Not to worry, the oil worked just fine 25 years ago!
After its last 200 cc class race (Bridgehampton '88) I pulled the head and sent it away for a refresher and repairs.
An ama expert rider had floated the valves- his background was only 4 cylinder Yamaha 2 strokes and he shifted by ear, throttle wo till it stutters & shift, he considered tachs to be an accessory!
Received the head last week- untouched, but complete- so I split the cl175 cases last night and found that the internals appear to be fine but the oil had cured/aged into a jelly type substance!
I didn't expect the head to be gone for a quarter century, sometimes things just happen.
The dilemna is what to clean it with, never had this problem because the oil was always replaced shortly after draining.
Parts should clean up with mineral spirits, but my concern is the oil ways in the cases and the crank assembly.
Should the cases be hot tanked or boiled in soap & water to remove any residual oil film?
My concern is contamination w/ modern mineral oil.
Any recommendations for cleaning will be most welcomed!
Castrol R oil problem
I ran into the same thing on my CL77, it had last run in the mid 80's. I don't know about modern "Hot tanks", but the old ones would destroy aluminum.
I used a lot of degreaser. Soaked what I could, used a fine wire brush on an air die grinder on the harder stuff I could access. I used a bore brush on the passageways and blew them out. On the bearings- crankshaft, idlers- I found they were stiff to move, full of the jelly. What I could take apart I soaked, the rest I used a lot of WD 40 while turning. Once the WD came out clear (they were turning fine by this point) I put used some thin oil on them until ready to assemble. Hope this helps. 63 CA78
Hello Stan,
Yes, it gives me hope that my jellified "R" can be removed safely and thoroughly. You're right about the hot tanks using very caustic solutions, they were scary looking devises that would leave Detroit iron blocks like new and ready to paint. I still have reservations about the cases and may consider using a turkey frier for the boiling water with dish detergent, can you think of any potential problems with this method? Thanks!
castrol RThanks Stan for your tips.
All is better, followed your cleaning methods and most of the parts are stripped of vegetable residue. Brought the cases to a friend's transmission shop and used his steam cleaner for the first layers of muck and crud. After rinsing and air blowing, I used his parts cleaner- don't know what it was, reminded me of stuff used in huge engine block cleaners and it dissolved the left overs. I'll use engine brushes & brake clean or points cleaners for the oil ways.
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