Author Topic: Honda eu2000i cleanup (and now rebuild)  (Read 3283 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Offline MadScientist267

  • Impossible Condition Curator
  • Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1514
  • Karma: +44/-4
  • Rules? What rules?
Honda eu2000i cleanup (and now rebuild)
« on: October 10, 2015, 10:55:54 pm »
I acquired a Honda eu2000i very recently, and went to clean up the insides, namely the bottom tray as a result of things oozing out during the carb cleanup...

There's a lot more to say than just what's here, but I had a few pics I wanted to post and get the ball rolling.

Over the course of a few hours I managed to break not one but both "pillars" toward the front of the unit, leading to some serious challenges ahead. The unit is internally sound; needs more TLC in the carb and that would have been it... Now I get to redesign the whole frame it seems.

I don't have any pics with the damage here, 2 of these were taken earlier during the disassembly.

The unit is indeed PMA,


4610-0

4612-1

4620-2

4622-3
Wanted: Schrödinger's cat, dead and alive.

Offline MadScientist267

  • Impossible Condition Curator
  • Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1514
  • Karma: +44/-4
  • Rules? What rules?
Re: Honda eu2000i cleanup (and now rebuild)
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2015, 02:41:00 pm »
4716-0

Imma put this right here for the moment... with an update soon to come... along with some other angles, before and after cleaning (or attempting to)... All I can say is that thing must have one hell of a coil... totally fouled and the bridge is nearly gapped... or something like that :o

Wanted: Schrödinger's cat, dead and alive.

Offline MadScientist267

  • Impossible Condition Curator
  • Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1514
  • Karma: +44/-4
  • Rules? What rules?
Re: Honda eu2000i cleanup (and now rebuild)
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2015, 05:32:55 pm »
Ok, as promised, here's more pics of a single spark plug than anyone could ever wish for... And usually I'd never bother... but this is the age of camera phones and without a doubt, this is the nastiest plug I've ever seen, nevermind in a *still running* engine... :o

4720-0

4722-1

4724-2

4726-3

4728-4

After some fairly significant heat application...

4730-5

4732-6

4734-7

4736-8

(Continued . . .)
Wanted: Schrödinger's cat, dead and alive.

Offline MadScientist267

  • Impossible Condition Curator
  • Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1514
  • Karma: +44/-4
  • Rules? What rules?
Re: Honda eu2000i cleanup (and now rebuild)
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2015, 05:52:15 pm »
(... Continued)

And after picking/brushing...

4738-0

4740-1

And just for completeness... It seems to be trying to show me that the piston is indeed made out of metal... No idea how after all that...

4742-2

It's running reasonably well now. It was stumbling before, at first only under heavy load (1500W), but today was missing under any condition it found itself in.

It's got 3 major contradictions to itself and everything I've been taught, witnessed, and noted for myself over many years of playing with things that have pistons and plugs:

1. Without a doubt, running a little rich under no/low load, hunting at higher RPM. Usually this would point to a main jet issue, but up until today, it acted lean across the board, and particularly under light/medium loading. Heavy it just stumbled (at least that part is explained by some carbon... no question why it was failing under pressure)

2. The carbon. Lots and lots of carbon. Did I mention carbon? Yet can see the aluminum that makes up the piston crown at TDC...?

3. The plug is coming out with a light gloss of oil, yet with the exception of right after "clean" warm-up and full load, there hasn't been any further blue smoke from it whatsoever, and this is supported as well by the lack of oil odor.

This thing not only defies all the rules, but it's own claims. You see visible manifestation of one of them clear as day... Anybody got any idea what's going on here? LOL

I suspect there's still a little crap in the carb, and maybe the float needs a tweak... and there's likely a little bit of blow by, supported by the late findings in the deal involving the lack of any air filtration whatsoever... since resolved properly but of course any damage is done.

The plug should be replaced, but I'm not going to bother unless it starts turning up dry and relatively foul-free.

Ok, go! LOL

Steve
Wanted: Schrödinger's cat, dead and alive.

Offline bj

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 735
  • Karma: +23/-0
  • Lamont, Alberta, Canada
Re: Honda eu2000i cleanup (and now rebuild)
« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2015, 07:55:32 am »
  With that plug, I too am surprised it ran at all.
  Looks like oil fouling----having said that,  the piston looks clean.  Try moving the piston far
enough down so that you can see the edges.  If they are more or less as clean, then the
rings are probably OK.  (supported by good oil color)
  Ring failure will usually leave carbon buildup just inside of the edge of the piston.
  That leaves fuel contamination,  or intake guide.
  Lack of filtration will take out a guide pretty quick, so that's my vote.
  You can change the guide seal without pulling the head, and they are cheap,
so it might be worth trying first?
  Just some early morning thoughts.
"Even a blind squirrel will find an acorn once in a while"
bj

Offline DBCollen

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 59
  • Karma: +6/-0
Re: Honda eu2000i cleanup (and now rebuild)
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2015, 11:36:34 am »
Six years ago, after running at full load (13a) for several tanks of fuel without a pause my eu2000 would not start, had no compression and popped out the intake. I read that on shutdown heat soak after a hard run the plastic cam would melt and the metal cam followers would stick to it and break the timing belt when you tried to start it again.

 I just got around to fixing it a few weeks ago, ordered a cam and timing belt, and tore into the thing. turns out, the cam is phenolic plastic that can't melt, and the timing belt was fine. It had some black tarry substance on the floor of the intake port and on the valve stem and the intake valve was stuck open. I put the piston at TDC, removed the seal and sprayed carb cleaner on the valve stem and worked the valve till it was clean. I oiled it and put it back together and it runs good now. They are pretty much bombproof machines. tarry substance must have been from running old gas in it.

The one weakness I have found is the fuel system collects condensation water really fast, I have had to turn mine upside down and dump the fuel tank, drain the carb and pull the rope a few times to clear the fuel pump and lines and fill with fresh fuel many times.
Dustin.

Offline MadScientist267

  • Impossible Condition Curator
  • Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1514
  • Karma: +44/-4
  • Rules? What rules?
Re: Honda eu2000i cleanup (and now rebuild)
« Reply #6 on: October 23, 2015, 07:18:01 pm »
Damn.. that's nuts... I usually let generators do a cooldown stretch if possible before shutting down anyway but that's good to know that at least it's likely something else if it flips out...

The water thing is really easy to fix without doing anything extreme like that... about a shot glass of methanol per gallon will eat water right up.

Several years ago I worked at a boatyard and the pressure washer's gas tank was metal, and the cap had been hit by something at some point, putting a kink in the top. The result was that the overspray would tend to pool up and find it's way to the inside. Nobody had any interest in replacing the tank, but had no issue with $8 quarts of methanol being burned in it to "dissolve" the water, so that's what we did. After putting it in, could shake it around and watch the blob of water at the bottom begin to disappear like magic.

Steve
Wanted: Schrödinger's cat, dead and alive.

Offline DBCollen

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 59
  • Karma: +6/-0
Re: Honda eu2000i cleanup (and now rebuild)
« Reply #7 on: October 23, 2015, 10:58:30 pm »
Our fuel is already 10% ethanol, by the time it phase separates, the tank is about 50% water. Not much to do but dispose of it.
I was charging my house battery bank with the EU after the injection pump went out in the diesel genset, the EU2000 ran out of fuel in the middle of the night, so no cooldown.
Dustin.