I'm reinstalling the head cover, and moved something, probably the solenoid, out of the way. Then I heard a distinctive "tink" of metal hitting metal. I looked around, couldn't find anything unusual.

Now I'm getting ready to bolt the decompression solenoid into place and notice that the pin and e-ring are missing. I think there's a 99% possibility that the "tink" I heard was the pin and or e-ring.

So I'm looking now for that the pin (21) and e-ring (22) on the ground. Or they could have fallen into the container of oil under the engine. I hope I don't have to remove the head cover again, to see if it fell into the valve adjustment window.  



And the rest of ya'll, careful with that!  

1. Swept area with 12" magnet....nothing.
2. Screened oil carefully....nothing.
3. Re-removed head cover, checked in valve area for little parts....nothing.

5th dimension....I'm a believer now.  

Maybe they were never there....but what was the "tink?" Dang.

I'm frustrated right now, so I'm going to tack. I'll start up the diesel tractor and breath in some fumes, which are quite therapeutic to the stressed mind, while I enjoy the sunshine and blue skies.

When I feel Zen again / the Spirit / amygdala has reset, I'll get back to taming the Savage Beast.

Ella Fitzgerald - Blue Skies
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB-xqDZbEVQ

I never did find it!

The "tink" happened when the solenoid fell off its perch on the frame as I was re-installing the head cover.

I'm starting to wonder if the solenoid was even connected correctly.  For temporary, I've inserted a cotter pin, and will get the correct part later.

Hopefully those parts didn't fall down the oil drain hole in the exhaust valve area. We'll see when I get it started later today, right?  

Well, there never was any pin or E-ring to connect the solenoid!  So the "tink" I heard was just the solenoid falling off it's perch on the frame.  I didn't have to tear off the head cover. Oh well, I learned how to do it pretty well.

With a temporary cotter pin installed in the place of the normal pin, I started the bike. WOW!  Now I know how the bike starts without a solenoid and [i]with[/i]!  So much easier!

Now I'm worried about the decompression solenoid being disconnected on purpose for some reason.  

Next job: making sure the solenoid is adjusted correctly and not holding open an exhaust valve, which would be bad for cooling the valve, and compression.

I didn't think of this until I had run it around the block, 4 miles.

But, for right now, I gotta farm. I bought another 10 hours of fuel (12 gallons) for the ol' Japanese John Deere, and need to clip several acres of pasture after the cows have grazed, which is really working to get the weeds out, and the pasture grasses I want established.

If I had it working I wouldn't buy hoot or mess with it. I'd look at it in a few months and see if it's wearing the cotter pin. If not great.. If it is,then I'd do something.