VERDUGO135
Member
Going to try to keep this as short as possible. Bought a 98 Sportster 1800 missing an engine. Bought a 95 xp to swap 720 engine into boat. Swapped engine myself into boat. The engine that I swapped in ran rough, idled erratically revving itself real high then coming back down. I figured it was the carbs but decided to get a mechanic. My bike mechanic (whom I trust) recommended and vouched for some guy he knew. Dude came out and tried to diagnosed both engines. The original engine that was already in the boat didnt want to stay running. Exhaust was coming out of the coolant/hose input line so he concluded that the o-rings on the top cover are no good (which sorta makes sense). Now on the engine out of the ski he said there was a leak/escape somewhere, although compression checked out at 135/150psi. First he pointed out it could be coming from where the carbs meet the manifold. So we quick fixed and put rtv on the joint. Didnt fix anything. Then he found that the crank seal behind the pto has a SMALL leak, no drip just a little leak. Said that was the problem and before I knew it had the whole engine out and torn apart. Then he found VERY VERY VERY SLIGHT play on one of the pistons (side to side not up and down). He said unless I change that piston with all its goods (bearing, etc), it will continue to run rough. It didn't make sense why he didnt check the carbs first but I was desperate. He told me to order the top end rebuild kit along with crank seals and that as soon as I get them he'll get to it. They just got here today and now hes giving me the run around, so I told him to F-off. So I guess my question is will these issues really make the engine run the way it was running. It would take time to start, and when running would rev up and down on its own at times. I'm going to go ahead and do the rebuild myself. How hard is it to do the crank seal? I ordered both but will probably only do the seal behind the pto. Thanks in advance.
