[sargentargent]

I had purchased a 250CC scooter for $700 with shipping from an auction site that had 1 mile on it and removed the engine because Roketa wanted $1800 for a replacement engine. Scooter appeared to have the exact and I mean exact same engine. Tom suggested I check my original center crankcase for cracks since the original engine was leaking and couldn't stop the leak + it was over 7 years old so I thought it was time to replace it. Left crankcase of scooter motor was too long for my buggy so I used ALL of the new parts from the scooter engine except for the left crankcase (had no choice). On my buggy the left crankcase is attached to the differential from the inside of the differential. You know what those buggy manuals are like. Worthless. So I made the decision to rebuild the engine while it was still in the buggy. Plenty of room once you remove the CV joint and swing arm from the passenger side and remove the 2 motor mount bolts allowing the motor to drop a few inches in the front. Tom believes the center crankcase from the new motor may be a bit too wide so he suggested I clean up and reuse the original center crankcase with the brand new crank, flywheel and starter gear and clutch. He said that if I see anything (during the rebuild) that I think doesn't look or fit right to take pictures and post them. So we'll see. I think he is right. I think the crankshaft was moving from side to side in the engine and it destroyed the crank and flywheel slot in the process. If that was the case it could have allowed the starter clutch to disengage and eventually lock up shearing the woodruff key and ruining the crank in the process. I will let you know after I'm sure everything is ok and back to normal. I will check to make sure nothing else broke too like a valve or maybe the piston but I don't think so. The problem is on the starter clutch side and if that crank was moving inside the case it is definitely the cause of the failure. After I get the center and left engine halves assembled I am going to try to move the crankshaft back and forth inside the case. If it doesn't move I should be okay.