John E-W

Google it – try Amazon

John E-W

Try Halfords or Amazon – just Googled EP90

John E-W

Hi John – been round this loop with my Monroe tiller. Ended up replacing the rings – but don’t forget to gap them halfway down the barrel and make sure the gaps are not lined up when you replace the rings.

However, as its a copper gasket, you could try annealing it and putting it back on the head. Heat the gasket until it is cherry red, then…[Read more]

Mine arrived this morning

John E-W

I agree – no problem at all. Click on Zip file, click on doc and the picture opens up a treat as as it’s in MS photo you can zoom into any part of the photo that is pertinent. I did notice that despite the age of the tiller,the handles are adjustable for both height and offset – something that is missing on the modern counterparts.

John E-W

Hi Mitzygolf
My Mk3 has never had a plug cap, it has always been (for the past 30 years) a direct brass fitting crimped onto the HT lead and now that I have rebuilt the engine and have some compression, it starts first pull every time – see photo (I hope it’s attached)

John E-W

If it’s screwed in you will not be able to see if it’s sparking or not and you will have to overcome the engine compression. Try removing it and whilst it is still connected to the HT, rest the plug on a metal part of the engine so that you can see the sparking end whilst you are rotating the engine. If it sparks then it might just be timing…[Read more]

I assume you have a good earth on the outer of the plug and also not earthed the inner of the plug. I know it’s stating the obvious, but…….

John

Hmm – I had the same problem on an old car I once owned. It turned out that the piston had broken above the gudgeon pin, so the piston went up and down, but the top of the piston remained at the top of the bore with the engine constantly misfiring and the compression reduced as a result.

Best of luck with the strip down

John e-W

I think Reliant used the basic engine for the mini and had mods made to suit the Reliant – I think they later moved to an all alloy, slightly larger and more powerful, Imp engine.

I have found that the biggest problem with wet liners, is that they are normally a loose fit in the block and might come out with head removal. To overcome that – tap…[Read more]

The engine is obviously OHV, so was it built for the original Mini – 750cc, low HP (27? 35?)

John E-W

Now that you have got the piston out – what happened to the split pin that was in the lower barrel?

John E-W

Is it a pin, or a broken piston ring?

John E-W

Well done John.
It looks like there is a Woodruf key on the shaft which is good engineering and it’s a pity that Villiers didn’t use them as it would have made setting the timing a lot easier. When you reassemble the flywheel it can be easier if you “rock” the key so that the leading end is lower than the trailing end. Just make sure that it is…[Read more]

I have found that Diesel makes a good perpetrating oil.

John E-W

Ref the rubber handles – you could use my bodge and try your local motor-parts shop and ask for some car heater hoses which are aprox 1/2″ dia and cut them to the correct length.

John E-W

I have used “Shoulder of Shoreham” a couple of times, although they will probably want to sell you the whole wheel and not just the bearing – but there are plenty of bearing sales places if you google it – your bearing will probably be imperial rather than metric.

After a complete rebuild a wheel bearing should be a doddle!!

Best of luck
John E-W

Re the statement above by hdtrust – Your engine is a 248cc RSJ (Ransomes Simms & Jefferies) which is centrifugal

Question from a grey-haired old fogie – what is a centrifugal engine and how do they work? Is this the forerunner of the Mazda rotary engine?

Regards
John E-W

I must admit I’m not familiar with these machines – what is the cooking pot on the top of the petrol tank?

John E-W

Hi uru33 – I had a twin cylinder Howard Gem and I manufactured a double plough(ridger) for my potatoes. I fitted it in place of the depth foot and used the tillers to soften the soil and help drive the equipment forward. I have very heavy clay based soil, so every little bit of forward motion helps. Unfortunately I sold the rotovator a couple of…[Read more]