McCoy Engine - Grey specks in exhaust

Them grey flecks are coming from somewhere. I've had a couple of engines where the con rod was hitting or dragging on the case. One was a junker anyway, but the other suffered major damage before I realized what was going on. It couldn't hurt to pull the backplate off and take a look at the case and bottom end of the rod.

>
>I've come to realize that if I see a Redhead that looks
>pristine, it may well have been because the original owner
>gave up on it.

Hmmm. Picked up a "pristine" one at Toledo. I'll let you know if it runs (If I can ever get any fuel)...

John,

Its normal to see some oil squish around the crank pin, if there were none visible it would probably indicate that the fit was too tight. The oil clearance is necessary so don't worry about it. Excessive slop, like being able to see movement between the two (with the naked eye) is need for concern. BTW, I've never seen any rod/case contact in McCoys, and in reality the nylon button only works when the engine isn't running, thrust holds the shaft forward otherwise. I think the button was added in the late engines because bad quality was letting the crankpin contact the backplate before the endplay was taken up by the drive washer. At any rate, starters can cause damage if the button is gone, but running won't.