I took a photo after removing the exhaust and this is it:

[Linked Image]

I actually got it working. It was seized and the rip chord would not move the piston. So while I had the exhaust off, I sprayed it liberally with loctite "Freeze & Release" which I use on siezed bolts successfully at work. I then removed the rip chord and tried turning the piston over manually. It worked!!

So put it all together, again, fuelled her up (with oil...........) and now she works again. I gave it a quick workout and I couldn't notice any loss of strenth.

I guess I will only know its fully OK if I do a compression test.

it is hard to see, but in the photo the piston is scored (scratched) from top to bottom on the left hand side; so there could be a loss of compression due to this.

Does anyone know what the compression pressure range should be for a healthy machine?

Cheers

gcv