Is it just taken for granted that....
you will always learn things about these engines the hard way? I think I have made every stupid mistake you could possibly make, and I yet managed to even surprise myself this time.
I had an old Gecker style Air filter and adapter for a stock carb from my last motor, so I decided to throw it on. No big deal, all I had to do was just go down to Ace and buy some shorter bolts and I was good to go. Put it on no problems. Started her up ran her in the garage, and then changed the break in oil to standard 10w-30 synthetic, and checked the valve lash while I was at it. I was ready for the last weekend of duck season.
After waiting out a tropical storm that blew through around 4 AM we head out to our spot around 9 AM. The wind was still blowing about twenty and the waves were rolling. No big deal, it will just take a little longer. Then about 1/4 mile from the dock, I hear a sound you don't want to hear inside your motor. It sounded like the connecting rod's failed and parts were flying around inside the head, and then I lose all compression and the motor dies. As a side note this motor has 14 hours on it at this point. After about an hour I finally get towed in I am just hoping I had lost a push rod, and we would be back on the water in minutes....No luck all was good.
I was then convinced it was the rod, and after stopping and buying a 6 pack my buddy and I drove it straight to a friends house who is also is certified Mud Buddy dealer and service center. Well, I just got this picture from him of the spark plug. I don't have a picture of the piston, or the head, but needless to say the piston had a lock nut imbedded in the top of the piston, and the head is destroyed!
Diagnosis....that old Filter I had laying in the parts box had a nut trapped inside the filter that I did not see when I installed it. So when the motor was under load and pulling, it sucked the bolt into the head, and the rest is history. I will now be buying a new set of heads, and a new piston. LUCKILY..the cylinder is OKAY! It is amazing to me how I can do the simplest things and manage to almost screw up the whole block!
I just thought I would share this story to save someone else the hassle and expense of a stupid mistake like this one....
