[charlie]

Welcome to the club.
One possible source of piston rings is Cox and Turner Engineering

[charlie]

When the engine is running you should see the rear pto turning. With engine running when you pull on clutch lever the pto should stop. Note the series 3 Monrotiller has two levers that look like clutch levers, one is the clutch the other operates the reverse gear which is located on left hand side of gearbox towards the rear.
A workshop manual is not available for these machines but I do have operators manual which includes illustrated parts list. I have sent you a private message with my email address, if you want a copy of the manual please send me an email.
I also have the factory records and can date your machine from the machine number stamped on the makers plate, not the engine number.

[charlie]

Yes next magazine will be mid to late June so too late for you. An online auction would be your best option or maybe the Road Roller Association can help. It is certainly too good to scrap.

[charlie]

Any photos?

[charlie]

When I have stripped one of these engines the piston comes out via the bottom of the cylinder and goes back in the same way. There is a chamfer on the bottom of the cylinder to aid getting the piston rings and piston in. I don’t recall seeing a split pin but will have to look at an engine I have in bits at present. It could be the pin that stops the piston rings turning.
Do you have a copy of the parts book? If not I can supply a scanned copy, very useful for identifying parts.
The crank pin is held in by a tapered pin pressed into the end of the crank pin. Splitting the crank is not a job for the amateur as it requires a press and suitable tooling to remove the pin. Reassembly is even harder as it is critical to get all the parts correctly aligned. An engineering company specialising in motorcycle 2 stroke engines may be able to carry out the work.

[charlie]

John, please send details of roller and location along with contact telephone number to our editor for an advert to appear in our club magazine email editor at cultivator-editor@outlook.com

[charlie]

Glad to know you managed to get the flywheel off.
Removing the flywheel on the Simar does not affect the timing luckily. I do have the instructions for setting timing if needed. If you look carefully at the front face of the flywheel there should be a mark for TDC which lines up with the raised mark on the housing.

[charlie]

I don’t think the Allen Scythe ever had a rotavator attachment. Not sure if the Howard 350 had scythe attachment. Howard Bantam did.

[charlie]

That is an interesting machine, unfortunately I cannot help with information, hopefully another of our members will.

[charlie]

Manuals are readily available for the Allen Scythe and Villiers engines. Parts for the engine are also available. Parts specific to the Allen Scythe are not, depending what parts are required, they are fairly sturdy and robust machines and plenty are still in use.

[charlie]

It will be well worth cleaning the points in the magneto if you do not have a spark as they can corrode if left unused for long periods. I am not familiar with the engine used on the Howard but I know the 2 stroke engines on my machines are reluctant to start if any excess fuel/oil mix is not drained from the crankcase. Fresh fuel mix is always a good idea too.

[charlie]

Standard WD40 is not a good penetrating oil, which is why I use PlusGas.

[charlie]

John, the flywheel is on a tapered shaft and can be extremely tight, probably never been off since assembled. I made up a puller to fit the holes in starting flange. I also applied heat to centre of flywheel whilst applying tension with the puller, also a good soaking with penetrating oil eg Plus Gas (not WD40). On my model 35 I ended up giving the flywheel a good whack with a soft hammer and the shock got it off. In fact it released with such a bang I thought I had broken it.

[charlie]

It might be worth contacting Cox and Turner Engineering They have a stock of piston rings and can make rings to size.

[charlie]

As I said I do not know make of engine but do know it is not JAP, Villiers etc, it could be SIMAR own design.
It is not uncommon for these engines to be seized due to water ingress down the exhaust pipe.
Cox & Turner Engineering can supply or make piston rings. They may also be able to help with identifying a gasket supplier or someone that can make them, which is the more likely solution.

[Author]

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