Engine updates

Well not much has happened but a lot has happened. I was able to recover from the Easy-Off disaster. I bought a polishing wheel to go on the end of my drill and just kind of went crazy with that. The engine is all nice and shiny! It's not pristine, but it sure looks a hell of a lot better than it used to.

Whatever you are throwing on your engine make sure you read the label. Even some alleged engine cleaners say on the back to check what it does to aluminum. I would stay away from that completely. Not even worth it. Also my friend used CRC Lectra-Motive to clean his motor and he said it was amazing, except for it does in deed affect rubber and plastics. Make sure you have that stuff covered up or removed.



What have I learned taking apart the engine?

1. You can remove the gears/rear axle by hitting the axle from the tire side with a rubber mallet WITHOUT taking the gears apart.


A couple of things to point out when doing so. First, take the castellated nut and flip it around (so the castle faces the case) and screw it on until it is flush with the lip of the axle. They talk about this in the instructions on vespa maintenance. This is so you don't hurt the pin hole on the axle. Second, make sure you reach around to grab the axle/gears when you whack so they don't just drop out. I'd put a little grease on the seal so it doesn't rip the seal (unless you are replacing all that). Go ahead and give it a good whack with the rubber mallet.

Now that the gears are out, you can just keep that as one big piece and work on it separately.

2. My VBC has some differences that aren't easily learned about. The first of those is that my cruxiform set up is actually easier than most. My cruxiform is flat and all sides are even. That means the cruxiform can go in in any direction. That's great for not being able to fuck things up! But not so great if you don't know that and are trying to find a ready answer. I only learned this from a post on Scooterbbs. The parts book calls for part #94944 but I really need part #223225. You can see the differences on scooter mercato. That will make replacing the whole spindle very interesting if I ever need to because I am not sure what to follow.

My gear spacing is different. The gear spacing is actually way more uniform without the big gap between 1st and 2nd for neutral. Take pictures of your gears before you take them apart!.That way you can see the spacing for yourself. Get a real up close picture of the gaps. This helps a ton because if you get it wrong you will clearly see the difference in the gaps. Gears 1 and 4 are really easy to get right. They have a smooth surface that faces out. In other words if you have your gears still mounted like I do below. First gear is on the inside facing the wheel so it will be smooth on that side and fourth will be the same on the other side of the spindle. This is very obvious when you see it and will help you make sure you don't screw up at least those two. From there if you are in doubt you only have two gears to work out the combinations until you get the gaps looking like your original photo.


The next big thing that was different was my cylinder head has a copper gasket between the head and the bore. That was a really hard piece to find. If you have this it probably means you have an indian piston set-up. Shout out goes to David at scootermercato.com for finding this piece for me and figuring it out.

BTW I am now doing almost all of my ordering through Dave. He's in GA so shipping to me in NC is much faster, his prices are great, and he has been great on the phone with helping me find stuff, really knows his shit. Check him out and just give him a call. Lots of stuff he has that is not on his website, although he is trying to put it on there. I've had way better luck with him in finding stuff than anyone else so far. If you call him, tell him Jim sent you.

It also turns out that whomever put my clutch on last time got rid of the castellated nut and installed another type of bolt. I have seen this bolt in the online catalogues and now I've seen it in person. Seems to work well.

3. When taking things apart from inside the engine keep them bathed in oil. For parts from the main case use motor oil, for parts coming from the crankshaft use 2-stroke oil (crankshaft, piston, chamber, head). This will prevent them from rusting. I also spray wd-40 to keep things lubed and rust free while I wait to put this thing back together this coming week.


4. Getting the crankshaft off took a good whack and a decent size punch. Being a newbie I thought that inside the crankshaft spindle there may have been some sort of release pin so I wasn't sure what the punch was for. There is no such pin or anything. The recess hole described on vespa maintenance is specifically for the punch to go in to knock out the crankshaft from the bearings. I used a nice rounded phillips screwdriver that I had lying around. Make sure someone is on the other side to support the crankshaft when it pops out. And now that I look at other axles, almost all of them have a recess where a punch could go in to knock them out. I will probably invest in a set of punches for the winter.

5. The crankshaft is very important and you do not want it warped or out of tune. The crankshaft has a few main parts: The webs are the big round pieces, the connecting rod (connects the rod to the piston), and a rod bearing that allows the connecting rod to move smoothly inside the webs. My connecting rod got stuck probably due to something getting inside the rod bearing and although I was able to get it loose it is likely a shot crankshaft because whatever was in there before is likely still in there now and could seize up my motor while I am riding. grrrr.

6. Bearings. This was one of the better things I learned and mostly due to my impatience. The bearings used in a Vespa, and in almost all situations, are universal sized. That means you can order them from anywhere. It also means that you can likely buy them from a local shop as opposed to waiting all that time for shipping. It also means you have choices, lots and lots of choices and can likely get a much better bearing than the one the scooter shops are selling you for about the same price if not cheaper. You can get the same one they sell you for half the price. I just did a google search for "bearings raleigh" and found a couple of places close by with great selection.

In addition, based on my long history with mtn bikes, road bikes, and other bikes I am going to also purchase sealed bearings. They last a lot longer, run smoother, are cleaner, and easier to maintain. I am only doing sealed bearings in my front axle. I don't think it makes sense anywhere else as the bearings are going to be bathed in either motor oil or two stroke oil/gas mixture.

The bearing sizes for the front axle are 6201 (smaller bearing) and 6203 (larger bearing on wheel side). The bearing for the christmas tree is 6302. If you give those sizes to your bearing supplier they will know exactly what you are talking about. For example you could visit my local suppliers website and type in 6201 in the search field and see all the 6201 options. All of these bearings will have the following dimensions: ID 12mmx OD32mmxW10mm. 6203 is ID 17mmx OD40mmx W12mm. You just get to choose manufacture and what kind of seal if any you want.

I am not going to replace all of my bearings this time around, but I will in the winter. When I do that I will post all of the bearing sizes as I find them.

7. O-Rings. Small O-rings you can just buy and replace at carquest. Not sure about the other automotive stores. At carquest they had a box full of metric sized o-rings and I was able to replace all of my smaller o-rings for much cheaper than the scooter shops and again without waiting. I recommend this over my local ACE hardware store because they did not have metric and it is slightly off. Can't really have that where seals are involved and possible leaky stuff.

8. You can also get circle clips from your local ACE hardware store. I am sure the big stores have them as well. I just happen to have an ACE hardware a couple of blocks away and they have a great nuts and bolts section, although I don't use it much since I bought that bolt kit which has just amazing stuff. Discovered it had the engine mounting studs, the clutch pressure plate and spring, engine case bolts, and other fantastic stuff, just order the kit all ready.

Speaking of circle clips. Buy a snap ring plier set to remove the circle clips and you're life will be so much better. I broke down and paid $15 for internal and external pliers. My life has been so much better. Wish I had them earlier.

9. Just do a carb rebuild, now. It was so easy and I can't believe how dirty my carb was. It really is very easy. Just follow the instructions and you won't have any problems. Order a carb rebuild kit and go crazy. The one thing I would make sure you always order that doesn't necessarily come in the kit is a replacement gas filter and air filter. You almost always need one and they aren't that expensive. Also make sure you have the gaskets for the carb to box, and box to case. The box to case gasket should be in your engine gasket set but the carb to box may not be. This will make sense when you read the instructions and start doing it.

I actually had a carb rebuild party with Brett who is a little bit further behind me in his engine work. Was very handy having someone else around doing the exact same thing to spot check each other.

10. When taking off the clutch there is a thrust washer that is behind the clutch. Take this off and take a good look at it. One side is beveled. Mark it one side BEFORE you take it off. This will save you a ton of headache later. It's hard to tell it's beveled until you look at it real close.

Whew lots of stuff. I hope I got it all.