11/23/14

DT1 MX project

For the engine on this bike I'm starting with a bare set of '73 DT3 cases I bought on ebay. They are dirty and ugly and had been painted black at some point, but look to be damage free. I need to get them cleaned up a bit before they go in the shop oven to heat them up and remove the bearings. I've got a '72 DT2 engine with damaged cases that I'd used during mockup on the flat tracker, so plan to salvage some of the internals for this engine.
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Here you can see the evidence of the cause of death of many 2 strokes that have sat unused, a rusty crankshaft and main bearings. On a 2 stroke they don't sit in a bath of oil like a 4 stroke, so are particularly prone to damage from moisture.
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I needed to do the initial cleaning outside, and it warmed up this weekend, so I figured I get this knocked out.
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I used Rust-Oleum aircraft stripper and a pressure washer. No scrubbing at all yet, and it looks much better.
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Most of the rust staining inside came off with the pressure washer. White vinegar should clean off the rest.
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Next I'll remove the bearings and inspect the cases, and then they will be detailed and get new bearings.
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