Skidoo Mini Z 120

Harold and I are getting his snowmobile ready for the season.

Honda Foreman

The new parts finally came in for the Honda Foreman that I took apart a few weeks ago.

Today I started putting the head back together.  I used my new valve spring compressor.  It is much easier than my old homemade "push real hard" tool.  Having the right tool for the job is great.

Torch Modification

I am still working on the refrigeration job at the local store.  The next step is to install new filter dryers in the suction and evaporator lines.  The dryers are silver soldered or brazed into the line.  To melt the high temp silver solder you need a good torch.

I have a nice "Turbo Torch".  Normally this torch would be run off of a 20 lb propane tank (like you have on a barbecue).  In rural Alaska propane is very expensive due to cost of shipping heavy tanks of flammable gas.  A 100 lb cylinder is about $275 and 20 lb tanks are just not available.   I do have a bunch of smaller 16 oz propane bottles, but they have a different type of fitting.

Today I rummaged around in my box of misc plumbing fittings and rigged up a way to connect the Turbo Torch regulator to a small bottle.  I cut the end off of a cheapo torch, stuck a piece of snowmobile fuel line on the end, ran that line to a hose barb fitting that I screwed into the regulator.  (The red arrow points to the regulator.)  It works fine and it sure beats hauling around a 100 lb tank.

Trailer

There are 3 or 4 regional airlines that operate out of Nome.  Tim Henry is the local "agent" in Brevig for two of the airlines.  When the planes land here he hauls all of the freight that comes in and helps the passengers get to and from the airport.   He normally has 2 or 3 planes a day that he takes care of.  Many of the planes will have 500 to 1000 lbs of freight.  Some of the larger planes could have as much as 5000 lbs.  It all adds up to a lot of miles and abuse on his trailer.

Today he brought the trailer over to my shop to have it fixed up.  The frame is cracked in a few places and the tongue was almost ready to fall off.  I used my crane to flip the trailer up on edge.  I used an angle grinder to cut off the broken parts.  Tomorrow I will weld up the cracks and reinforce the tongue.

In this photo you can see some of the work that I have coming up.  There are three ATVs, one motorcycle, and a few outboard motors.

Update:
Finished the trailer today, 3 hours total time. I didn't get a picture of the finished job.  As I was finishing the last weld a large Ryan Air cargo plane flew over.  Tim stopped down to get the trailer just as I was putting my tools away.

Refrigeration Compressor

Today I started working on a refrigeration project at our local store.  The store has a large walk in freezer for all the frozen food that they sell.   I have worked on this system several times over the last few years.  The closest refrigeration company is in Anchorage and it is very expensive to fly a technician all the way up here.  I hated to see the store spending all that money for simple service calls so I decided to learn something about refrigeration repair.  Last year I actually took the test for the EPA refrigeration technician certification.  Now I can legally purchase refrigerants and work on refrigeration systems.

The cooler at the store has two separate 3 hp compressors.  One compressor is able to carry the load, the second one is just for back up.  One of the units has been broken for a few years now and I  have actually been taking parts off it to keep the other one running.  Now the store has decided to fix the second unit.

The broken compressor has a burned out motor.  In past years our electrical supply in Brevig was marginal.  When the 3 hp compressor would start the voltage would drop very low.  This of coarse results in a very high current and extra stress on the motor.  Thankfully our local electrical co-op has upgraded their distribution system and we no longer have the low voltage issues.

I am going to change the compressor, install new filter/dryers, install new condenser fan motors, and recharge the system.  Most of the work is pretty straight forward, some basic electrical connections, soldering copper tubing, and bolting everything together.

Polaris Sportsman 400

Today I have a Polaris Sportman 400 in the shop.  This is the same machine that I put a new recoil starter rope on a few weeks ago.  This time I am replacing the electric starter.

It is a very hard starter to get to.  In the photo I added a red arrow pointing to the starter.  That end is easy enough to see, but the bolts that hold it in are on the other end.  I'll let you know how it goes.
 

Honda TRX 420 Rancher

Today I have a 2008 Honda 420 Rancher in the shop.  It has an electrical problem, as soon as the key is turned on the ignition fuse blows.  The cooling fan also runs all the time.

I had to strip off the racks and fenders to get at all the wiring.  The machine is in pretty good shape.  There is no obvious signs of damage or abuse anywhere.  I unplugged everything that I could think of from the main wiring harness, put a new fuse in and started plugging things back in and checking the fuse. Everything seemed ok. The last thing that I plugged in was the ECM (engine control module, the black box that runs the fuel injection and ignition).  As soon as it was plugged in the fuse blew and the fan came on.  That of coarse leaves me wondering if the ECM is the bad part? 

I am going to look around for another used ECM  and see if that fixes things.

Update:
I found a used ECM and that solved the problem.  Total time in the shop, 3 hours.  Most of that was taking the racks and fenders off to get access to the wiring.

Rincon 680

 I finally got back to work on the Rincon 680.  I pulled the top off the engine and discovered that the cam is wore just like I suspected. 

I am still not sure why it wears out?  In the first photo you can see the cam sitting in the "tin bathtub" full of oil.  It is definitely getting plenty of oil.  There was no noticeable wear on any of the other parts.

Here is the cam and followers removed from the engine.  You can see the follower on the right has a definite concave shape to the contact surface, it should be flat.  Both the intake and exhaust lobes were about .075" short.

I don't know why this is happening, but it seems to be a common problem on this engine.  An after market cam is available for about the same price as a new Honda original part.   I am going to recommend that to the owner.

Frozen Fuel Line

 It's that time of year, when I start getting more calls to work on home heating systems.  I was hoping to get back to work on that Rincon today but I had to fix someones heat first.

Everything here is heated with oil.  There is no natural gas, electricity and propane are very expensive, and there are no trees to cut down.  A lot of homes have an old 55 gallon drum for a fuel tank.  Notice how the fuel line and filter are mounted to this one!  The filter that should be mounted vertical to catch the water in the plastic bowl is mounted sideways.  I guess the bungee cord that is supporting it must have slipped.

In this photo I have removed the plastic bowl and you can see the ice stuck to the bottom of the filter.

I disconnected the old fuel lines and  remounted the filter to the drum with 3/4" iron pipe.  The old copper line was full of ice so I also replaced that.  Now that the filter is mounted correctly it will catch all the water that gets in and prevent it from getting into the fuel line or furnace.

Hydraulic Press - Completed

I finished the hydraulic press that I started a few days ago.  My friend Cam is going to use it for jewelry making. The press will be used to squeeze metal through dies like in this video.

Some friends stopped by for a visit yesterday.  When they were leaving they offered to haul the press back to Nome for me on their plane.  That sure beats paying almost $1.00 per pound to put it on a commercial flight. 

Hydraulic Press

Here are the parts for a hydraulic press that I am building for a friend. 

Honda Rincon 680

Today I have a 2007 Honda Rincon 680 in the shop.  This is supposed to be one of Honda's biggest and best ATV's.  It has a big fuel injected engine, independent suspension, and an automatic transmission.  The transmission is an actual automatic with a fluid torque converter and computer controlled solenoid shift valves.  It is just like a mini automotive transmission.  I can't imagine what it must have cost to engineer that thing!

The engine on this model is kind of odd.  The basic Hondas use a simple air cooled engine with pushrod operated valves and a cam down low in the block.  Other manufacturers high performance machines have overhead chain driven cams that operate the valves or rocker arms directly.  One the Rincon Honda decided to put a chain driven cam halfway up the cylinder and use short pushrods to move the rocker arms. It's not an "overhead" cam, it's an "along side" cam?  I guess they had to have a cool chain driven cam but just couldn't give up their traditional pushrods?



This particular machine was in my shop about 18 months ago.  Back then the machine had around 2000 miles.  The problem was that it would start and run fine at idle, but when you revved it up it just would not go.  It acted like it couldn't breath.  I checked everything out and discovered that the lobes on the cam had wore down so far that the valves hardly opened.  Everything else checked out ok.  I eventually came to the uneasy conclusion that the cam shaft must have been defective (not heat treated properly?) and it simply wore out.  I replaced the cam and everything worked fine.

Now the machine has around 4000 miles on it and it is running the same way.  I have not tore the motor apart yet, but at this point I am assuming that the cam is bad again.  Before I open up the motor I figured I should check the oil pressure.  The only place that you can access the oil system is at a small bolt with a sealing washer under it.  You are supposed to use your Honda factory authorized pressure tester with a banjo bolt fitting on it to connect to this port.

I don't have the Honda pressure tester tool so I had to improvise.  I had a few odd banjo fittings that I have collected from other machines, but they are all to big.  I made a banjo fitting out of a left over scrap of HDPE.  I also had to drill out a standard bolt to turn it into a "banjo" bolt.  In the photo you can see these two items next to a manufactured banjo fitting that is just a little bit to big.  The homemade fitting worked great, but the 1/4" hose that I stuck on the hose barb with no clamp blew off.  Turns out the machine has lots of oil pressure and a good pump.  It made a big mess in the few seconds that it took for me to turn the thing off.

Does anybody have an idea why this machine is wearing out cam shafts?

Honda Foreman

This is the same machine that I started on last week.  I have had a lot of interruptions, but I finally got the head off the engine.  I didn't find any big surprises, the piston was a little scuffed up on the skirt and everything was covered with a lot of stinky black carbon.  The scuffed piston is normal for a machine that has been abused and the carbon is a result of all the oil that is being burned.

I think I will just give it a basic top end overhaul: piston, rings, valve seals, head gasket, and hone the cylinder.  It should be less than $100 for parts and only a few hours of labour.  I still need to investigate why it overheated.  I'll check out the electric fan wiring system and temp sensor.  I'd be willing to bet it's all working fine and the real problem was that the owner let the kids take the machine out moose hunting.  Who knows what teenage boys did to it when they were out in the country?

In the photo you can see my homemade valve spring "tool".  It is a piece of 1/2" EMT (electrical conduit) with a cutout on the end.   The other end has a block of wood that you can push on.  I clamp the head down to the workbench, push on the block of wood with my shoulder, and reach in the cutout on the tubing to remove the spring keepers.  There are nice manufactured tools for doing this job, but they all seem to be made for automotive engines and are too big for the small engines that I work on.  If anyone knows a good source I'd like to hear about it.

Polaris 400 Sportsman

I had a Polaris 400 ATV in the shop today for a simple starter rope replacement.  This is a basic job that only takes 1/2 hour (if you don't let the recoil spring get away from you).

I generally like Polaris products and think that they are put together pretty good.  One thing that I think they do foolishly though is the recoil starters.  Most manufacturers make a simple cover over the pulley with a open drain hole in the bottom.  This keeps most of the crud out and allows any water that gets in to drain out.

Polaris makes a cover that is supposed to be sealed up water tight.  It never works out that way and a little water always makes its way in.  Without an open drain in the bottom the water stays inside and everything ends up a rusty mess.

That is how I found this one.  Everything still worked under the cover, but it was wet and rusty.  I had to spend a little extra time cleaning things up before I put it back together.

Yamaha 550 Grizzly

This machine is only 6 month old and still under warranty. Normally the owner could just take the machine back to the dealer and get it fixed up for free.   Unfortunately it costs several hundred dollars to put it on a plane and fly it back to the dealership.   I end up working on new machines like this frequently.

This is the same machine that I talked about in a previous post.   One of the bolts that holds the clutch pilot bearing support came out and flew around inside the clutch cover.  The belt was destroyed and the clutch faces were severally chewed up.  I talked to the dealership where the machine was purchased and they agreed to send me the new parts for free.  The owner is going to have to cover my labor cost, but at least they got the parts.

When putting the secondary clutch back on you need to tighten the nut to 70 ft lbs.  That is an easy amount of torque to achieve with a long wrench, but it is almost impossible to hold the clutch from turning.  I made a special tool to hold the clutch.  I used an old 1 7/16" end wrench to make a special spanner wrench.  I drilled two holes in it and put two short 1/4" bolts through the holes to line up with the holes in the clutch.  It may not look pretty but it worked great.

Ford F150

We do not have any real roads or automobiles here in Brevig.  But over in the nearby village of Teller (8 miles away by boat), they have cars and trucks.  From Teller it is a 75 mile drive on a gravel road to get to Nome.  My friend Randy has a truck that they keep over in Teller.  They use it to go back and forth to Nome to get supplies and take care of business in town

The truck is a 1985 F150 with a fuel injected 302 V8.  It has a lot of miles on it, but overall is in pretty good shape.  Recently it seemed to overheat after driving a few miles down the road.  They asked to me to take a look at it.  I took my boat over to Teller and checked it out.  The first thing that I found was a radiator that took 3 gallons to fill up.  It was also a couple quarts low on oil. 

I topped off the fluids and started it up.  It started fine and seemed to run good.  Then I noticed the huge clouds of smoke coming out the tail pipe.  There also seemed to be a lot of air bubbles coming out of the open radiator cap.  Looks like a bad head gasket.

I don't think I'll take this job.  There is no garage to put the truck in and the weather is starting to get cold.  This is not the kind of job I want to tackle outside.  I told Randy he should take 20 gallons of water and a case of oil with him and see if he can make it to Nome.  One of the auto repair shops there would be better equipped for this job.

Security Camera

I spent the last two days working at the local store installing a new security camera system.  I installed 4 cameras around the store, a monitor and DVR recorder.  The system is mostly to deter people from shoplifting.

Another thing to add to the list of available services from Rudstrom Repair.

Honda Foreman

2008 Honda Foreman TRX 500 FM

This machine is a great example of Honda engineering.  It is nothing fancy or high performance, but well thought out and durable.  The engine is a basic single cylinder four stroke motor with push rod actuated overhead valves.  It is air/oil cooled with an electric fan.

This is a standard ATV here in the village. These machines will last forever if you keep oil in them.  Unfortunately people seem to have a habit of running them out of oil.  The normal engine disaster starts just after someone changes the oil.  They either strip the threads on the drain plug and it falls out a few days later or they put the oil filter in backwards.

The stripped threads are definitely operator error, but the upside down oil filter is an engineering mistake by Honda.  The filter is a cartridge type with a hole on one end and a spring that pushes on the other end.  If it is installed backwards the hole for the oil to flow through is blocked off and the engine does not get any oil.   I have seen these problems many times.

The lack of oil typically leads to an overheated piston and cylinder.  If you run it long enough like this the piston breaks.  The rod and crank have roller bearings, so they normally survive fine.  Being a push rod motor, the cam is low in the block and it normally has enough oil to survive.

I'm not sure what is wrong with this particular one yet, it smokes pretty bad out the exhaust, uses a lot of oil, and sounds a little "rattly", but it still runs ok.   I'll pull the top off tomorrow and see what it looks like inside.

C.O.

Meat

I shot a musk ox yesterday and I am hanging the meat for a few days to age it before I cut it up.

It actually isn't in the shop.  It is hanging in the "generator building", or storage shed next to the shop.

C.O.

Diaper Changing Table

A lot of the work that I do is for my own business, Rudstrom Repair.  But I also have a regular job too.  I do maintenance work for Kawerak for their Headstart preschool program.  I take care of the building here in Brevig and also travel around to four other villages.  The work ranges from boiler and heating system issues, plumbing problems, to loose door knobs.  I don't have any set hours that I work, it's just on an as needed basis.

This weekend one of the teachers here in Brevig asked me if I could help them put some new furniture together.  The had assembled most of it, but were stuck on the diaper changing table.

C.O.