Muddy42

The intake valve wiggle at the end of the motion that you describe is actually a good thing, being the compression release motion of the camshaft. I'm dealing with an engine with a broken comp release at the moment. But the lifter or crank could be bent, you wont really know unless you take the sump off. You may have to do this anyway once you are sure the valves are set ok. Its worth spending a fair bit of time to get the valves adjusted properly. The engine turns counter clockwise when looking from above. Use a headtorch to see when the piston is at top dead centre, then go on 1/4 inch. I would get a feeler guage. turn the engine over a few times, then check again. Black smoke sounds like the valve seal issue. But it might clear up on running. You should be able to move the valves in and out a bit by hand, do they all feel the same?

You'll get nowhere with holding council tax - bailiffs, court orders, court, then even prison. Its a tax like every other tax, not discretionary depending on the quality of service. The only thing you can do is try to get the property de-listed or merged with another property, but as stated above that may not be a great idea.

Did you replace the intake rocker arm, which looked broken in your photo?

Its hard to say, also the lifter could be bent. Can you shine a torch in there, not that you can see the lifter from that side. and onto the pistons? Can you move the intake valve (bottom one) by hand. You could try swapping the working exhaust rocker and rod onto the intake valve to confirm the moment.

Yes that's my understanding, the rods and rockers are designed to be the weak point. Yes, there is quite a lot of space around the rods. Maybe to allow oil to move around?

Gotcha. I guess you could revoke the residential licence but that would probably be permanent and affect the ability to develop or sell.

Yes, something is not right! When you move the engine, that bent rod should be moved in and out by a lifter which is pushed in and out by the camshaft. Thus it opens each valve in turn. - Is the exhaust rocker and valve still moving OK? - Can you move the intake valve in and out (that thing with the spring around it)? - Can you confirm that the intake lifter is still moving inside? maybe just unbend the bent rod and use it as a feeler. Was the oil level OK? penetrating oil can unstick valves. then gentle tapping

Post a video here of the valve movement if you want?

What do you mean by plot? If it used to have a house on it but that's been demolished, you can get it deleted from the council tax list. Land plots with planning permission for a house, a partially built house or even a house that's being substantially rebuilt shouldn't pay council tax. I hate streetlights in any village.

I think you are on the right track. I would remove the valve cover, check the valve clearances and see what the moment looks like when you turn the engine over. Are the push rods moving in and out at all. Its best to do this with the spark plugs removed, for safety but also so you can check whats happening to the pistons.

For the infrequently used machines I use alkylate/Aspen or similar. I just run and store them (indoors) with whatever fuel is left in the tank. Never had any issues. Just like the 'good-old-days' when we had proper petrol! I use E5 pump fuel in the frequently used strimmer and chainsaw with oregon two stroke oil at 40:1. I am literally using both every few days. At the end of the season, I run the strimmer dry, run with alkylate and then store. I check the carb and lines on the chainsaw every few months - so far all the carb has required has been a clean out with carb cleaner. I think fuel stabiliser is snake oil. Use fresh fuel. Pour out your fuel after using machines in the rain.

I've just checked your video of the GOLF piston again. As you say, you have pretty bad damage on both the exhaust side and intake sides. Its a good thing you replaced this. Also where both circlips intact? Did the new meteor piston have any play or tolerance?

I would stop using that for risk damaging the saw. Do you not still have the original one to put back on?

Agreed. Always pressure and vac test.

I can’t say I can hear the rumbling noise, but maybe that’s the audio. I think I can hear the high pitched rattle sound of worn clutch springs though?