53cc 4-stroke bronze bushing problem?

[greenrider]

Hi guys, I'm hoping y'all can help me out.
I've got an (alleged) 53cc 144f 4 stroke clone ala Amazon.

Once I did horrible things to the motor mount to get it on the huffy bayside it started right up and runs great . . . .except, after it gets warmed up about a mile or so down the road and the drive stops fully disengaging properly and starts squawking a bit, which I can sometimes stop by give it more throttle, at least temporarily.

Now it has a centrifugal clutch, a belt drive transmission, and a bronze bushing inside the bell.

Now I read somewhere else on here as how that could be the bushing instead of the clutch. So I've had that bushing off several times and the bushings was pretty scored up the first time I took it off, enough to catch my thumbnail, at first, pretty much down its length.

This appears, to my inexperienced eyes, to be a plain bronze bushing. (I have a sintered oil impregnated bushing on order)
I tried to polish away as much of the scoring as I could using a dishpan pot scrubber, and got a lot of it. I of course took a clean shop rag and cleaned inside the bell where the bushing sits.
I've since lubricated it, 1st - with grease (which I may have messed up by using marine grease as I had no high temp grease on hand) and when I rolled the bike out to start it, it rolled easy without trying to engage. I then rode it a mile or two, with the clutch and transmission working perfect until the engine had been hot for a while and it stopped disengaging completely and eventually started squawking like it wanted to seize or something.

I then took out the bearing again, cleaned, lubed with machine oil. Same result as with grease, starts out pedaling or walking it with no engagement, then a mile or two - same thing.

Today I said what the heck (I didn't really say heck ) and when I finished cleaning lubed it with some wd-40. Same result.
The fact that after I clean it up it stops engaging, so the back wheel ain't so hard to turn, and runs fine for a mile or two before messing up, then is fine again after I clean up the bushing, makes me think its the bushing that's the problem.

Any of y'all had this same problem?
Any info and/or advice is appreciated.

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]

Please paragraph your subjects; the wall of words is very rough on the eyes.

What others in the past have done is replace the brass bushing with an oil-lite bushing. Even with an oil-lite bushing you'll still have to resoak it after so many hours of use.

Get a tachometer/hour counter:

Change your engine oil every 25 hours of use, check/adjust the clearence for the proper settings on the valve lashes, and soak the oil-lite bushing in boiling oil for 24 hours.

Clean the air filter every 10 hours of use.

Change the fuel filter annually.

Use ethanol-free gas.

Routine maintenance is the key to longevity. My 4 stroke is 13 years old with 5000 hours of use on it.

 

[Venice Motor Bikes]

Simply add a drop or two of motor oil to the bushing when it starts making that noise.
You don't even have to take the clutch apart... simply add the oil to the edge of the center bolt washer & roll the bike around to work the oil into the bushing.

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]

You're dealing with Chinesium. For example: what the Chinese call stainless steel can have rust spots on it. Often the bushings in these kits are just brass or bronze, not an actual oil-lite bushing.

Here's a thread from the other forum of a member who delt with the same issue you're having now.

Pulled The Trigger On a Chinese 4-Stroke Belt Drive

Wish me luck. After much thought and research, I just purchased the Chinese 4-stroke 53cc kit from Worldokit for $180.00. He's a long time established seller so I'm hoping for the best. I know about the oilite bushing issue so I can deal with it immediately with oil impregnation. Believe I'll go...

motoredbikes.com

Update On Oilite Bushing/Bearings Conversions of 4 Stroke Belt Drive

Here's where I'm at for those interested. I completed the installation of the Oilite bushing on a Chinese 4 stroke ebay kit and did some initial testing. So far it looks like a very promising improvement over the greased bronze bushing - no drive problems at all. I don't know how long it will...

motoredbikes.com

 

[greenrider]

Please paragraph your subjects; the wall of words is very rough on the eyes.

What others in the past have done is replace the brass bushing with an oil-lite bushing. Even with an oil-lite bushing you'll still have to resoak it after so many hours of use.

Get a tachometer/hour counter:

Change your oil every 25 hours of use, check the clearence on the valve lashes, and soak the oil-lite bushing.

Clean the air filter every 10 hours of use.

Change the fuel filter annually.

Thanks Jerry. Sorry about the wall of words, I'll try and paragraph properly.

Resoaking every few hours doesn't sound so bad compared to every couple miles.

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]

Thanks Jerry. Sorry about the wall of words, I'll try and paragraph properly.

Resoaking every few hours doesn't sound so bad compared to every couple miles.

According to Wrench it helps to boil the oil as well. The good news Oil-lite bushings aren't very expensive.

 

[greenrider]

Simply add a drop or two of motor oil to the bushing when it starts making that noise.
You don't even have to take the clutch apart... simply add the oil to the edge of the center bolt washer & roll the bike around to work the oil into the bushing.

Thanks.
I tried that this morning, only I removed the center bolt washer and pulled the bushing about halfway out b4 giving it a drop or 3 of motor oil.
Unfortunately it still squawked and grabbed after a mile or 3.
Hopefully my sintered bushing will perform better, if/when it gets here.
I called Cornell Sales to ask about eta, and they literally said they wifi was out after their warehouse was struck by lightning!
I'm like, and thought they gotta be lying to me.
But when I checked the weather radar at their location, thet sure nuff got hit by a very severe t-storm.

But the guy gave me a call back this morning, and I think he said they'd be shipping today; so I gues they're okay, or at least joe is.

 

[greenrider]

According to Wrench it helps to boil the oil as well. The good news Oil-lite bushings aren't very expensive.

Boil it in oil huh? I'll have to try that.
I wonder if the boiling leaves a low friction surface from the carbon bonding with the metal, like season cast iron for a nonstick surface?
Yeah, the sintered, oil impregnated bushing (which I guess is supposed to a oilite clone or something) cost less than the shipping.

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]

Boil it in oil huh? I'll have to try that.
I wonder if the boiling leaves a low friction surface from the carbon bonding with the metal, like season cast iron for a nonstick surface?
Yeah, the sintered, oil impregnated bushing (which I guess is supposed to a oilite clone or something) cost less than the shipping.

The old cliché " You get what you pay for".

 

[Sidewinder Jerry]

Delete mistake.

 

[Oldbiscuit]

On sintered bronze bushings, it works best to lay the bushing in your palm on end. Fill the bushing as full as possible with oil then lay your other palm over it and press your hands together. The hydraulic pressure you apply will force the oil to saturate the bushing and seep all the way through. Once saturated, press in and it will stay lubed for quite a long time. Periodically oil it like others have said.

 

[greenrider]

On sintered bronze bushings, it works best to lay the bushing in your palm on end. Fill the bushing as full as possible with oil then lay your other palm over it and press your hands together. The hydraulic pressure you apply will force the oil to saturate the bushing and seep all the way through. Once saturated, press in and it will stay lubed for quite a long time. Periodically oil it like others have said.

That's pretty smart. Thanks for the tip.

 

[wrench]

According to Wrench it helps to boil the oil as well. The good news Oil-lite bushings aren't very expensive.

A new Oilite Bushing will last 10K miles before it has to be re impregnated with oil

Oilite recommends:
To re impregnate an Oilite Bushing with oil,
Drop the bushing in boiling 30w or 40w oil for 5 mins - 10 mins
The Oilite Bushing is re impregnated with oil and will last another 10K miles

 

[greenrider]

A new Oilite Bushing will last 10K miles before it has to be re impregnated with oil

Oilite recommends:
To re impregnate an Oilite Bushing with oil,
Drop the bushing in boiling 30w or 40w oil for 5 mins - 10 mins
The Oilite Bushing is re impregnated with oil and will last another 10K miles

Thanks Wrench, that sounds awesome! Is this the correct bearing for a 144f 53cc in the link below? I accidentally ordered the wrong size a few days ago and wanted to be sure.

Oil-Embedded Flanged Sleeve Bearing for 16 mm Shaft Diameter and 20 mm Housing ID, 20 mm Long https://www.mcmaster.com/product/6659K33

 

[Tang_Killss]

If you want to buy bearings, I can give you some advice. Carefully compare several websites and ask about the prices. You can save money by shopping online. Here I recommend a website tradebearings.com

 

[jannickz]

Your observation that the problem arises after the engine heats up and then disappears after cleaning the bushing suggests it could be the culprit. The scoring on the bushing can cause it to bind when heated, leading to incomplete clutch disengagement and the squeaking sound. The different lubricants you've tried haven't been able to adequately address the friction issue.

 

[wrench]

Your observation that the problem arises after the engine heats up and then disappears after cleaning the bushing suggests it could be the culprit. The scoring on the bushing can cause it to bind when heated, leading to incomplete clutch disengagement and the squeaking sound. The different lubricants you've tried haven't been able to adequately address the friction issue.

Thanks for the re explaining that, Captain Obvious

problem solved Post# 14