[posted and mailed]

"Joseph A. Zupko" wrote in
. net:

The tiller has a compression rate of 30. Is there's a inexpensive
way to fix it? The cylinder wall is scorched. Or is the engine shot
and not worth fixing?
thank you



It may be worth fixing if you can do the work yourself. Don't bother
trying to hone the cylinder, and who ever replied to reseat the valves
doesn't have a clue. That should be a ported two stroke, correct?
That means it doesn't even have a reed valve on the intake. The carb
intake should look directly in at the bottom of the piston skirt. When
the piston is up, it opens the port and the mix goes into the crankcase.
There is a different channel in the sides of the bore that lets the mix
get into the combustion chamber when the piston is down.

Buy a gasket set, cylinder and piston. You may need a special press or
fixture to remove the piston pin from the rod. Toss the old cylinder and
piston. Don't try to reuse any gaskets or seals because a leaky two stroke
either doesn't run, or burns up right away from runnig to lean and hot.

Given the cost of a new Mantis or Echo cultivator (it really isn't a
tiller), if you can fix it this way it may be worth it. But if you have
to pay some technician's labor, it probably isn't.

Matt
30 years in Outdoor Power Equipment repairs.