So far have watched the lawn tractor video where he reset the timing after the belt slipped. The tractor uses the same engine as the EX550 I rebuilt earlier in the thread.
New connecting rod arrived last week along with a gasket set so was able to start the rebuild.
Old rod top, new bottom
Comparison of rod bearing (new left old right)
New head gasket, bit strange that it’s not completely circular, but is a genuine Honda part so must be right!
Re-assembly nearly complete
Blue32 said:
Thanks,
Funnily enough that channel popped up as a suggestion for me on Youtube a few days ago. So far have watched the lawn tractor video where he reset the timing after the belt slipped. The tractor uses the same engine as the EX550 I rebuilt earlier in the thread.
New connecting rod arrived last week along with a gasket set so was able to start the rebuild.
Old rod top, new bottom
What's the proboscis coming off the new one?Funnily enough that channel popped up as a suggestion for me on Youtube a few days ago. So far have watched the lawn tractor video where he reset the timing after the belt slipped. The tractor uses the same engine as the EX550 I rebuilt earlier in the thread.
New connecting rod arrived last week along with a gasket set so was able to start the rebuild.
Old rod top, new bottom
Edited by RicksAlfas on Monday 22 October 10:39
RicksAlfas said:
What's the proboscis coming off the new one?
It's the 'dipper' which looks after lubrication; in cheap 4 stroke engines there's no oil pump or pressure fed lubrication, instead a 'dipper' flails through the sump oil and flings it around the crankcase, hence the term splash lubrication is a literal description of what happens.
Blue32 said:
New head gasket, bit strange that it’s not completely circular, but is a genuine Honda part so must be right!
Following with fascination.I would have thought the head gasket fire ring not round for valve clearance on head, see combustion chamber shape on head not round. Engine is probably available in bigger displacement and only change is barrel & piston.
Bullet-Proof_Biscuit said:
Following with fascination.
I would have thought the head gasket fire ring not round for valve clearance on head, see combustion chamber shape on head not round. Engine is probably available in bigger displacement and only change is barrel & piston.
I would have thought the head gasket fire ring not round for valve clearance on head, see combustion chamber shape on head not round. Engine is probably available in bigger displacement and only change is barrel & piston.
Blue32 said:
Daniel
Finished off the repairs to the EX4000, last job was to replace the insulation which had been damaged by the mice.
I got hold of insulation used on industrial boilers, its rockwool like the original, but has a heat reflective foil layer.
The top cover had the most damage to the insulation.
Looking better.
Rear panel repaired.
All back together.
Had to revisit the EX5500 that I rebuilt last year, I wanted to try fitting LPG kit on it. Before I could install the kit, I wanted to make sure it was running properly, however I couldn’t get it to start. Initially it seemed like the battery had gone flat, as it was turning over very slowly. After some testing it turned out there was a problem with the starter motor.
To get to the starter motor I had to completely dismantle the generator, so after a couple of hours it looked like this.
The starter motor is tucked down at the bottom of the engine and is trapped by an engine mount.
Starter motor removed
The problem with the starter motor was due to the brushes having been completely worn down so they weren’t making proper contact.
The positive brush was so worn the wire supplying it was against the housing so I couldn’t move any further
The negative brush wasn’t as bad, still has a couple of mm to go
Unfortunately, the brushes have been discontinued by Honda, however I found some new old stock brushes in the USA, just waiting for them to turn up.
while waiting for the new brushes I thought it would be a good idea to give the commutator a clean.
Before
After cleaning.
While the generator is in bits I wanted to fix an oil leak. The leak is from the oil feed up to cam shaft in the cylinder head. I had tried previously to fix it with some sealant but it didn’t fix the leak so the head needs to come off.
To remove the head the cam belt and cam pulley have to be removed.
Cylinder head removed, the oil is leaking from the oring around the oil feed restrictor (next to right cylinder, in line with alternator), looks like some oil was getting into the cylinder as well.
The head looks in good condition with a small amount of carbon, you can see where the oil was leaking (right side of head) as the gasket is wet with oil.
There was allot of sludge in the water passages in the cylinder block
I dug out some of the sludge with a screwdriver, looks like it was filled with mud at some point!
I managed to get all the sludge out of the water jacket, the leaky oring can be seen at the bottom of the image. The oring has gone hard and is starting to crack so no wonder it leaked.
Cylinder head after cleaning
Block cleaned up ready for new head gasket
Just waitin for the replacement oring to arrive so I can get it all back together.
I got hold of insulation used on industrial boilers, its rockwool like the original, but has a heat reflective foil layer.
The top cover had the most damage to the insulation.
Looking better.
Rear panel repaired.
All back together.
Had to revisit the EX5500 that I rebuilt last year, I wanted to try fitting LPG kit on it. Before I could install the kit, I wanted to make sure it was running properly, however I couldn’t get it to start. Initially it seemed like the battery had gone flat, as it was turning over very slowly. After some testing it turned out there was a problem with the starter motor.
To get to the starter motor I had to completely dismantle the generator, so after a couple of hours it looked like this.
The starter motor is tucked down at the bottom of the engine and is trapped by an engine mount.
Starter motor removed
The problem with the starter motor was due to the brushes having been completely worn down so they weren’t making proper contact.
The positive brush was so worn the wire supplying it was against the housing so I couldn’t move any further
The negative brush wasn’t as bad, still has a couple of mm to go
Unfortunately, the brushes have been discontinued by Honda, however I found some new old stock brushes in the USA, just waiting for them to turn up.
while waiting for the new brushes I thought it would be a good idea to give the commutator a clean.
Before
After cleaning.
While the generator is in bits I wanted to fix an oil leak. The leak is from the oil feed up to cam shaft in the cylinder head. I had tried previously to fix it with some sealant but it didn’t fix the leak so the head needs to come off.
To remove the head the cam belt and cam pulley have to be removed.
Cylinder head removed, the oil is leaking from the oring around the oil feed restrictor (next to right cylinder, in line with alternator), looks like some oil was getting into the cylinder as well.
The head looks in good condition with a small amount of carbon, you can see where the oil was leaking (right side of head) as the gasket is wet with oil.
There was allot of sludge in the water passages in the cylinder block
I dug out some of the sludge with a screwdriver, looks like it was filled with mud at some point!
I managed to get all the sludge out of the water jacket, the leaky oring can be seen at the bottom of the image. The oring has gone hard and is starting to crack so no wonder it leaked.
Cylinder head after cleaning
Block cleaned up ready for new head gasket
Just waitin for the replacement oring to arrive so I can get it all back together.
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