Well, so far so good. I think I corrected the e-unit issue. I roughed up the contact between the e-unit and frame and also thoroughly cleaned the drum (it was black). Seemed like a continuity issue and so far it hasn't stopped (fingers crossed).
I loc-tited (if that's a word) the side rod screws and eccentric screws and ran it after the fluid dried a bit. I'm convinced that the loosening hex screws were creating havoc with the eccentric crank and it's damaged nubs (which eventually broke one off).
I always tell my friends that opening up one of these PW engines reveals it's history and that's kind of cool. The rods have been an issue with this engine right from purchase (as I've mentioned) and apparently, the guy who fixed the quartering issue for me must have noticed a problem with the one eccentric crank. I found a VERY tiny star washer on it yesterday. Someone was trying to stop it from loosening.
Speaking of engine history......the worst I've ever seen was an FM I purchased several years ago on the Bay. Looked great in the pics. It wasn't. When I received it, I took the shell off to start my restore/tuneup routine. Total mess. Many parts were replaced with crappy stuff, but the worst part.....they had tried to rewire it. None of the wires were soldered together (they were twisted together) and.......instead of shrink to insulate the connections.......they used masking tape. YES.......masking tape. That engine went right back to the seller.
