Topica Loopframe_Guzzi Archive


Subject: RE: Left push rod / head problem reveiled

Author: Ian Adkins

Date: Mar 15, 2004, 9:54 AM

Post ID: 1716304899



Thanks for the reply Ken,

Yeah...now that I think about it....you put a lot more stress on an engine
than my 70 has ever seen :-)

Head gasket was fine...at least no indication of any type of leakage.

You may be right about the guides. I don't think the heads were ever
done...just inspected by Eish prior to reassembly. Mileage on the engine was
approx 22,000 miles when I rebuilt it. I didn't put more than 3k miles on it
since the rebuild and never stressed the engine. The bike ran flawlessly up
to the day of failure.

Of course I had the rocker clearances set right and checked them as per the
schedule. When I pulled the rocker and head everything looked normal too. No
metal bits ....no obvious signs of excessive wear. A little more carbon on
the piston crowns than I would like to see but other than that everything
looked good. Weird.

Will let you all know what I find out as the investigation continues....Ian

 -----Original Message-----
From: Ken Pitts [mailto:MGcoo-@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2004 10:03 AM
To: Loopfram-@topica.com
Subject: Re: Left push rod / head problem reveiled



In a message dated 3/15/04 9:19:48 AM, ianad-@linkamerica.net writes:

 Could this rapid accel/decel have caused the stress in the rod?
I doubt it, unless you revved the bike enough to float the valves. I'm
running the stock push rods in the race bike & as you can imagine
it gets a lot of
rapid accel/decel & never complains. How many miles on this bike? I would
suspect a worn guide causing the valve to seize or as someone
else pointed out a
blown head gasket allowing the push rod to heat up to the point
of bending.
Ken
Asheville, NC

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