Scooter Doc
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Post by bobf on Mar 13, 2011 16:04:47 GMT -6
I took my first ride on the scoot today. Works fine but for me I need a lot more practice to get comfortable. As the weather continues to warm I will be practicing a lot.
Wrap up of my different questions and posts.
Panels removal and reinstalling. When I took them off I left the lower panels attached to the center part. It took some serious persuasion to do that. I worried too about those lower panels being in the way and possibly scratching the rear side panels. So on the rebuild I had the lower side panels freed up and only had to struggle to get the center panel back in place.
I had the top two screws on the right and left of the two back panels removed. That was the way I managed to remove the center panel. A bit of pulling and pushing on the two parts to get them to clear each other. Going back in it was the same problem. Need some flexibility of the two panels so I could get them past each other and into place. Getting all the tab on the center panel in place took a while. But once done the panel fit pretty well.
Once the center panel was located I put the screws in place to hold it. Then it was necessary to put the three bolts in place first before installing the lower side panels. On the left side I put the lower side panel in place first and that made it very difficult to install the three bolts. So on the right side I put the three bolts in first and then the lower side panel. Much easier and faster.
And oh yes, before riding, it is best to put the seat back on.
I think on my next tear down I will just leave the lower panels in place and only remove the center panel. At least for now that will be my next effort.
Water pump dripping. It seems now to have stopped. Will keep watching it. None of the screws had a copper washer, all aluminum. I use a short open/closed end wrench that is only 4" from one bolt center to the other. Pretty small I think. Maybe next time I can buy a copper washer someplace.
Oil change was straight forward and no problems.
The gear box oil change was confusing but relatively simple. It came out clear but the gear oil Honda sold me was red. I assume that should be OK as it was a Honda extreme use 85 something or other. The folks at Honda said some engines just use motor oil and others need gear oil. What do I know at this time?
Gas tank gauge sensor leak was repaired by hand cutting a 1/8" piece of rubberized cork. I worked fine.
I took some pictures of things so I will try to get them ready to post. First I need to look up how to post pictures on this forum.
So far have enjoyed my challenges. Also enjoyed the advices that were posted. Happy and warm days to all. I will be back.
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Scooter Doc
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Post by bobf on Mar 13, 2011 6:44:06 GMT -6
Thanks Alleyoop. I am glad the tank is now dry.
Do you, or anyone else, have any ideas about getting that water pump drain bolt to stop leaking. I posted that yesterday afternoon, the 12th of March. Just two posts up. I am sure I am not the first with this drip drip drip problem at the water pump.
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Scooter Doc
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Post by bobf on Mar 12, 2011 15:54:02 GMT -6
I have most of the covers back on and only the seat remains to be installed. But another problem has happened.
As I have changed coolant and oil and gear grease I have run the motor on occasion before starting to put the covers on. Yesterday I noticed a few drops of coolant had gone to the floor. I re tightened the lower bolt on the water pump hoping that would do. Today while putting the covers on I see more coolant on the floor. Again I tried to re tighten the bolt. It seems quite tight and I no longer have a torque wrench as I gave them to my kids when I quite fixing cars.
So how much tighten can I put on those small bolts? With out a torque wrench for help.
What is the best action at this time? I suppose I should drain the coolant first. Clean the bolt. Spread more Loctite on the bolt and tighten a best I can.
If I put some gasket putty under the head of the bolt would that be a help or a mess? I could put some automotive silicon around the head of the bolt before installing. Is that a good idea or another mess. Curious because I hate a dripping engine.
Good advice, same as in the past, is needed.
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Scooter Doc
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Post by bobf on Mar 9, 2011 13:40:04 GMT -6
All OK for now. I looked for a gasket for the fuel sensor on Monday. Autozone had nothing I could use so I drove on out to the Honda place. Oh oh, Monday they are closed. Tuesday I drove back out to Honda and the guy put an O-ring on it. Did not work and my gas siphon would not work so I ended up on the garage floor with a bucket and rags and kept the leaking gas from spreading too far. Finally got the siphon to work and salvaged some of the gas. Then I went to a different auto store that the Honda guy told me about. They had a lot of 1/8 or better rubberize cork that is used for fuel systems in tractors. About 9" wide and they sold me a 9"X2" piece for a dollar. Measured the inside and outside dimensions, drew the two circles on paper then traced them onto the cork material. A little time with my razor knives to cut out the inside and scissors to cut the outside.
Well it worked. I had a slight ooze at first but with a couple turns on the nuts it all went away and I now have a dry gas tank. I replaced those original nuts with some nylon locking nuts so I won't be worrying about them backing off.
Now I start the radiator flush and oil and gear changes. I do have an oil drip from a bolt on the bottom of the motor. It looks almost like a drain plug and right behind the water pump. So when I do the oil change I will see what I can do about that leak.
I read the entire PDI section, printed it out so I could have it handy, some of that stuff seems a bit extreme but will do all I can.
I hope I don't come back with more problems. But comforting to know that there is help here if needed.
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Scooter Doc
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Post by bobf on Mar 7, 2011 7:18:02 GMT -6
Thanks for the link to the PDI information Cruiser. I book marked it for future use.
Good morning to all. I just got the fuel sensor out of the tank. Just takes the right position and angle to get it started out. I think I was almost there yesterday but I was getting tired and impatient so I quite for the day. The seal is hard as a rock so I will need to replace that. I will see what I can get at Autozone and buy some auto silicone RTV good for gas applications. This should start my reconstruction day. I read some of the PDI and will apply some of the replacement and will check all things for loose or tight. New electrical connectors, not sure, but will at least check them out.
Starting to get warmer each week so it won't be too long till the scoot must be ready to ride.
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Scooter Doc
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Post by bobf on Mar 6, 2011 18:50:55 GMT -6
Where is this PDI post? I have been browsing with no luck. I have tried "search" but was refused as the search term requires 4 characters. I was browsing what I thought was the tech section so now I am lost. I would like to see that section before I put my covers back on the scooter.
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Scooter Doc
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Post by bobf on Mar 6, 2011 18:12:26 GMT -6
New concern. I took off the square plate, worked the sensor housing loose and off the studs. Carefully pulled the sensor toward the outside but it ends up with the float too big to come through the hole. Could it have swollen from the gas in the tank? Maybe I am missing another ring seal or whatever that needs to be removed also. I put my finger inside the hole but could not find anything to remove or just plain missed it.
A bit stumped right now. It is a round hole and a round float as best as I can see. I don't want to try to force it with that thin wire as that would surely mess up the alignment of the float.
There was a round rubber gasket under the Bakelite base piece. And that is all I could find. I can't get it off till I get the float out.
I am done for today but will take another look in the morning. Alleyoop, if you or anyone else know what I should be doing I do appreciate good help. So far plenty here and I thank you all.
T hose four screws are not parallel to each other. The one seems to be slanted just a bit to the outside and to get the parts off they all were OK but on that one I had to force slightly and the parts made a bit of noise sliding up that screw.
Slowly learning.
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Post by bobf on Mar 6, 2011 17:06:41 GMT -6
Thanks to both of you. I have already siphoned the tank, watched the guage till it said about 1/4 full. It should be low enough now.
I like your ideas about fixing first and making gaskets. But if that all fails they are not that awful to buy at $19 plus $5 for shipping. I will have to check, my RTV may all be hardened or only for fish tanks. I am sure I can get an auto grade at the auto store tomorrow.
After I get the thing off I will look at the gasket material. I may have some in the shop or garage.
Off to do some more disassemble. Thanks again.
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Post by bobf on Mar 6, 2011 13:55:23 GMT -6
Time is against me. The area below the gauge assembly continues to be wet. Now I think it is coming from the area where the cable goes in. Can that item be tightened? I lookes like plastic so I am afraid to mess with it.
If it were just from the gasket area I would try JB Weld first and if that failed I would order a new gauge and gaskets, But since it seems to be leaking from the center cable port I am not sure where next except order a new gauge assembly.
Any ideas on this? Or the best place to order fuel sensor?
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Post by bobf on Mar 6, 2011 12:40:37 GMT -6
Inspection results. No water leaks at all that I could find. So I cleaned up the mess on the bottom and dried as much as I could. The cloth under the scooter had a yellow like coolant but had sour smell and I thought I was glad I was about to drain and refill.
But a few minutes later I saw a drop off the bottom of the gas tank. I traced that back up and found fluid just below the fuel gauge port. Some screws were loose and some were snug. I went over all four screws and tightened them. Then I dried the tank and the bottom off real well. I will wait a while and then look again. If I am lucky I have a dry tank, if not then I will probably need to get new gaskets for the gauge assembly and reinstall it.
Time will tell.
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Post by bobf on Mar 6, 2011 10:36:34 GMT -6
More advice needed, probably from Cruiser.
I have removed many screws and have the lower panels and the plastic loose, almost. I was wondering you you got your seat to go so far over. My seat only goes up about 3/4 of the way. I also noticed that there are three bolts down from the seat into the hing bracket. I am thinking about removing the seat to make more clearance for removal and install.
My question at this time is how did you remove that large mass of plastic from the scooter. Did you roll it forward or did you roll it backward. Right now I still have some material under the right rear side panel. With the seat off I should be able to loosen that side. Then the other place is at the front by the overflow tank and gas tank. It seems to be tight even though I have pried those alignment tabs apart. So my question of rolling it forward or backward. I was thinking that I needed to clear those filler tubes before removing either way but it is not co-operating at this time.
Reinstall will likely be another problem. Getting all those alignment tabs reconnected. This must have been one of the first items to be installed at the factory as it seems that just about everything is on top of it.
So if you have any hints that might help I would appreciate them.
EDIT TO ADD: I took the seat off and that was a great help. Then I got stuck trying to get the floor cover off the overflow bottle. The lip around the floor piece was caught on the ridge of the bottle. I will cut that opening in the floor to allow more mismatch without jamming.
Now to look everything over and find the problem.
Thanks for the help.
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Post by bobf on Mar 6, 2011 7:06:47 GMT -6
Thanks for the responses. Today I will begin to remove the top cover over the gas tank. I will then find out just how much work that might be and if I need to remove other panels as well.
Good time for me to learn about how this machine was assembled. This should make me feel better about any future fixings to do if required.
Thanks to both of you.
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Post by bobf on Mar 5, 2011 15:03:35 GMT -6
I still have not gotten to ride this thing yet. Too cold but getting close.
No radiator or hose leaking found by 'search'.
I noticed two days ago that there was a coolant leak directly under the motor. Not much, just a few drops. Today I was in the garage and saw another puddle but this time under the reservoir area but it was more to the right like under the gas tank.
And it has not been run these last few days.
So before I do start riding and have bad experience I would like to go over the hoses and clamps to see what might be the problem.
What is the best way to do that. Are there some covers I could remove? Like the bottom splash cover or the floor pad over the reservoir and gas tank. What ever someone thinks will make hose and radiator checking possible.
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Post by bobf on Feb 28, 2011 12:50:59 GMT -6
Thanks again Alleyoop. I finally found out what you were saying and I was not visualizing. I followed Cruisers idea and took the cover off the battery. There it was, the carburetor. Just enough to allow me to adjust the idle screw. It is now sitting at about 1800 on the tach. It wanders a slight bit over time but more or less 1800.
I had the battery cover off for a long time but I guess it never registered that the carb was right the. So after I finally covered the battery I just did not remember that thing. On the rear portion of the tub is the 4X8 opening that I mentioned above. I suppose that is for access to the spark plug. Anything more serious probably means I will need to take the side panels off and/or drop the motor assm for repairs. First I plan on getting some many many hours of good riding done.
This scooter is a big new thing for me. Most of my past mechanical experience has been on the big V8's of the 50's thru 80's. I have torn them down and rebuilt engines, swapped out and replaced carbs, pulled axles and even pulled the differential and reinstalled after a fix on it. But this little guy is all new to me. I apologize for my slowness in understanding what was written to me. But I am still a student and after many questions and answers I will learn.
I will watch for any and all hints and tips on this forum, but may decide to buy a book too.
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Post by bobf on Feb 28, 2011 9:40:37 GMT -6
Thanks for the inputs. Leading me to what I was trying to avoid. Today I will go out and see what I can do and then report back. Maybe with photos if I remember to take the camera with me. Right now it is only 20F outside and about 30F inside the garage. I will wait a bit for the outside to warm up. With the garage doors open it will be quite cold now. In the afternoon the outside temp might go into the 40's F.
Any experience with the Haynes scooter books here? They have several but they also have one called Chinese Scooters for about $30. I am thinking of buying one but might change my mind if one of the others is suggested.
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