The engine I bought was already built, and had not been run. My dad and I planned to take it all apart to give me a better understanding of the engine, as well as to identify any problems before they got bad.
The Arovee engine was heavy and awkward to move. at the time it was sitting on the workbench with everything installed.
Going into this I had only enough sense to tell you which cylinder is the #1, 2, 3, and 4, and I knew some of the terminology, such as crackshaft. I frequently asked my dad "what do you call that part?"
we began unbolting stuff in roughly reverse order from the manual (if you're familiar with sonex plans, you're used to backwards) In under an hour we had stripped many of the external parts off and the engine had lost at least 20 pounds! A box was designated as the hardware box, so it'll be like legos trying to find the right bolts and nuts again when I reassemble it. the important part is that they're all together and not lost. After many of the external attachments were removed, I started taking apart the cylinders. You start with the rocker arm chamber cover, those rectangular silver bits on the far edge. Removing those reveals the mechanisms for opening and closing the valves in each individual cylinder. Next comes the cylinder head, held in place by numerous large bolts, taking this off exposes the piston and inside of each cylinder. I then carefully removed the cylinders and set them aside with all the other parts.
The next work session, we planned to split the engine's case. Once all the hardware was removed, it just needed some motivation. A few (in reality it was a LOT) good taps broke the seal between the case halves and they pulled apart with little effort.
Next I will need to clean everything, get all the old oil and lubricant off, and then it'll be time to reassemble and mount in the motor mount!
Sun'n'Fun is right around the corner, and I will be there! Im speaking Wednesday, April 11 at 9am in room CFAA-2. Be sure to check the schedule! If you will be at the show and want to meet up just send me an email at Tumbling.aviator@gmail.com and we'll line it up.
I'm going to be doing a different style of post, based on my survey results. I will post more frequently but shorter build updates, and the goal is to write it up right after im done working in the garage.