boonman

2004 and up shouldn't give you too much trouble. Do NOT get an '03 with a 6.0L stroker. Although, it sounds like you are going new by the price you mention. I would go for it. You will Love the diesel. Then, start saving for mods. If you do nothing else, get some reliable guages in there first and foremost.

.020"I think is the proper gappage. Also, have you checked the coil? Just curious..... Try swapping the CDI's if you have a working bike in the neighborhood. (your buddies) Electrical can be a crap shoot, and be recitified by swapping parts unitll you come up with a solution....

SOunds like you better tear that entire motor down. You will have debris in the crank. Did you by chance blow a hole in the top of the piston? Also, are you on stock porting? It sounds alot like detonation, and an improper torquing down of things...... What kind of torque wrench do you have? How reliable do you think it is? What is your compression? On a fresh motor, you MUST leakdown test it. You should also do a baseline compression reading. After breakin, (3 heat cycles, please, please tell me you heat cycled it) take another reading. If the engine takes a shit, do a leakdown test on it BEFORE you crack a bolt. This will tell you if an air leak caused the problem, or if you should look elsewhere..... It sounds to me like a neglect situation, and improper installation/assembly is what caused this......

Yea, only one Vette, however, why is it that EVERYONE must own one? I personally cannot stand vettes. Every snot nose prick has to own one. I think it may be a pre-requisite to owning one? If they are the same engine with respect to their design, than that means that a Focus and a Crown Vic are essentially the same car because they have 4 wheels. Hardly the case. People always thought that the early Chevy diesels (like early 90's) were "essentially" a Small block 350.... Hardly...... A 4.6 and a 5.4 are different engines. Not essentially the same. Of course they can base design of one engine on something else..... It is all "essentially" related. But, does that mean my 7.3L powerstroke is the same as, let's say a 289 just because they have 8 cylinders? Hardly...... Go hop into a vehicle with a 4.6. Drive it, and then hop out of that, and into a 5.4, same vehicle remember. What will happen? Completely different world.... Not saying that the 5.4 is a ripppin motor. I think it is a pig. But, there are people that tell me my Power stroke is a pig too....... Oh well, watch the black cloud my friends.......

A-arms???

SOmething came apart in that motor at one time. It may still be apart. Be it a ring coming/breaking off, a skirt crackning off, or a bearing coming apart..... The pieces come up through the transfers, and get hammered up for a bit untill they make their way out the exhaust.....

4.6 is More gutless than the 5.4 BUT, the 5.4 is the preferrable motor to have if there is a choice..... I am sure you will be fine with it. Here are some specs for the triton motors....

What's the gap between the pickup and the timing tabs? Are you sure everything is connected and grounded properly? A bad ground is a huge enemy. You also say that everything is stock, except for the flywheel and timing plate... And then you say you have pipes and filters? If you don't have spark, it is definitely electrical. if it doesn't start, it could be a number of things....... Compression, ohmage on the stator..... Fuel.....

I have a comprehensive tool set. not as much as I would like, but I have ALOT of tools. I can tell you that on the shee, you will use 1/4" and 3/8" sockets. And unless you have ALOT of money, don't buy snap on. If you work at an auto shop, and have the tool truck rolling through 1-2 times a week, go snap on, or Mac. Just because of the convenience factor. You break a tool, and you get you a new one when the tool dude rolls through. Now, for the $$, you CANNOT beat Craftsman tools. No matter what anyone tells you about quality, I have used them all. I am thoroughly impressed with Craftsman's professional line of tools. Well, except for the professional series jack I bought.... But I got a replacement, and it works perfect. I have a 100 and some odd piece tool set I keep in the tool box on the truck. I use that thing all the damned time. It is the only tools (aside from a few pair of pliers and wire crimpers) that I have with me at the races. it fixes almost ANYTHING on the shee. You won't be able to do a complete motor teardown with it, (because of the clutch nut and flywheel) but everything else is there. I do alot of work on vehicles, and equipment. So, I have some larger shit. But, for most things, I would have to say if it is 14mm or under, I use a 1/4" ratchet. If I can get away with it, I use a 1/4" ratchet. love 'em. Unless I can't break it free, than I go up to 3/8". And so on........ There is nothing better feeling than having the correct tool for the job........ If you just need to work on the shee, go on down to the Sears store, and get the hundred dollar mechanics set. Comes in a nifty little black case. You will like it. After that, get yourself a set of ratcheting wrenches. They are kickass.

I was not aware of a center seal? Also, it wouldn't suck oil in if the oil level was low..... Is the oil level up to par? If it is, than rule out a crank seal. How is the exhaust color, and smell. Does it smell the same between both cylinders? Is it using any coolant? Are the carb tops screwed on tight? Good seal on both of them? Using a boost bottle? Stock balance tube? What? Leakdown is a good start. Compression would be next..... You could have a problem with a stuck float or something like that. Using the fuel to get up through 3rd, and then losing fuel out of the bowl? Swapping the plug wires will indicate a problem usually with the coil. Unless one of the timing tabs on the flywheel is goofed up.....

Also bear in mind that the banshee has two power strokes per 360 degrees of rotation. So, a flywheel is useless in making power. Except for electrical power... Anyways, throttle response is sickening with a lightened unit. To this day, not ONE person has asked to have a stock flywheel to replace their lightened one. At least not from me anyways? I don't know, BD has been doing this ALOT longer than me. Perhaps he knows of some whacky person that didn't like it. But I sure as hell don't know of any. I also distinctly remember the couple people that rode my bike (stock mind you) at Coalfest and came back grinnning. They liked it, and couldn't believe what a difference it was......... Just the flywheel. (and the other little things of course...)

The registration thing is comical. They force you to register your machine, and insure it if you ride off of your own property. Even if you have permission to ride on the property that is not your own, you need insurance. Mainly because NY is THE MOST lawsuit happy place on the planet. That's the reason for insurance..... ANyways, the registration, there are NO state maintained trails in NY. THey are all privately owned. So, where are the trails that I pay for? I would like to know. I know in the Tug Hill area, you can ride, but they are not state funded. SO, with the hundreds of thousands of ATV's registered in NY, where is all the $$ going? Piss on NY.

Pits in the head can be caused/are caused by debris in the combustion chamber. WHether it is from a bearing coming apart, or from a piston breaking, a ring, or whatever. I had a crank bearing failure. It sucked. I still ran the head after rebuild though. And you can look at the outer bearings on the crank by removing the side cover(s), but the inner bearings you need to split the case open to inspect..... If you had any sort of debris in the combustion chamber, more than likely, (like 95%) it came through the transfer ports. WHich means that it was near, or on the crank, and the bearings.... Which would be enough for me to split the cases and be absolutely sure before I wasted the whole motor on something that could have been prevented.....

This was my thinking as well. On the left carb, (the one with the fuel enrichment knob, or "choke" knob) there are two brass tubes in the float bowl. One is for the overflow, and the other draws fuel directly past the jets, and into the bore of the carb when you pull the knob. If the bowls are reversed, you ain't gonna draw anything when the knob is pulled out..... No matter how much beer you drink...

BD's slotted one is definitely lighter. However, I do believe that without the slots, they are the same. And the answer to the question, BDbanshee and myself can lighten flywheels. PROPERLY being the key word here.

How did you hold it in the lathe??? If you didn't machine it properly, it is a paper weight now. As may be the case with your crank.... The keyway may be trashed...... Is the keyway in there properly???

Welcome to NY. What's that old slogan??? I........ Love.........New York...... Yea, my ass. It sucks.....

Congratulations Walter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

You NEED to try it!!! Fantabulous!!!

Man, I'm 230 lbs...... Bone dry!!!! And welcome back Dune!!!!!!! Loooooooooong time!!

I am a design engineer in Akron NY. I design and build high speed, precision automated machinery. I design them, build them, and make them run. I also maintain them. I weld, machine, and construct. From the ground up, I do it all. I have used alot of welders, and whether you use a miller, or a Lincoln, the results are the same. It's all in what you're used to. Both are equal machines. Except when it comes to TIG welding. Miller takes the cake there......... Oh, and I forgot about my torches I think, Victor is what's on top of my bottles....

Buy a head off of Ebay, and use that one. Throw your current one in the dump...... Your squish will be frigged if you cut it past .030". How did it get warped?

If it has a "funny" odor to it, you may have a blown crank seal. What's the compression?

You'd have to check the compression. Also, how's the airfilter? How do you know the jetting ain't good? Is the carb clean? The valvtrain could be a little funky.... Usually, popping in an internal combustion engine is a sign of being lean...

Well, Nate my man, Aluminum requires almost a dedicated machine. Too many contaminants and aggravation switching back and forth between steel and aluminum. Unless you get a good size Tig. I have welded aluminum with the econotig, with good results, but it's not the prettiest looking thing. Aluminum requires ALOT of power. Now, for the everyday person, a nice 175 amp 220 volt gas shielded, MIG welder will do the trick. I love, and recommend VERY HIGHLY the Lincoln SP 175. It is a fantastic, easy to use machine. I can't say enough good things about it. More likely than not, if your ol' man has a wire fed, gas shielded welder, he is using a Carbon dioxide/ argon mix. Straight Argon will run on a TIG machine on steel. There are a slew of different shielding gasses to use on different materials. But, that's another story for another day. An argon/CO2 mix will do you splendid on just about anything you need to do in the garage...... I would have your aluminm pieces welded at a reputable shop. The required equipment is a bit pricey.... When you pick up your welding unit, be sure, (if it is a wire fed) that you pick up some extra tips, and some anti-spatter spray. They should throw in the tips for nothin. If they don't I would walk out. But, I don't know how many welding outfits you can purchase a welder from in your area.....