Took a little time to take my nose off so I could install the new radiator. Yes, if you go charging through trees while brush hogging without a grill in place you can eventually poke holes in the radiator. Amazing that! Spent some time looking at my rather tired 8N. Admired the front pulley which I think is being held on by the belt. Poked a wire and watched it fall off the ignition coil. Decided to pull the head off and see what I could see. At first glance, it didn't look that bad. Lots of carbon, but all the pistons and valves were there. Then I noticed the cylinder wear. Piston to wall clearance is on the order of 200-300 thousanths! That could explain the oil consumption of a half gallon every hour or two I currently enjoy. The money's not there to fix the engine up. Way to many other pressing matters. But I tip my hat to the engine that keeps on chugging along, quite reliably, with this kind of wear. Lots of old lawnmower engines won't even start with that much slop. I will quit using a multi-weight oil though. I think it's time for some straight 30 weight, maybe even 40 weight. I can just imagine the power if I were to rebuild this engine!
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