Engine work

Well I screwed up, just not sure how bad. I sprayed my engine with easy-off oven cleaner and apparently the chemical in easy-off likes to eat aluminum, which is what the engine is made of. Not good, although varying opinion on how bad. I made a mistake reading one of the restoration books and thought it said to use it for grease removal, and while it did in fact say that, it meant it for the cowls and undercarriage of the bike, NOT the engine. grrrr. So now my engine is all mottled white from what looks like left over easy-off remnants. Trying to figure out how to remove it. Here's what it looks like now.













Not much I can do about it now until I figure out a solution. CRC Lectra-Motive seems to be the recommended product, although there are plenty of other suggestions on scooterbbs, just search for engine cleaning and you'll get plenty of opinion.

Well regardless of the engine cleaning I went ahead and started taking apart the engine. Before you get started I highly recommend you read the vespa maintenance website. It goes in to much greater detail the do's and don'ts of taking apart your engine. You want to be particularly careful with your carb and piston, as you don't want random parts falling into your engine.

About the only thing I can add to what he says on the website is in regards to the circle clips on the piston. I wasn't able to get at them with needle nose pliers. There is a small hole on the ends of the circle clips. I was able to get a paperclip through the hole and then with needle nose pliers I was able to pull out the circle clip. I lost one of the clips because when it sprang out it went flying off the paperclip. I guess you could twist the paperclip around itself before trying to pull them out. I have new circlips all ready so I wasn't that worried about it.

That is all for now with the engine. Still deciding if I am going to crack her open. Probably will just to replace seals, and do a general looky loo. I mean I have the engine on the stand and pretty much taken apart at this point. I am probably also going to do a carb overhaul now that it is off.

My dog is puking so I need to go take care of him.