Wow Mr. Condon, what a series! I'm really glad that this is actually your side hustle and your personal time investment is more about generating the content than making a labor rate - a pro shop would have abandoned this way back in part 1 and your lucky viewers wouldn't have gotten to come along for the ride. Wonderful perseverance, methodical problem-solving, and in the end a viable machine for someone. Also, I think you have demonstrated a personal characteristic that appeals to a lot of your viewers... you're a stubborn sonofagun who doesn't like for a machine to beat him!😆
Really nice series, I just decided to follow this it interesting . I myself play with dum stuff. I have a predator version of this. I.e Honda clone. Yes very little parts support. This wk I have to rip into the thing again for a few minor issues from the 1st attempt of repair. Hopefully a good out come. I can't swing a new unit.
You really need to add a plaque to all your generators that says "Professionally Rebuilt by James Condon". You're getting pretty well known and it would increase the value and everyone would rather buy it then a store one. Case in point: That valve. I'm willing to bet it was a factory assembly defect. The James Condon "factory" would never let something like that get through. If I were going to buy a new generator, I would give it to you to tear down and make sure it was assembled correctly. Well, almost. But, I think all your viewers would agree that they respect the high quality your work.
That's a good idea. Someone suggested marking the bottom of the fuel tanks or putting some other mark on it so I know if I've worked on it before. On the flip side, when it eventually breaks down again, not sure I want my name on it.
@@jcondon1 James anyone with any degree of common sense knows that anything mechanical is prone to break down. With little research on the buyer's part, they would have the up most confidence that you were the one who repaired it. They would know that no stone was not unturned during the repair. I think you should put your name on it along with your You Tube channel maybe even with the video series and date you did with that Generator.
Wow, you're the Sherlock Holmes of small engine diagnoses. I've been watching your vids for a while, and I have heard you mention the decompression system several times but never had any idea what that is. After watching this video, I have a much clearer understanding now. And the way you were able to troubleshoot and fix the problem was a deep dive that I am certain only the 1% in small engine repair are capable of for what was likely a factory defect. I guess you get what you pay for especially when buying Chinesium. I don't own a generator, but I do own lawn mowers and the like, so I really enjoy learning how to repair these small engines. Thanks and kudos!
No Mechanic i have seen in my life ,has so clean nails 24:18 James Condon , your wife must be a Manicure Pro . Thanks for all the videos /uploads . we learn a lot every time . Love from Denmark
Nice job! It is very apparent that "half ass" is NOT in your dictionary or mindset. It is always a pleasure to observe and benefit from a job well done.
I knew you'd win in the end! I learned something new, on the rotator cap for the valve spring being worn like that. I'd probably have never looked at that as a culprit for the compression issue, thanks for sharing that with us, along with your awesome videos. God bless. Rev. D.
"This carburetor is fairly clean and probably will work. But if I don't clean it, you know it won't work." ABSOLUTELY!!! You and I have the same luck with carbs!!! Another excellent video!
I'm a worn out old mechanic of 40+ years. We use to pump the cylinder full of compressed air and leave it on when we replaced valve seals or valve springs with the cylinder head still on to hold the valves in place. I really enjoy your content!
This was a well done tour through a "mystery machine". One of our local power equipment dealers says the exact same thing about parts being questionable on whether they will be available, or if they will fit. I fully understand that you were "rolling the dice" on some of the parts, and I'm glad to see a victorious result. Hopefully now that things are carefully adjusted it can live a long healthy life serving the end user. That is how I view anything I make or fix. Let this product/repair serve its owner well for the rest of its usable life.
I watch several channels similar to this, and often wonder about the kind of warranty, if any, do these rebuilder-restorers place on their finished product for sale?
A lot to learn in this series. Thanks. Glad that at the end it is back to being a good unit. A lot of time and effort but worth it. Running and starting well. Dave.
This is the best looking generator and video series I've seen. I'm glad you changed the filter box with a metal one. The more plastic, the worse quality in my opinion. This thing looks like a $2000 generator now.
So glad you took on this challenge. I never get tired of listening to you diagnose these problems on engines and generators. I will never understand all that electrical stuff but you certainly have it nailed. Thank you for the video's.
Long and hard to fix video, but well worth it. I have had rotators come off engines on several occasions, but never had a rocker fail like that one. Maybe someone else was in that engine. Thanks for a great video.
These three videos are a masters class on engine repair. The generator work up is a bonus. Same goes for the video itself. Another master class in efficiency of time and motion. Even when you changed the plan, the changes came at thoughtful points along the project timeline. I, literally, feel more knowledgeable after seeing every ep…
Sorry I have to watch your videos two times... Once at night your calm voice puts me to sleep and again at lunch when I have a bit. Its funny when at the end you start the generator and it wakes me up signalling me to close the laptop...
I seem to pick up little tricks watching your videos. The rope in the cylinder was a ""wow"" moment. It works, and won't harm anything. Great video. Thanks
Another great outcome interesting and entertaining diagnosis. I would never have suspected that valve retainer as the cause of the compression release not working.
As a mechanic we had an adapter for the spark plug and used compressed air to hold the valves closed when we changed the valve seals. I hope the valve stem is not worn where it meets the retainer.
@@dougjones9493 Could stub your toe too getting out of bed... best not to get out of bed just in case something would happen.... just in case. Some people..... :rolleyes:
James (Jim?) you are a blessing to us, as is everyone, including your wife and famiky for giving you the time to gift all of this to us! My impression is that you didn't put a rotator cap on. Perhaps there never was one: which makes the seized con rod all the more puzzling. Anyway, huraah! And thanks again!
Many thanks for this series of videos on this machine, solving the problems that you run into along the way with very useful and informative explanations. I'm delighted that you got it reach final success and hope that,what with the cost of the spare parts and all your time involved in doing so, it turns a profit for you once sold.
I liked this one some months ago but did not comment. I just revisited it. There were lots of problems. I love the way you deal with one of them at a time. I also like the way you decide to prioritize the problems in order. I can learn from this.
Awesome series. Nothing more satisfying then getting junk to run as good as new and saving money on not having to buy an overpriced new one. look forward to the next video.
Good morning James and generator people. Or shall I say Sherlock Holmes and generator people. How many times I have seen in the previous two videos and didn't realize that there was a difference between the caps on top of the springs. Nice job enjoy the slot. Thank you I hope you and your family are doing well. Take care
Couldn't you pressurize the cylinder with air to how the valve closed? You are the master, & I am grasshopper. Though you have taught me much, I am no way ready to even try to snatch the pebble from your hand. I love watching you work, you have the hands of a surgeon.
All three videos were great! So the rotator cap was resting on the valve spring retainer cap and not the top of the valve stem. This situation was caused by excessive wear of the valve spring retainer cap. James that was an excellent insight. Thanks for the lesson.
Oh man, all that wonderful detail and footage and you didn't demonstrate if the auto-idle worked on that one...This is inspiring me to get out there and look for some "junk" to fix!
Was worth the wait for #3. Did a very good job. To bad your east coast I'd buy any of your rebuilt or turned up generator. As I've said before have used many of your tips and fixes on my Colman and Onan generator to keep them running tip-top. Keep it up. Michael
if i don't clean it it's not gonna work im glad this is true for not just me lol truer words have never been typed glad your here buddy i know a lot but continue to learn from you and others kudos my friend
I enjoy each video, it helps me to build confidence in doing repairs myself. Although I will definitely come back and reference any relevant videos. :)
That's cold. Only 0 here. Have a couple of generators to bring outside and load test. The are stacking up. Been waiting for nice day. Might be waiting a while.
Thanks for commenting on which hole to use for the gov. Spring and throttle this time and in the future. Often times we are following Mongo who took the unit apart and may or may not have put things back in the right holes. Excellent series!
I watch you all the time but I watch you on my smart TV and I don't have the ability to comment to you. You have taught me an awful lot. I have to buy some tools because I am sure that I am going to have to do a carb job. I will be video a carb job of yours on my cell phone because I don't have a way to clean the carb except with carb cleaner. Wish me luck. Keep up the good work.
Instead of using the rope you can use your leak down tester and and put some pressure into the cylinder to keep your valve in place. Oh and yes you need to lock your flywheel in place in order to do that. Always enjoy your videos keep it up!
Putting rope into the spark plug hole to hold the valves closed is a brilliant idea. That way the head doesn’t need to be removed to fix valve gear issues such as worn valve spring retainers, leaking valve stem oil seals, or weak valve springs. I’ll remember this tip! Nearly 50 years ago (during my motorcycle mechanic days) I used a slightly different method to replace an entire set of 8 leaky valve stem seals in a 4-cylinder Honda CB500 bike. The bad seals caused my bike to smoke like a 2-stroke. The faulty valve stem oil seals were a Honda factory defect (unusual for Honda but the CB500 was a new model that year). The official Honda service bulletin for replacing their faulty valve stem seals said “remove the head.” That’s a lengthy procedure for a 4-cylinder OHC motorcycle engine. I didn’t want to do that. So I drilled out an old spark plug and tightly attached a male air adaptor to it. That way I could use shop air to hold the valves closed. I rotated the engine to TDC (on the cylinder I was working on) and clamped the flywheel to prevent the crank from rotating. Then I pressurized the cylinder with shop air, removed the valve springs, and changed out the leaky valve stem seals with Honda’s improved replacements. No more smoky exhaust after that. But if I had known about this “rope trick” the job would have been even easier.
Fantastic video series James. I learnt a lot! I’ve never seen anyone delve into the compression release side of things, so that in particular was very interesting. Regards from Australia.
Nice work sir, thank you for sharing , small engines is no problem for me, but the electronics of a generator....well not so much. Lol. I'm learning alot from watching your videos, keep up the good work.
Yes I knew you'd do it 👍 As usual every time I learn something new from you Mr James specially this type of generators because i own one like this so i really appreciate your effort in explaining the details and making all these videos which takes along time to make them... I really thank you so much and may God always be with you and your family .. My regards Mr. James 👍
Your approach to repairing mechanical things reminds me of a book I read a long time ago: Zen and the art of Motorcycle maintenance by Robert M. Persig. Quality work James.
Hi James great sitting in your class today I always enjoy your sauce of knowledge you share with us A good part 3 to finish on mate a well done job time for a cup of tea here in the UK
G'day James, I did a job for a friend and he gave me one of those as payment as he'd purchased a Honda. It was a 3500 electric start it ran for ten minutes before it started to make a noise, the stator bolts were incorrectly tensioned from new so it poled out and that was that. You must check every nut and bolt on any of those Chondas from new 👍🇦🇺.
Glad that the valve retainer was the only thing causing what appeared to be a decomp issue! Great one with lots of twists and turns. Educational as always and very much appreciate the time, effort and commitment to excellence that you put into the VIDEO work! That is on top of the same attributes that you are already putting into the mechanical work. Second to none I say! 👏
Was totally looking forward to the conclusion of this series. Excellent workmanship! Total respect from an auto mechanic in Ontario Canada! Love and blessings! Love to meet you some day!
Excellent series and thanks to you i took the carb off my snow blower ,cleaned it and now it starts first pull every time and i really needed it in Ohio this year .
In the end it worked out more than pretty well James ! Great job , You started with an engine that was almost seized and made it run again . Makes good power to .. ENJOYED the restore of this one . I like those larger clone generators because generator head units seems to hold up better .Due to the fact most folks don't run 6-7 KW on them for any amount of time ..
Hi James, Love your instructional videos. with reference to doing work to valve retainers without taking the head off, i once made (out of necessity) a de ceramic ed spark plug into an air line adaptor that screwed into the cylinder head connected to an airline feed so at TDC i could pull the valve caps and collects off to replace a broken valve spring then re assemble it all.. made life so easy and a hard job so much easier.. I hope this Idea may be of some use in the future..Thanks for your videos.. Ian..UK.
Great job James, I really enjoyed this series and all of your knowledge. I am sure happy I found your YT channel, I will be following your up coming challenges. Thanks so much.
One lucky save with the wonky exhaust valve keeper! Yet again another great repair by the Master/Wizard J. Condon...! You get an extra Star when you change the 8500 to a 7500 Series....!
Nice to see it back together and running! Job well done! Frustrating that the frequency had such a gap between load and no load.. You make me want to get my 15kw Generac out and play with stuff on it.. 👍🏻
Excellent job James..that valve retainer would have had a lot of people scratching their heads..but you caught it..i like your channel more every time i see it..this will be a good generator for someone it's like new now.. See you on the next one Cheers 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Hi Jim.... currently at work so I'll catch your vid later tonight. Finally had a chance to watch while waiting for new tires for my wife's car. As always excellent production value. Great job on the rebuild. The things you find and learn from are valuable. I always enjoy your videos. Thanks for sharing. Be well.
That was a good catch on the starting decompression issue. The orientation of the valve spring retainer cap did NOT look that intuitive if I saw and understood you correctly.
I have a new Westinghouse 9500DF that is very hard to turn. Amazon replaced it with a working one and gave me the non-working one. I don't see any damage the indicates it has been damaged. Compression is near 120. I will be watching your videos. I will tear into next month. Your videos give me the confidence to do the project.
Wow Mr. Condon, what a series! I'm really glad that this is actually your side hustle and your personal time investment is more about generating the content than making a labor rate - a pro shop would have abandoned this way back in part 1 and your lucky viewers wouldn't have gotten to come along for the ride. Wonderful perseverance, methodical problem-solving, and in the end a viable machine for someone. Also, I think you have demonstrated a personal characteristic that appeals to a lot of your viewers... you're a stubborn sonofagun who doesn't like for a machine to beat him!😆
Dude has the patience of Job.
Really nice series, I just decided to follow this it interesting . I myself play with dum stuff. I have a predator version of this. I.e Honda clone. Yes very little parts support.
This wk I have to rip into the thing again for a few minor issues from the 1st attempt of repair. Hopefully a good out come. I can't swing a new unit.
Well said Brewster !
Yep!
@@mchl8 very best wishes for that next step!
Yes, another episode of the mechanical soap opera "As The Generator Turns"! Well done, as usual.
As soon as I saw the "Lifan" name, I knew this would be a 2 or 3 part video series.
You really need to add a plaque to all your generators that says "Professionally Rebuilt by James Condon". You're getting pretty well known and it would increase the value and everyone would rather buy it then a store one. Case in point: That valve. I'm willing to bet it was a factory assembly defect. The James Condon "factory" would never let something like that get through. If I were going to buy a new generator, I would give it to you to tear down and make sure it was assembled correctly. Well, almost. But, I think all your viewers would agree that they respect the high quality your work.
That's a good idea. Someone suggested marking the bottom of the fuel tanks or putting some other mark on it so I know if I've worked on it before. On the flip side, when it eventually breaks down again, not sure I want my name on it.
@@jcondon1 James anyone with any degree of common sense knows that anything mechanical is prone to break down. With little research on the buyer's part, they would have the up most confidence that you were the one who repaired it. They would know that no stone was not unturned during the repair.
I think you should put your name on it along with your You Tube channel maybe even with the video series and date you did with that Generator.
Me wonders if the engine droop is caused by a weak or out-of-spec governator spring.@@jcondon1
Wow, you're the Sherlock Holmes of small engine diagnoses. I've been watching your vids for a while, and I have heard you mention the decompression system several times but never had any idea what that is. After watching this video, I have a much clearer understanding now. And the way you were able to troubleshoot and fix the problem was a deep dive that I am certain only the 1% in small engine repair are capable of for what was likely a factory defect. I guess you get what you pay for especially when buying Chinesium. I don't own a generator, but I do own lawn mowers and the like, so I really enjoy learning how to repair these small engines. Thanks and kudos!
No Mechanic i have seen in my life ,has so clean nails 24:18 James Condon , your wife must be a Manicure Pro . Thanks for all the videos /uploads . we learn a lot every time . Love from Denmark
Everyone who owns a generator should watch your channel. I have learned so much.
One thing I like about your videos is that you show every single detail.
Nice job! It is very apparent that "half ass" is NOT in your dictionary or mindset. It is always a pleasure to observe and benefit from a job well done.
I knew you'd win in the end! I learned something new, on the rotator cap for the valve spring being worn like that. I'd probably have never looked at that as a culprit for the compression issue, thanks for sharing that with us, along with your awesome videos. God bless. Rev. D.
"This carburetor is fairly clean and probably will work. But if I don't clean it, you know it won't work." ABSOLUTELY!!! You and I have the same luck with carbs!!! Another excellent video!
Best three-part clone generator rebuild series on UA-cam. Change my mind!
I'm a worn out old mechanic of 40+ years. We use to pump the cylinder full of compressed air and leave it on when we replaced valve seals or valve springs with the cylinder head still on to hold the valves in place. I really enjoy your content!
I have considered doing that. Always afraid the engine is going to rotate.
This was a well done tour through a "mystery machine". One of our local power equipment dealers says the exact same thing about parts being questionable on whether they will be available, or if they will fit. I fully understand that you were "rolling the dice" on some of the parts, and I'm glad to see a victorious result. Hopefully now that things are carefully adjusted it can live a long healthy life serving the end user. That is how I view anything I make or fix. Let this product/repair serve its owner well for the rest of its usable life.
I watch several channels similar to this, and often wonder about the kind of warranty, if any, do these rebuilder-restorers place on their finished product for sale?
A lot to learn in this series. Thanks. Glad that at the end it is back to being a good unit. A lot of time and effort but worth it. Running and starting well.
Dave.
10 points for sticking with it. Most people would have given up on it much sooner. Another one saved from land fill.
James I love how you will take your time to fix it right seems like to me you love to see the older generators run again
Good job James. Took a genset headed for the scrap heap and made a fine generator for someone.
This is the best looking generator and video series I've seen.
I'm glad you changed the filter box with a metal one. The more plastic, the worse quality in my opinion.
This thing looks like a $2000 generator now.
So glad you took on this challenge. I never get tired of listening to you diagnose these problems on engines and generators. I will never understand all that electrical stuff but you certainly have it nailed. Thank you for the video's.
That was one problematic machine! However, it made an excellent teaching project. Thanks for sharing your knowlege and experience.
Your diagnostic ability combined with your overall knowledge are something special.
Long and hard to fix video, but well worth it. I have had rotators come off engines on several occasions, but never had a rocker fail like that one. Maybe someone else was in that engine. Thanks for a great video.
I think one was in there for sure
Another "From trash to treasure" episode.
Learned a lot. Thanks James.
These three videos are a masters class on engine repair. The generator work up is a bonus.
Same goes for the video itself. Another master class in efficiency of time and motion. Even when you changed the plan, the changes came at thoughtful points along the project timeline.
I, literally, feel more knowledgeable after seeing every ep…
Thanks!
@@jcondon1 and the piquancy of the battery plate, "For the next guy." Sweet!
LiFan LiFan, I am your fan. Three episodes, perseverance at max. Good filming and narrating.
Thank you so much. I learned something about the position of the valve retainer... I would buy from you anytime...
Sorry I have to watch your videos two times... Once at night your calm voice puts me to sleep and again at lunch when I have a bit.
Its funny when at the end you start the generator and it wakes me up signalling me to close the laptop...
I seem to pick up little tricks watching your videos. The rope in the cylinder was a ""wow"" moment. It works, and won't harm anything. Great video. Thanks
Another great outcome interesting and entertaining diagnosis. I would never have suspected that valve retainer as the cause of the compression release not working.
It was a long shot, but glad that was it.
As a mechanic we had an adapter for the spark plug and used compressed air to hold the valves closed when we changed the valve seals. I hope the valve stem is not worn where it meets the retainer.
what happens if you push hard enough on the valve? the valve would jump into the cylinder when the air gets out
@@markae0 I never had that happen with 150 lbs of air pressure.
@@dougjones9493 Right-O just the chance the hose pumping the air pressure breaks loose, or the air supply/compressor fails.
@@markae0 yes anything can happen the sun could explode tomorrow and we wouldn't have to worry about what if.
@@dougjones9493 Could stub your toe too getting out of bed... best not to get out of bed just in case something would happen.... just in case. Some people..... :rolleyes:
Another great teaching video ! Who would haver thought that the valve rotator cap and the plate was the issue ?Great mechanical sleuth work !
James (Jim?) you are a blessing to us, as is everyone, including your wife and famiky for giving you the time to gift all of this to us!
My impression is that you didn't put a rotator cap on. Perhaps there never was one: which makes the seized con rod all the more puzzling.
Anyway, huraah! And thanks again!
Big shoutout to Amazon for supplying all the cardboard James uses!!
Thanks for the series of videos, I really enjoyed seeing how you worked through the problems. Regards Mike 🇬🇧
It's official, James wins the award for warmest backyard on youtube!😁
My goodness, this series ought to be nominated for best something, it was great. I'm impressed you can start a 15 hp engine with a pull start.
Its easy, now that the decompression system works!
YOU SIR R A BAD ASS !!!! ive been a mechanic for 40 years n dont really know a lot about small engines but you r teaching me and i thank you !!!
Thanks Raymond!
That was a great series! I enjoyed all the knowledge you shared during the repair / rebuild. Thanks 👍
Very well done. You are tenacious. I appreciate that you didn't give up. You are an amazing teacher. Your videos are of a very high quality.
Excellent. I have 3 Westinghouse 9500. One needs an overhaul. Thanks for all your knowledge. The video was relaxing to watch.
Many thanks for this series of videos on this machine, solving the problems that you run into along the way with very useful and informative explanations. I'm delighted that you got it reach final success and hope that,what with the cost of the spare parts and all your time involved in doing so, it turns a profit for you once sold.
I liked this one some months ago but did not comment. I just revisited it. There were lots of problems. I love the way you deal with one of them at a time. I also like the way you decide to prioritize the problems in order. I can learn from this.
Awesome series. Nothing more satisfying then getting junk to run as good as new and saving money on not having to buy an overpriced new one. look forward to the next video.
Good morning James and generator people. Or shall I say Sherlock Holmes and generator people. How many times I have seen in the previous two videos and didn't realize that there was a difference between the caps on top of the springs. Nice job enjoy the slot. Thank you I hope you and your family are doing well. Take care
Couldn't you pressurize the cylinder with air to how the valve closed? You are the master, & I am grasshopper. Though you have taught me much, I am no way ready to even try to snatch the pebble from your hand. I love watching you work, you have the hands of a surgeon.
When given the choice. Always choose KISS first.
Well done James, well done spotting that valve retainer as well. Your a true pro
Hi, James. I am glad I watched all of this video. There is always something to learn. Thanks for sharing! Stay Healthy!
All three videos were great! So the rotator cap was resting on the valve spring retainer cap and not the top of the valve stem. This situation was caused by excessive wear of the valve spring retainer cap. James that was an excellent insight. Thanks for the lesson.
Oh man, all that wonderful detail and footage and you didn't demonstrate if the auto-idle worked on that one...This is inspiring me to get out there and look for some "junk" to fix!
Was worth the wait for #3. Did a very good job. To bad your east coast I'd buy any of your rebuilt or turned up generator.
As I've said before have used many of your tips and fixes on my Colman and Onan generator to keep them running tip-top. Keep it up.
Michael
I am impressed, not only with your knowledge but the ability to render things down to the good, bad and ugly, and make it beautiful.
You did a great job James , and it was great you figured out how engine failed.
if i don't clean it it's not gonna work im glad this is true for not just me lol truer words have never been typed glad your here buddy i know a lot but continue to learn from you and others kudos my friend
I enjoy each video, it helps me to build confidence in doing repairs myself. Although I will definitely come back and reference any relevant videos. :)
Jim, these serialized episodes bring back memories of my youth when we had to "tune in next week" to see what happened. Lol. BTW, minus 24F here.
can goku defeat freeza? can vegeta finally become super saiyan? tune in next week for the new episode of dragon ball Z
That's cold. Only 0 here. Have a couple of generators to bring outside and load test. The are stacking up. Been waiting for nice day. Might be waiting a while.
@@jcondon1 hahaha--i have one that i want to flash but i dont dare touch any metal until April. Thanks for great vids.
Thanks for commenting on which hole to use for the gov. Spring and throttle this time and in the future. Often times we are following Mongo who took the unit apart and may or may not have put things back in the right holes. Excellent series!
I watch you all the time but I watch you on my smart TV and I don't have the ability to comment to you. You have taught me an awful lot. I have to buy some tools because I am sure that I am going to have to do a carb job. I will be video a carb job of yours on my cell phone because I don't have a way to clean the carb except with carb cleaner. Wish me luck. Keep up the good work.
Instead of using the rope you can use your leak down tester and and put some pressure into the cylinder to keep your valve in place. Oh and yes you need to lock your flywheel in place in order to do that. Always enjoy your videos keep it up!
Putting rope into the spark plug hole to hold the valves closed is a brilliant idea. That way the head doesn’t need to be removed to fix valve gear issues such as worn valve spring retainers, leaking valve stem oil seals, or weak valve springs. I’ll remember this tip!
Nearly 50 years ago (during my motorcycle mechanic days) I used a slightly different method to replace an entire set of 8 leaky valve stem seals in a 4-cylinder Honda CB500 bike. The bad seals caused my bike to smoke like a 2-stroke. The faulty valve stem oil seals were a Honda factory defect (unusual for Honda but the CB500 was a new model that year). The official Honda service bulletin for replacing their faulty valve stem seals said “remove the head.” That’s a lengthy procedure for a 4-cylinder OHC motorcycle engine. I didn’t want to do that. So I drilled out an old spark plug and tightly attached a male air adaptor to it. That way I could use shop air to hold the valves closed. I rotated the engine to TDC (on the cylinder I was working on) and clamped the flywheel to prevent the crank from rotating. Then I pressurized the cylinder with shop air, removed the valve springs, and changed out the leaky valve stem seals with Honda’s improved replacements. No more smoky exhaust after that. But if I had known about this “rope trick” the job would have been even easier.
Fantastic video series James. I learnt a lot! I’ve never seen anyone delve into the compression release side of things, so that in particular was very interesting. Regards from Australia.
Nice work sir, thank you for sharing , small engines is no problem for me, but the electronics of a generator....well not so much. Lol. I'm learning alot from watching your videos, keep up the good work.
Very nice work on this one James, I'm glad you decided to fix it instead of using it for parts, it runs good!
Yes I knew you'd do it 👍
As usual every time I learn something new from you Mr James specially this type of generators because i own one like this so i really appreciate your effort in explaining the details and making all these videos which takes along time to make them... I really thank you so much and may God always be with you and your family ..
My regards Mr. James 👍
That is a great job rebuilding the genarator. I enjoyed the whole series.
Great job James! Excellent series and rebuild!
Thanks!
Your approach to repairing mechanical things reminds me of a book I read a long time ago: Zen and the art of Motorcycle maintenance by Robert M. Persig. Quality work James.
Phaedra would be all those executive engineers cutting corners to save 3¢ for them and landfill for us.
Always enjoy watching you put a generator right, gonna end up being the best possible version of what it is
Excellent work! Thanks for taking me along for the ride.
Hi James great sitting in your class today I always enjoy your sauce of knowledge you share with us A good part 3 to finish on mate a well done job time for a cup of tea here in the UK
Thanks Dean!
G'day James, I did a job for a friend and he gave me one of those as payment as he'd purchased a Honda. It was a 3500 electric start it ran for ten minutes before it started to make a noise, the stator bolts were incorrectly tensioned from new so it poled out and that was that. You must check every nut and bolt on any of those Chondas from new 👍🇦🇺.
Glad that the valve retainer was the only thing causing what appeared to be a decomp issue! Great one with lots of twists and turns. Educational as always and very much appreciate the time, effort and commitment to excellence that you put into the VIDEO work! That is on top of the same attributes that you are already putting into the mechanical work. Second to none I say! 👏
Thanks Eric
Was totally looking forward to the conclusion of this series. Excellent workmanship! Total respect from an auto mechanic in Ontario Canada! Love and blessings! Love to meet you some day!
I g go or one am glad you did this project. A ton of great information…
Be safe out there…
Excellent series and thanks to you i took the carb off my snow blower ,cleaned it and now it starts first pull every time and i really needed it in Ohio this year .
In the end it worked out more than pretty well James ! Great job , You started with an engine that was almost seized and made it run again . Makes good power to .. ENJOYED the restore of this one . I like those larger clone generators because generator head units seems to hold up better .Due to the fact most folks don't run 6-7 KW on them for any amount of time ..
Hi James, Love your instructional videos. with reference to doing work to valve retainers without taking the head off, i once made (out of necessity) a de ceramic ed spark plug into an air line adaptor that screwed into the cylinder head connected to an airline feed so at TDC i could pull the valve caps and collects off to replace a broken valve spring then re assemble it all.. made life so easy and a hard job so much easier.. I hope this Idea may be of some use in the future..Thanks for your videos.. Ian..UK.
its far better then first got , yet another good repair , well done
Amazing and REFRESHING to see someone actually using a torque wrench rather than the typical "farmer tight" method. Good videos.
Great job James, I really enjoyed this series and all of your knowledge. I am sure happy I found your YT channel, I will be following your up coming challenges. Thanks so much.
Great series James - glad to see that nice little gennie is working so well again!
You did a fantastic job. Your attention to detail and great explanations at each step is excellent. Well done.
Great job James! Excellent...Always enjoy watching you put a generator right...
One lucky save with the wonky exhaust valve keeper! Yet again another great repair by the Master/Wizard J. Condon...! You get an extra Star when you change the 8500 to a 7500 Series....!
I am learning I've always been a slow learner but you make it real easy thanks and a great job
Appreciate the detail on how you rebuild rebuild the the workmanship is great appreciate your appreciate your showing us
Nice to see it back together and running! Job well done!
Frustrating that the frequency had such a gap between load and no load..
You make me want to get my 15kw Generac out and play with stuff on it.. 👍🏻
That's a nice generator. Been looking to buy a broken one of those.
Play it safe! Add witness marks on the stator, bell housing, and the end cap. Great job!
Excellent job James..that valve retainer would have had a lot of people scratching their heads..but you caught it..i like your channel more every time i see it..this will be a good generator for someone it's like new now..
See you on the next one Cheers 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Thanks! I almost missed it.
Love watching your process of troubleshooting problems.. your the master.. great video Mr.James
Once again I learned a lot. Thank you James for this series.
Hi Jim.... currently at work so I'll catch your vid later tonight. Finally had a chance to watch while waiting for new tires for my wife's car. As always excellent production value. Great job on the rebuild. The things you find and learn from are valuable. I always enjoy your videos. Thanks for sharing. Be well.
ok buddy. work tight
Great job I’d rather have one of these that you have gone through than a new generator 👍
That was a good catch on the starting decompression issue. The orientation of the valve spring retainer cap did NOT look that intuitive if I saw and understood you correctly.
Not bad for a genset you bought for parts. Keep up the great work!
Gonna have to start calling you Mr Small Engine AND Mr Generator! Nice work and problem solving Jim!
Thanks Ken!
really enjoyed the series, cant wait til next one. thanks for bringing us along.
I have a new Westinghouse 9500DF that is very hard to turn. Amazon replaced it with a working one and gave me the non-working one. I don't see any damage the indicates it has been damaged. Compression is near 120. I will be watching your videos. I will tear into next month. Your videos give me the confidence to do the project.
With any luck just an issue with the exhaust valve like this one.
Great video. You do an excellent job of teaching your viewers. Thank you.
That thing looks brand new, great job 👏 👍