Don:

Thanks for the generous offer of being willing to help. However, I am
up in Lindenhurst, IL, north of Chicago near the WI border.

Thanks for all the advice. I will be doing the flywheel experiment
this weekend. It was also suggested to me by a colleague at work.

We all fear the same thing. I am just hoping we are wrong.

Ken M.


Don Dando wrote:
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your story doesn't sound too good!
You might want to remove the spark plugs and do a compression check. They
should show in the range of 125 PSI and all cylinders be relatively similar.
Another easy thing to do is to remove the intake port covers on the
starboard side of the engine and look into the cylinders as you turn the
flywheel over by hand. If you find scratches, gouges and metal deposits on
the cylinder walls and pistons, that's bad news.

If you have good compression and the cylinders and pistons are in good
shape, then start looking for fuel and spark problems, unfortunately, I'm
betting that the engine is damaged to the point that a rebuild may be
required.

I have used Merk 2 cycle oil since it was introduced with excellent result.
It is a low ash oil and leaves very little carbon behind and it is
formulated to burn differently than 4 cycle automotive oil. I use the ratio
of 1 bottle per 5 gallons rather that the suggested 1 bottle per 6 gallons.
And when refueling, I estimate the fuel required to top off the tank and add
excessive oil beyond my estimate of how much fuel I'll need. I find it is a
lot easier and cheaper to replace spark plugs than it is to replace pistons,
rings, cylinders and crankshafts!

If you live near Kansas City, I'll do the compression check for you and I
have a boreascope to examine the cylinders without doing any tear down.

Don Dando