How far would you drive your 600 to a show?

[hedoshedo2]

since I am a new owner still sorting out my car 50 miles is about the longest ride so far

[Jason C. Via]

I drove my N600 from the Atlantic Ocean in Florida to the Pacific Ocean in CA just a couple years ago...  There's no limit to how far if you've got in running right...
Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 8, 2014, at 3:12 PM, "
heedo@...
[2cylinderhondas]" wrote:
since I am a new owner still sorting out my car 50 miles is about the longest ride so far

[hedoshedo2]

do you drive yours at freeway speeds? It seems like an awful lot rpm at 70 miles an hour

[Scott Walters]

From my own limited experience and what I've picked up on this group, the engine will do about 75,000
miles before it needs a rebuild. Rubber drive sprocket dampeners in '70s models will disintegrate
and clog the oil pump intake, causing massive engine damage. Slap in the oil pump will cause it to shatter,
and you won't know immediately you've lost oil pressure until you've done massive engine damage (I had
this experience). The timing chain guide's mount cuts through the aluminum in the engine and becomes
unaligned and fails to guide the timing chain, allowing it to easily jump time. Stretched timing
chains will cause timing to jump which can cause it to run too hot and seize or else valve clash.
Actually, the oil pump assembly and drive assembly can be rebuilt without pulling the engine out of
the car or splitting the crank case and tearing it all of the way down. That and top end work (timing
chain, timing chain guide repair work, etc) should do you pretty well. If you hear rod knock,
then you would have to do a full teardown.
Various electrical problems and the like are also to be expected for an older car. Copper oxidizes,
gets brittle, and breaks or overheats, or else the insulation cracks and water becomes a short
hazard. Gunk in the gas tank could clog the filter or a carb jet.
If you're ready to deal with minor mechanical problems (electrical, fuel related) and the engine is
fully rebuilt or safely below 75,000 miles, it could be a lot of fun. Otherwise, I'd suggest
continuing to stay close to home where AAA could fetch you if needed.
My oil pump imploded 2/3rds way through a 1,000 mile trip, and then I had to pull the engine out
and tear it completely down because of that. With help from home, I found a tow company that
also rents U-Haul trucks. They took a flat bed wrecker out to get me and then loaded the car
in the back of the U-Haul truck. The Z600 is too narrow to fit on their tow dolly.
There was no indication of problems until the engine stalled out, but by that time, it had eaten
the camshaft, ruined the pistons and cylinder walls, worn the crankshaft bearing journals way
out of spec, and various other things. When I put it back together, I tracked down a steel
oil pump thingie (connects the piston to the eccentric lobe on the secondary drive) to
replace the aluminum original one that one of the guys on here had fabricated. I also have
cylinder head temp gauges on both plugs so I have some warning if it starts to run hot for
any reason, including lack of oil. Or that's the theory anyway. The little TrailTech things
go for about $35 each.
After some rust work, new exhaust, and building up some confidence in my rebuild job, I do
hope to do at least one long trip in the thing.
That's basically a long version of what Jason said.
Hope that's helpful!
Cheers,
-scott

On 0, "'Jason C. Via'
Jcvia76@...
[2cylinderhondas]" wrote:
> I drove my N600 from the Atlantic Ocean in Florida to the Pacific Ocean in CA just a couple years ago... There's no limit to how far if you've got in running right...
> Sent from my iPhone
> > On Sep 8, 2014, at 3:12 PM, "
heedo@...
[2cylinderhondas]" wrote:
> > since I am a new owner still sorting out my car 50 miles is about the longest ride so far

[Bryan O_Shaughnessy]

Drove mine from Chicago-area to Continental Divide via Interstate-80 in 1975.  Cruised at 65, pedaled faster when needed to pass bicycles.  Transmission starts telling you at 2000 miles to change the motor/trans oil, though at this extended high-speed (!) I got the message at about 1500 miles.  Changed it in an auto parts store parking lot in Denver.
   I must also comment that oils in 1973 were inferior to today's synthetics.  I would now run 10W40 syn four-stroke MOTORCYCLE oil, given the additives it contains for shared engine/transmission usage.   ---Bryan O
On Monday, September 8, 2014 6:54 PM, "Scott Walters scott@... [2cylinderhondas]" wrote:

> From my own limited experience and what I've picked up on this group, the engine will do about 75,000
> miles before it needs a rebuild. Rubber drive sprocket dampeners in '70s models will disintegrate
> and clog the oil pump intake, causing massive engine damage. Slap in the oil pump will cause it to shatter,
> and you won't know immediately you've lost oil pressure until you've done massive engine damage (I had
> this experience). The timing chain guide's mount cuts through the aluminum in the engine and becomes
> unaligned and fails to guide the timing chain, allowing it to easily jump time. Stretched timing
> chains will cause timing to jump which can cause it to run too hot and seize or else valve clash.
> Actually, the oil pump assembly and drive assembly can be rebuilt without pulling the engine out of
> the car or splitting the crank case and tearing it all of the way down. That and top end work (timing
> chain, timing chain guide repair work, etc) should do you pretty well. If you hear rod knock,
> then you would have to do a full teardown.
> Various electrical problems and the like are also to be expected for an older car. Copper oxidizes,
> gets brittle, and breaks or overheats, or else the insulation cracks and water becomes a short
> hazard. Gunk in the gas tank could clog the filter or a carb jet.
> If you're ready to deal with minor mechanical problems (electrical, fuel related) and the engine is
> fully rebuilt or safely below 75,000 miles, it could be a lot of fun. Otherwise, I'd suggest
> continuing to stay close to home where AAA could fetch you if needed.
> My oil pump imploded 2/3rds way through a 1,000 mile trip, and then I had to pull the engine out
> and tear it completely down because of that. With help from home, I found a tow company that
> also rents U-Haul trucks. They took a flat bed wrecker out to get me and then loaded the car
> in the back of the U-Haul truck. The Z600 is too narrow to fit on their tow dolly.
> There was no indication of problems until the engine stalled out, but by that time, it had eaten
> the camshaft, ruined the pistons and cylinder walls, worn the crankshaft bearing journals way
> out of spec, and various other things. When I put it back together, I tracked down a steel
> oil pump thingie (connects the piston to the eccentric lobe on the secondary drive) to
> replace the aluminum original one that one of the guys on here had fabricated. I also have
> cylinder head temp gauges on both plugs so I have some warning if it starts to run hot for
> any reason, including lack of oil. Or that's the theory anyway. The little TrailTech things
> go for about $35 each.
> After some rust work, new exhaust, and building up some confidence in my rebuild job, I do
> hope to do at least one long trip in the thing.
> That's basically a long version of what Jason said.
> Hope that's helpful!
> Cheers,
> -scott
> On 0, "'Jason C. Via' Jcvia76@... [2cylinderhondas]" wrote:
> > I drove my N600 from the Atlantic Ocean in Florida to the Pacific Ocean in CA just a couple years ago... There's no limit to how far if you've got in running right...
> > Sent from my iPhone
> > > On Sep 8, 2014, at 3:12 PM, "heedo@... [2cylinderhondas]" wrote:
> > > since I am a new owner still sorting out my car 50 miles is about the longest ride so far

[Bill]

I too used to run a 20W50 grade of oil, and Torco for engines using the same oil for the engine and trans seemed like the correct choice.
http://www.torcousa.com/
But, 30W5 grade seems ok because I am driving them less and the oil viscosity is thinner and gets to lubricate the places it needs to faster.  There are engine oils out their now with viscosities in the Zero grade, and doing that makes them lubricate better, I started looking at oil coolers as all the Honda 600 engines I tore down had tar on the inside case, not the cylinders but the crank case / transmission case.
So the fan cooled the cylinders enough or the oil never stayed there long enough, but the oil in the crank case/transmission area were some times caked with a tar like substance.
Which happens with oil that is over heated.
Could this have been because the engine was failing anyway?
Maybe, but all of them?
So I made an oil cooler system that allowed me to monitor the oil pressure, temperature and every 10K miles I tore the engine down and measured critical areas like the pistons/rings, cam chain, cam, oil pump and oil pump rod/piston, all parts of the transmission and bearings.
What I found after 40K miles and 4 teardowns that with the cooler there was no tar, everything measured in Honda spec or showed no appreciable wear over the 40K I had driven it.
And, this was a daily driver in the 1990’s.
I stopped doing the tests because I sold the car.
But I still run my Sedan which has had an oil cooler in it since the early 1990’s and has not had a problem.
So keeping your cars oil above the (tar creating range of heat) is paramount to keeping it running well.
B ill