OOPS! I Destroyed My Customers Blower! Bizarre Diagnosis with an even Crazier Repair!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2023
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My name is Bre. I took two years of small engine repair at the local college. When I left school, I fell into a wonderful job at a local small engine shop where I worked the counter for a couple years. In 2010 my husband and I opened up our own small engine shop in central Arkansas where I am able to work alongside my family and best friends. We see over 2,000 pieces of small engine equipment every year, and answer 1,000's of small engine questions. We specialize in brands such as Briggs and Stratton, Kohler, Echo and Shindaiwa, but work everyday on MANY other brands like Stihl, Husqvarna, Honda, Craftsman, Remington, Red Max, Troy Bilt, Scag, Bad Boy, Hustler, World Lawn, Poulan, Mantis, Etc.. Hopefully, my experience I share, will save you Time, Money and Frustration in the future!
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Rod stretched… piston may have swelled. Together it caused the problem.
Cheap Chinese metals and poor heat treat
Putting a extra washer on the plug was the first thing i thought about, but even though it worked ,i worry the customer might think it was a jury rigged repair.
But you did the work and found it was the only viable option to keep a cheap blower running. Bravo.
And just one more comment.
I have been a mechanic on all kinds of equipment for 50 years, and the decline of quality on everything made now is terrible.
If the piston keeps on deforming, it will likely occur again.
Extra washer for the bad design was exactly what i was thinking too..just to make do or return it if you can
jury-rigged? Definitely! But it runs and the price is right. The Guaranty is "It will break again".
Question, it worked as shipped then stopped working due to clearance issue? What changed? Thicker head gasket makes sense for a ‘fix’ but issue is a design mistake, rod about 2mm too long?
What about making a spacer ?? Or try a different plug ?
As thin as the rod is on that unit the rod may be stretching you'll know in a little while if The piston starts hitting the head or the rod breaks.
Anyone remember “non-fouler’ plug adapters? A hollow spacer that went between the spark plug and the engine. Had some on my ‘63 Beetle. Think I got ‘em from JC Whitney.
I ran them in cylinders three and four on my 68 chevy truck. They got me several more years of service from the motor before it was retired.
Non-foulers and retread tires are standard equipment and even required
particularly on old cars equipped with manual transmissions that have a
Plan B backup engine starting feature for when there is a dead battery.
Then you put the car in neutral and push by the opened driver door until
it reaches about walking speed and quickly jump in and throw it into low
or second gear, while turning the ignition switch to On and immediately
popping the clutch to turn over the engine and start it. If you could pick
a slope or a hill on which to park before shutting down the engine it was
always a work saver to just let gravity get the car rolling downhill so all
the grunting and groaning to push the car up to speed is avoided. Back
in those days when chromed steel bumpers were on cars, a vehicle with
a dead battery could be "bumper jumped" by jamming the nose of one
car against the other so the bumpers kissed firmly together, and then
a jump could be done using two tire irons like scissors to span the
positive poles of the two batteries and complete the circuit. Jumper
cables were a luxury not always around, and everybody knew about
the "bumper jump" alternative when cars had chrome steel bumpers
and glass headlights. Thanks for the memories of simpler times.
Because the rim of the piston looked like it was hitting the head I would not suspect bulging on the piston, I would lean more towards the connecting rod stretching
I was wondering if the crank is on some sort of polymer instead of a proper bearing and can wear or give over time.
No and no rods do not stretch and it has ball bearings and needle bearings.
@@MUUKOW3rods absolutely do stretch, and sometimes stretch more then expected do to a variety of reasons .
@@jaydunbar7538 Out of the thousands of engines that have rolled through the shop ,gas ,diesel 2 cycle 4cycle small large . At the track I have never seen such a thing.
While one engine is apart, I would get a new replacement rod to compare the length between the affected engine and a new part to verify if the rods are stretching or not. As an alternative, see if someone has a new one or one that hasn't hit the plug yet, and measure the piston depth in the cylinders at TDC to see if they are different.
It looked a bit twisted to me.
Even if the rod somehow stretched that would not cause a domed piston.
The dome piston has two be the problem, why, is the fuel burning in side the block??
I’m thinking defective piston
If you buy a new piston then most likely it is the same batch
I need a piston but I’m going to wait for a year because they gave it to me 😮
Great mystery story! With one of the failures showing the piston hitting the compression ring, my bet would be an ill-designed or manufactured connecting rod that stretches with use. If the piston crown was weak, I would expect the outer part to go down rather than up, leaving a bulge over the con rod. If this happened though, the center of the crown should not be higher than it was originally. Would be interesting to measure con rod length in a running blower. And I second the comment about using copper washers. Since this may be just a temporary fix, I would warn customers that the same thing could happen again, possibly with catastrophic failure.
I'm going with they bumped up the compression with a slightly longer rod and/or thinner head gasket to improve power to weight ratio and fuel efficiency/ emissions and somebody missed it and went too deep when machining the spark plug seat where .005" makes a difference. To do that to a plug, if it was the specified plug, it must have been off by .100 or so. Mashed the plug the first time it was cranked over, but didnt completely close the gap and die until high temp and high RPM, likely the first time it went lean from running out of fuel.
HItachi used to have top notch quality control and everything that had that name on it was about as good as you could get in the category, but like everybody else, the consumers will not pay what it costs to make a good one so they too have had to turn over their manufacturing to people who are not as careful and dilligent to get everything just right but do "almost" a lot cheaper. If "almost" is all most people are willing to pay for, we will all get "almost".
Connecting rod stretch would be my guess.
Bulging results from power stroke deforming piston outer edges downward.
I agree, I think the rods are stretching.
@laserflexr6321 Hitachi is now Metabo, supposedly there the same designs and materials. I own a 8 1/4 sliding compound miter saw which they don't make anymore and several of the air guns being Metabo it still calls for oil in line vs Teflon lined cylinder others are going to of course there roofer nail gun is the best nail gun on the market and has been since it's inception.
Was thinking the same thing. At first I thought the piston on the up and down stroke was causing the bulge, but that wouldn’t do it stretching of the rod would
You and your videos have become my favorite site. At 78 yoa, I am still learning. I have an old old chainsaw that wouldn't run anymore. Following your demonstrations and the tool kit you use, I purchased a carburetor kit and....step by step....slooowly replaced each part with new and reassembled same. Drum roll please. IT RUNS!!!! You were/are my inspiration. Thank you, thank you. And it makes my day when I check the TH-cam and you have another presentation.
To save you time: Since you're going to need a lot of those washers: Pull the washer up to the threads and with a little force it will unscrew. Great video!
Yes! exactly, that's what I do...and I would save a few washers for that off old spark plugs...no need robbing one off a new plug, especially as expensive as they are getting these days..NGK and Bosch are not cheap...Chinese ones are not dirt cheap anymore, for that matter...BTW, I have seen some of the Bosch ones stamped Made In China..insane...
@@dyer2cycle You've seen a Chinese plug with stolen Bosch stamp, not a Bosch made in China.....we hope :);
Nope, sadly...original equipment found in Stihl trimmers...@@einfelder8262
I realize you only covered up the real problem via an extra crush spark plug washer. But since these blowers ran from the start, something has changed with them. Either the piston has metallurgy issues, or the connecting rod stretched. So an extra spark plug washer is only maybe a temporary fix... JMHO
I agree, only a temporary fix..but maybe the only cost effective one...new piston/crank, etc. plus labor probably exceed the cost of a new blower..at least this way, you can get some additional use from the blower...for how long, who knows, but otherwise it is junk. I would explain this to the customer first, though...
It's not going last long!
This is one of your best vids ever and props on good problem solving techniques! Chinese quality control is all over the place, and I can easily believe they have some suspect metallurgy in the piston and/or rod leading to mechanical deformation. One thing to consider is that as rpm climbs (typically above 3500 rpm on a car engine not sure about these smaller types) the tensile load on the rod from piston inertia (reversing the piston weight at the top of the stroke) is actually greater than the compression load from gas combustion. So rods tend to stretch rather than compress.
She said she could feel a slight bulge, I'm more inclined to think the pistons top is being pushed in, causing the bulge that eventually contacts the plug.
After my comment, I saw your explanation and must concur. To prove this is the case, it would be good to compare a new rod to an old one.
Spot on answer....Metallurgy, the Science of, is something the Chinese are still working on. Difficult to translate correctly !
@@williamstuessy1611 No, its that the plant manager has a side deal with the steel provider subbing even cheaper pot metal for a kickback.
I have actually done the EXACT SAME THING! AND also have used copper washers in addition to a spark plug squish washer ( to give it the seal needed) to fix things in the past...GREAT FIND Chickanic!
you are an amazing story teller and teacher. I love this repair and taking us on the journey you experienced was so much fun!
Get some copper washers, they work as seals, use them as spacers.
Sounds like a feature to me :) Automatic compression adjuster piston! Negates ring wear by automatically increasing compression ratio over time! 😆
"It's not a bug, it's an undocumented feature..."
When you first gave the description and said "metal to metal".... I cringed at the IDENTICAL TIME you did in the video. Gave me a good laugh because I related to your reaction perfectly in time. As to your solution, I would have thought about that before tearing it down. Some of us not in the business are pretty savvy and I'm sure there were others as well. But I am very happy you actually proved the concept without doubt. Thank you! EDIT: After reading comments below I agree with those who suggested the rod had stretched over time/use. That has to do with quality of materials....metals/alloys. But your "fix" is the most practical and cheap and I would actually try adding a second "booster" washer on the plug for "wiggle room". If the plug holds and combustion is still good.....you have a winner every time! Thanks again!
We had that problem on some Hitachi trimmers here in Sweden, and we simply change the plug, instead of a Ngk BPMR7A we used a BM6A which has a shorter tip..! Works great.
Actually I never seen a green Hitachi 2-stroke machine before, here they were orange and only the batterymachines were green.
That was simply BRILLIANT! I always love simple fixes for complicated problems.
I LOVE it when you have these off the wall problems and share with us. I am in the middle of a rebuild on a kohler twin and play your videos in my shop while working.
Just curious, are you going to put over size pistons in as well?
I am planning on doing a rebuild on a Kohler V twin as well. For about $500 I can get a complete rebuild kit with over size pistons, and rings. The cost to bore the cylinders isn't cheap, but then a new engine isn't either.
@@bertgrau3934 I was lucky. Everything was in specs. Just a thrown rod.
@@DoingItCheap
Good. The one given to me is locked up, my guess is the rods, but maybe new pistons. A new rod wouldn't be bad. Glad you didn't have a lot of other problems. Good luck with the rest of the build.
I love when outside of the box repairs work so well. I gives you such a good feeling when you fix the seemingly unfixable like that. 🥳
For the price point of these blowers, it's the best fix. It will be interesting to see how long this extends the life of the machine. Great solution to extend the life of a budget machine.
Holy moly!!! Way to go Bre, I love the way you figure out stuff. Keep doing what you do, great fix!!!
Got mine for $50, left over display model at Lowes. One of my favorite tools. Bad fuel lines are a common problem, had to replace mine within the first month. My anxiety went through the roof watching this video, didn't think you were going to tear one apart.
Same here, though the fuel line lasted 2-3 years. Went with the name brand fuel line this time.
You are incredible! Such an elegantly simple solution.
Hmm, so my outboard uses a surface fire design.. Would that work in this application as well? There would be more clearance since there isn't a gap to gap. IDK, I'm merely a novice at engine repairs, just tossing out ideas.
😊.
Love the channel. Keep up the good work.
Absolutely fantastic job didn't think it was going to give it enough space. Especially when the pistons already hitting a cylinder. I was thinking about rigging up like a head gasket to get some space in there
Well, there is no head gasket on this engine but there is a gasket where the cylinder bolts to the crankcase. You know it could be overrevving and causing this problem. You know in past videos she has shown that you can overrev these two cycle engines.
If the piston is bulging or the connecting rod is stretching this blower is on borrowed time. It would be interesting to see the ultimate failure mode if one after spark plug washer shimming. Keep us posted. Keep up the the interesting videos! Love watching!
One additional thought the piston may be cast with a steel ring in bed in the ring land area to control heat expansion if the piston can not expand outward it will expand inward budging the piston dome?
I’m not certain what Champion plug was used that hit the piston, but when I look up the plug for the Hitachi rb24eap blower, the factory Champion CJ6 they use has a shorter electrode that sticks out about 1/8” less than the one showing in the video. It’s hard to say, but that’s just my guess as I couldn’t see the plug in the video very closely.
Great Video!!! As a kid I removed these spark plug washers to “ stack” them on plugs with longer threads, nothing else was available!!
I think it would be good to follow the use of this blower because is it possible for the piston deformation to continue? If so, after some more use it may happen again.
I have one at shop with same problem, I going to wait till she figures it out, was going to buy a brand new and remove piston to compare it, but customer gave the bad one to me so I’m waiting for a while
Well, stacking another washer on the plug worked on the orange blower, but what about the green one? The evidence that the piston is hitting the top of the combustion chamber would be a bigger problem. Can't imagine what would cause a piston to bulge up like that. It would be interesting compare a new piston to the damaged one to find out wtf.
Great story and wonderful diagnostics skill fact that you found a way to fix it by just putting a washer on it that’s great! Thank you once again
Yes! that piston top was buldged! Improper two stroke mix on this Hitachi/Tanaka/Metabo's can overheat the piston head and make it softer and this will happen!!! They are great engines, specially on trimmers! Strong!
Interesting problem. I wonder if the extra washer will be a permanent repair. If the piston us actually failing and bulging upward it may continue to do so until it hits again or complete failure. It may also be that the connecting rod is too soft and has stretched under high RPM use. If that's the case it will likely continue to stretch until the problem reemerges.
When looking into the top of the cylinder it appeared to have shiny spots around the circumference where the piston was hitting which may be a clue that the connecting rod is stretching allowing the entire piston to reach the top of the cylinder.
Hopefully you will report back on the long term outcome.
Im going to vote for rod streach. Especially with the scratches something ran down between the piston and cylinder wall when hot and stretched it from the tension
I cant get my head around the rod stretching, can it get hot, expand and not shrink? The domed piston crown could be a clue to the cause.
Great work. It is so great to see someone solve a problem methodically.
It's always these odd problems where you learn really valuable info that might stump folks like me. It's always a pleasure watching your channel though so thanks for sharing this issue.
Awesome troubleshooting video, nothing like an experienced mechanic to solve a problem. By the way I write large aircraft maintenance procedures for one of the big aircraft manufacturers. Great job.
Any time you have put a few gaskets together?
Him: "If complaint of something rattling in cockpit, remove something." :)
I love your candor and honesty. count the treads on the old plug and on the new plug. I was a machinist, and .015/.020 or +/- can hide very easily. Remember we live in a world with engineers with little practical experience. I spent A LOT of time fixing designs that only work on paper.
@@davegeorgia8489 I have spent way too much time arguing with and teaching degreed engineers the basics. Astonishing that some of them had a peice of paper saying they were engineers and worth more to the company than I was. In fact if I look back at the past 25 years, direct dealing with engineers who's designs I had to make in to real parts, I would say less than 10% of them would ever actually be a decent engineer. Only 1 in that time that really knew what they were doing and could turn out a design that worked well without 10 try and miss attempts. And he wasnt there long cause they could get someone else 15% cheaper.
It is really disheartening to know within seconds of looking at CAD that it aint gonna work but you have to spend hours making it anyway cause some believe that peice of paper knows more than a person who has been making stuff for 30 years. You tell them right up front what is wrong, and what would work, but few of them will listen cause their hands arent dirty.
@@davegeorgia8489as an engineer, I can tell you: if an engineer needs a technician to show/teach them, then those are not good engineers!
@@davegeorgia8489 what I was referring to is exactly what you mentioned in your last message. An engineer needs to take all these things in account (unless it is something uncommon). I sometimes see this, with people which are engineers just by name and for example look over the design and say “it should work”, although when I check the design I quickly realize it won’t due to various reasons. I hate it when it happens as a correction needs to be done, which is often time and budged consuming, not to forget someone needs to spend the time doing the correction.
I MASSIVELY AGREE@@diavalus
I appreciate your videos. I own a small lawn care bussiness and I am doing maintenance and easy fixes. Thanks a lot. I am waiting on a throttle cable assembly for the 580t echo. Blower. Thanks again. Great videos.
Great video! That blower started on the first pull after the double washer fix. Your laugh said it all!! Pretty cool that was, and a good feeling too!
Nice. I bought my first Hitachi in 2011 and it's been good. I bought a carb rebuild kit in 2020 and made it like new. It was in 2020 I read they were no longer going to be available so I purchased another one. So far that's been trouble free, but if the pull cord ever locks, I'll know what to look for.
I’m pretty sure this video probably saved a lot of people time,money and frustration. good job 👍
You’re an amazing mechanic, I had the same spark plug troubles with a Bolens blower
Wonderful troubleshooting! A solution in the end--the most perfect troubleshooting there is. I kinda wonder what causes the pistons to bulge, though.
So the questions remain...what caused this and will it happen again?
The wrong plug. Correct plug is a bm6a. Not a bpmr6a. One has an electrode that protrudes. The other doesn’t and is the correct plug.
@@smokinrider
Still doesn't explain the original problem, unless the owner swapped plugs before bringing it to her. Possible, but I doubt it.
@@smokinrider Wrong plug on ALL 3 of these blowers? And ALL 3 owners said they stopped while running? What are the odds?
The rod has stretched. Take it out and measure it with a good caliper. You will find that the rod has stretched over time.
Piston bulge caused contact with plug I bet if someone could check one that is running fine with digital calipers to measure the clearance from the bottom of plug to the top travel of piston the riddle could be confirmed that it dont take much for it to go kaboom if it gets little overheated worked a little harder or ran on store bought premixed like she taught us few videos back they play with the mix to make them run real good seem like more power so you want more of it but in reality they fall apart at higher temp its design engineering meets minimal metal requirements to maximize profits a staple of Chinese ingenuity I even heard a friend in the know once told me the highest quality Chinese parts are sold only inside china and lower quality sold overseas but that's another story. This lady got small engine repairs in the top shelf she is killing it.
Need to figure out what’s going on but in the meantime how about using a shorter reach plug in the same heat range??
I had one of those left at my shop last year. I fixed and sold it. I was pretty impressed as well. Nice little blower! Fortunately, the one I had only needed a carburetor and fuel lines.
Great fix 👍🏼
Is it possible that the base gasket as well might have compressed more than its supposed to so you've got two things going on the Piston bulging and the base gasket flattening out
Great diagnostic work, where would folks find these compression washers for use on their own engines? Are they sold separately or does another spark plug have to give it up? I use the battery operated blower & weedwhacker theses days, but for decades I used the 2-cycle models. But when quality began to diminish in the small engine products I made the switch.
I would look at a copper washer to do this. They are sold individually in a variety of sizes for metal to metal seals.
Racers use what is called "spark plug indexing washers"
@@kennethpruitt8534 I forgot all about that technique. Thanks. Been 30 years since I've done that on a personal engine. If I recall, they come in different thicknesses and look like a crush washer but don't compress.
You got a genuine chuckle which left the whole internet with a smile.
What a great find... It's amazing that you didn't think of this before the teardown.. But that's what it's all about. Great video.. Excellent video.. Keep up the good work.. You are always fun to watch.
Would be interesting to double/triple up the head gasket and see if that was enough. At least then the customer wouldn't have to do the double washer in the future which may have other issues with spark plug threads over time. The extra head gaskets may change port timing a bit but they were probably off anyway. Also would be worth putting a set of calipers on the original plug and comparing the tip length to the replacement and see if there was a difference.
There is no head gasket. Barrel and head is all in one.
@@smokinriderThe head gasket being the cylinder gasket to the crankcase.
@@TheKrayusKorianis At first I thought the same thing, but then realized it may lower compression too far. Then I realized that given the bulging, the compression would be bumped back up. All considered, this seems like a circular problem where the compression goes higher from bulging, creates more heat, causes more bulging, etc. A thicker gasket would likely prolong the life of the blower.
When you removed that washer from the spark plug, the spark plug would go deeper into the cylinder and closer to the piston, right?
She put 2 washers on the plug
She took the original washer off and added it as a 2nd washer on a new plug. That moves the plug tip further away from the piston.
I’m thinking she added a washer from the old plug, so the new plug has two, creating slightly more space. I too wonder how long before the piston distorts more and there’s another failure. But this was great information and a clever fix!
Watch again at 10:36, but listen closely.
Yes I added an old washer to new plug for more clearance.
Great video! Thank you for sharing 🙏
I am glad that you bought it and thanks for sharing your story. You have inspired me to take a range trip with one of my favorites, my nickel plated, 1968 15-3, 4" .
Before you disassembled the Hitachi, I was expecting, we’d find a composite connecting rod! 😂 And, looking at the Tanaka, that thing had almost no hours on it, the plastic opening around the muffler was free of carbon residue. Taking a wild guess, I wonder if those pistons are made of such light gauge material that they are in fact, expanding and bulging upward a several thousands?. Overall the little engine looks to be decent design for being a lower cost machine. Regardless, makes me happy I own slightly older Stihl and Echo pro equipment. Great video Bri I enjoyed watching with my coffee this morning. ❤️ from Chicago.
Is it possible that the piston rod might have slightly stretched thus causing the piston to move higher in the cylinder? This would result in hitting the spark plug, the top of the cylinder, and if hitting it hard enough, deform the piston head in this way.
Check the piston rod for stretch.
Not sure if anyone noticed but at about 9:30 in the video when you were looking at the underside of the piston and connecting rod it appeared (could just be the camera), that both the piston and connecting rod had been subjected to extreme heat almost to the point of seeing temper bands. That could explain the piston's change shape resulting in damaged plugs. I'm curious what would happen if you tried a "surface gap" plug? I'm just an amateur mechanical sleuth who is not sure the problem isn't still there even if the symptoms have been relieved.
Your thoughts.....................
I thought before you said it, ‘try another washer on the plug’. The piston must be really getting hot to make the top go soft enough to warp. Probably cheap steel. Great blog Bre. 🔧👍🇬🇧
Rod maybe stretching depending on the material it's made of?
Rod stretched...
Perhaps they started using a thinner base gasket than what was originally specified, or a base gasket with too much crush.... Perhaps using a layer of Permatex gasket on both sides of the existing gasket would gain enough clearance.
So much fun to face an unexpected challenge in otherwise day to day activities. Great show. Thank you.
I actually have that exact Hitachi blower that did the exact thing!
I did what you showed with the additional spark plug crush washer, and it lit right up!!
Thank you for sharing!!!!
My brain is screaming at you right now because, if the piston is bulging, what is to keep it from continuing to bulge and ultimately fail in a few uses? You may have come up with a work around temporarily but is it permanent? I guess we shall see.
Most of these $179 blowers are 6-8 years old. It took that long for it to get in this state. I figure if it can limp through a little longer, they got their moneys worth out of it. It also might last forever. Who knows?
Armchair mechanic here. Heck, I’ve worked on at least 3 blowers so I do consider myself a bit of an expert. It’s quite obvious and I’m surprised nobody else caught it. The whatchamacallit was way too far to the left. So far that it was interfering with the doohickey. This caused the thingamajig to overheat and pushed the piston into reverse. This can all be fixed with a couple of solid blows from a left handed 8 lb sledge hammer 😜
Luv your channel.
I love this channel………learn so much from all your posts. Keep up the good work
I have that Hitachi for 4yrs. Starts right up runs great. Now i know how fix it if needed. Thank you
your fun is simply contageous! Thank you for showing us!
Looks like a copper washer under the plug is a way to go ... still is the piston crown going to bow still more... great repair Bre
Holy crap i did the same thing with MY Tanaka version..Didn't look inside of it yet...You're the BEST!..👍🤙🏽
I’ve had this same Hitachi blower for about 4 years and use it at home year round and commercially during the summer. No problems except for having to replace the fuel lines. Keeping fingers crossed this doesn’t happen to mine. Great vid!
Wow. I would have NEVER thought of that. You are amazing.
All right! That's a Red Neck Repair, if I've ever seen one! Goofy repair, and works like a charm!
I would double check with the manufacturer on the spark plug recommendation. If the piston dome was weak it would go down not up. Also check closer on the crank journal and pin clearance there could be a bad roller that doesn't feel loose until it's in the right position.
Great work, curiosity and perseverance got it done. You are fantastic and fun watch keep up your fabulous video’s we learn so much.
Nice! Love your persistence. Gotta know why! If the piston did bulge, maybe it's done bulging and found its happy place. Could run a long time with the shimmed plug. Who knows.. Great video!
That was awesome, good thinking on your part 👍. Well done 😊
A dead blower brought back to life over a very simple fix. Good job and the patient is doing well.
Brilliant piece of detective work! Who would have thunk it? Great video, thanks!
I have one I purchased in 2016 pretty much always used canned premix in it. Still runs great, start right up. Never had to change a fuel line. Never even touched the plug. I will keep this in mind if it ever happens. Thanks for the info!
I’ve got to of the hitachis and they run awesome so far and when they die I’ll know what to do because of you and you investing you time into figuring out what’s going on thank you so much I appreciate you !!!!!!!!!!
Terrific analysis and repair!
The first thing I thought of was is the head was probably warping, but after seeing that piston, I think you’re right, the piston is warping, which I’ve honestly never seen before but then again, I’ve never done a lot of work on small engines
Put a cj8 plug in it. Many tanaka / hitachi machines run cj8 plugs due to this issue. hitachi took over tanaka years ago and any hitachi machine you see is made from the entire tanaka specs. hope that helps.
Weird Stuff happens.Glad you found a way to get it running again.
Brilliant solution!!!
You and your husband have a great mix of tech and great camera work along with upbeat personality.
Haven't run into one of these yet, but may i suggest trying a plug without the projected electrode. For example NGK has a BPMR7A equivalent BMR7A. May be worth a shot. Keep it up with the insightful and helpful videos!
It was probably fun putting the Hitachi blower back together. If the piston top is bulging upwards might want to take a look at the bottom side of it. There may be some cracking along the pin struts allowing the piston top to separate. A new, revised piston might be in order.
My guess is whatever caused the score marks on the piston got on top and blocked the last tiny bit of piston travel but not enough to cause catastrophic damage, just the bulge. I’d look at the intake track and carburetor for missing hardware.
supper job. Thanks for sharing.
Great detective work Bre!! And you now have happy customer. Well done and God Bless.
Queen of knowledge that's something I never seen before Who would thought about that
I would give you two thumbs up for just taking the first blower apart just to see what went wrong. However, I think you deserve three thumbs up for trying the washer/spacer trick to see if it fixed the problem! Way to go!!
The cylinder perimeter, away from the central spark plug, shows impact with the piston rim.
This indicates a wrist pin, rod bearing, or crankshaft bearing failure.
While washering the plug for clearance may allow it to run, the piston is STILL hitting the head mushrooming the piston rim.
I would consider putting a 0.004" copper wire gasket between the case and the cylinder. Compression may suffer slightly but it should provide enough clearance for both the plug and the head.
Very easy to measure the squish and then determine exactly how thick a copper base gasket will be needed to fix the issue.
im in the automotive field, next time you see one thats running take a measurement of piston height tdc so you could check the bad ones, may reveal something. we also use in cylinder pressure transducers now ,shows valve issues and such. check out some of the masters in dig, might open up some doors for you guys
Haven't run into this, yet. But if ever I do this will save me time & frustration. Many thanks!
Stay safe, Joe Z
I'm really glad you tore it apart and figured out what was going on because my brain was starting to hurt! LOL!! I thought of the poston stretching... but that's not too likely unless it's broken??? I'm glad it's a simple fix.... but.... I'm now thinking the top of the piston bulged from when it was new.. what's to say it won't bulge more.. or the whole top of the piston could blow out?? What the heck, "run-er-til-she drops. By the time you get a new piston in it (and who's to say the same thing won't happen to it) you might as well go get another (different brand) new one. Excellent diagnostic skills Bre!! Thanks for the brain teaser! 😁