engine hard to turn over  By  steve (Read 1,359 times)

as long as you didn't block oil passage then i think you are fine without a base gasket. it shouldn't effect the starter anyway. did you make sure the piston isn't hitting valves? can you rotate the engine by hand?

it could be any number of possibility's. for months i would occasionally have symptoms of a weak battery. i tried to diagnose but finally gave up. it still started so i figured why frustrate myself with this problem. then i replaced a camshaft with worn out bearings and it solved my slow (sometimes click) starts.

First off , you should not just switch a cylinder and piston with the same rings , and without honing the cylinder, onto another engine . you will have big problems , oil blow by , burning oil, etc. Once your rings are seated , you cannot just remove them and reuse them. Well you can , but you will have issues. Best thing is to either buy a new kit , or buy new rings and hone the old cylinder. .

Well it's a good thing it didn't electric start, imo. With a 50mm and no base gasket, your engine probably would have been toast in about 500 miles, lol. So consider it a blessing.

The compression reading on that thing would have to be dangerously high.

Most likely not all the same, but probably pretty close.

The bbk alone increases the compression, especially with the bigger bores on a stock head-- to the point to where some people add 2 gaskets. Even though the gaskets are thin, it definitely makes a difference.

I agree with GEH but just on general principals (new cylinder). The gasket at the base of the head will NOT increase your compression - it has nothing to do with the compression --- except for a tiny bit that would be like a tiny stroker crank. If you had skipped the HEAD gasket - different matter. But the paper gasket will NOT noticably increase compression.

HOWEVER:

1. 30 miles is WAY too much to just swap the BBK. The rings are 80% set within 20 miles. New rings are cheap.

2. Without a paper gasket you are either guaranteed to have an oil leak (if you used too little silicone) or you will have blocked the oil passage to the top of the head (if you used too much). Everyone warns to only "wet" the paper gasket with silicone (or, use none at all) since any more silicone is likely to block the little oil passage.

3. You can use the old cylinder with new piston rings IF you hone the cylinder. But they are so cheap ...

4. With a BBK you are likely to not have very good luck with the stock starter motor. They are simply too girly-man. You also usually need to put better wiring in between the battery & the solenoid, between the solenoid & the starter motor, and also between the battery neg terminal and engine chassis. Stock wiring simply doesn't carry enough juice.  And if you still have weak starting try a new solenoid - also cheap.

Thanks for all the responses!

Just to be clear, I did replace the piston, and rings. I did not replace or hone the cylinder.

I am going to take it all back apart, and install as gasket. I am going to look in to how to hone a cylinder. I spose I'll either do that, or buy a new cylinder.

Alright, thanks to all. I have learned several things during this ordeal.
1. It'stheride members are a very knowledgable, kind group.
2. Ask BEFORE you do something. Engine work is not like dealing with women. It is NOT better to ask for forgiveness, than ask for permission.
3. Blowback is real, and it, well, blows.

I ordered my BBK from one of the lower priced places. They are not "bargains", they are cheap. I ordered just a cylinder, that cost as much as the entire BBK I installed, and the quality difference was remarkable. The cylinder on the cheap-o was as thin as a coke can. Order from NCY, Scrappydog, Scooters-to-go, and some of these others that have banner ads on here. Trust me.