Purchased a Changfa R165 watercooled diesel engine, question about flywheel play

[vdubnut62]

I do believe you, Sir, are an overachiever.
Ron.

[Jesse McB]

Thank you Ron I like to take it to the fullest and best i can with what i have for resources when i do a project
This project is only possible because im taking my sweet ass time, right now im just waiting a good week for the paint to harden up, its very dry now! Then ill be installing the alternator, so ill have to buy that then a torque wrench to finalize everything. 

[Tom Reed]

As purdy as that engine is, how are you going to bring yourself to run it?

[Jesse McB]

Yes i know how you feel Tom, it feels like this engine should be used for a particular task, mayby a small car - buggy with interior cab, i can use the heat off the engine to heat the cab up during winter driving.

Im actully eager to run it i think it should last over 2000 hours before needing a overhaul, maybe it will last 5000 hours? Who knows lol If i take good care of it   The paint job will last the longest i can say that!!

It dont cost much for parts to rebuild these smaller diesel engines so im not worried

[vdubnut62]

If you maintain it well, in 5000 hrs it will be broken in.
Ron.

[Jesse McB]

I got the alternator!!   , its a new honda 110 amp, they are slightly more smaller then average alternators so its great for this project, its got a 5 ribb serpentine Pulley, im not worried about efficiency ATM    Now all i gotta do is mount it on the engine and buy a torque wrench to properly torque the main bolts to spec.  I can't wait to see this engine running!   Im still thinking of all the uses for it!!  

[Jesse McB]

Yeah it be nice if it last 5000! 

[glort]

I got myself a 170F today.  It's a 5/ 5.5 hp on the nameplate, depending how hard you rev it.
Seems a curious little engine. has electric start but no alternator or charging devise I can see.  Only started it off a jump pack today so maybe there is an output somewhere but I highly doubt it. Only wiring I can see is to the start switch from the starter motor. It does have a first position with " Prepare" on it which made me go looking for a glow plug but it's obviously a universal type switch.

Doesn't seem as heavy as my 165 but must be with that big lump of a starter on it. I have seen similar size starters on cars literally.
Also has a crank start fitting on the end of the shaft but there was no starter handle with it.

The thing is a Swan brand and going by the paint job, looks to me like it would be about 80's vintage which being Chinese probably means it's a 2015 Model.  :0) I don't think it's done much work. No oil leaks, no slop in anything, starts easy Now I bled the fuel system.... Nice engine.
It has that great horizontal sound which I so much prefer over the verticals.  Sort of went a bit mad on those lately finding some going cheap.  Now I have 5 all up. The new ones were electric start so I'll find a new home for the recoils. Not that I ever had any trouble with that on them.

I'll probably couple this engine up to a couple of 80A alts and see how they go with the microgroove pulleys on them with teh V pulley on the engine.  If the belt won't drive I'll have to try and find some V pulleys for the alts.
I wish there were interchangeable V pulleys for these engines. I'd like about a 5" pulley for the alts so they could be driven at lower engine speed to still make a good 20-30a a lot more quietly.

I bought a Tiller and a chipper the last couple of weeks but they both have Vertical engines or I'd look at putting this one on.  There is another type Of chipper I am interested in that usually comes with a petrol engine and is belt drive so would be real easy to convert to proper diesel power.
I only see a few of these a year come up here and they are normaly about as far away as they can get or as over priced so as to make one laugh.  I was very surprised this one was up for sale for so long before I got it.
Owner was bit of a dick when trying to deal with him so probably put people off.  Ended up I got it for $150 which was half what he initially had it for and told me there was no way in hell he'd let it go for under $250 when I offered him $200. He was hard to communicate with so I thought I'd let it go till I saw the thing relisted again.
Had a friend offer him the 150 after a few weeks and he took it.


I think you'll find the alternator a good match for your engine Jessie.  Gearing should be about right. People seem to underestimate the power of engines and over estimate the drag of alts and subsequently under gear things.  I have had a 6" pulley on both 5 and 6 Hp Diesels and petrol engines over driving alts and they work fine. many people I see on YT all seem to run the alt 1:1 on a 5-6 Hp engine.
far as I can calculate, a car alt needs about 3.5 Hp.  5 is plenty to over drive it and make more power at less RPM as experience has repeatedly proven.

With your engine, the pulley ratio should be pretty right out the box. Unless you are pulling loads of power and have the battery pretty low, you won't make full power anyway.  Alts are more about 30-40A at low speed than they are 100A at full tilt.  If your engine is doing about 2600 rpm, you should be in the sweet spot for the alt.  You can bump the output a bit by keeping the field wire externally energized.
I have run car alts to a battery and then through an inverter. Not terribly efficient but relatively cheap and has the upside that you don't need to run the engine all the time for low power loads. 
Alternatively, you can run it pretty slow and get just the power you need.

[Jesse McB]

Wow nice to hear all about the engine glort! Id wounder how the engine would sound like? They have alot of similar parts that can be used for my engine like the injector pump and injector. I wounder if the piston from a r170 will fit a 170f diesel?  How much does the engine weight? I weighed  my r165 and its over 80 pounds just the engine, its a heavy thing for its size!!!  And they still hop around when running    you should check the inside for casting sand, look at the valve pushrod gallerys they can be a mine full of sand waiting to spread out. I did a very good look for sand and found nothing till i actully gutted the engine, i was shocked to find about a large heaping tablespoon of sand in the rod galleries, i spent a few hours cleaning it all out using lights mirrors picks and wire brushed till not a single grain was left. Honestly i can say i did about enough hours work and time that id say this engine is half made in canada now lol!!!!  

Yes im planning to run the engine around 1500 to 1800 rpm whatever is the sweet spot for it to run, i havent used a R165 yet so i will have to figure  that out. The alternator will be spinning quite fast at full rpm but i wont use full power all the time just here and there. In a matter of fact im Eager to see how this engine runs with its power curve! Just like how bob g did his tests with the s195 diesel ill like to due similar tests  with this engine. Like how low of a load do i need for proper running temp, will the engine keep warm while idling? I think its so small, and with the small water volume cooling system it should heat up within a few min.  During assembly of the engine i had to purchase 3 cylinder sleeves, reason is i bought 1 and put a piston ring inside and saw a gap on one side, found out the cylinder got dropped or struck with a blunt object causing the inside bore to oval   so i ordered 2 more sleeves from the supplier, just incase ones damaged at least ill have one!! So when they arrived i check with a piston ring a used a bright light to look for side clearance, turned out one cylinfer was junk as well  , but the other one was perfect!    so i have 4 sleeves, the original which is still good just had a deep score running along the bottum half. 2 damaged sleeves and the good one thats in the engine. I find that among the 4 one is very shiny and looks like very hardend metal, to bad its one of the crushed damaged ones lol , not sure what type of metal  iron steel? But just saying that some sleeves may last longer then others!

Also another thing to mention, both my engines R170 and R165, after assembly when i turn the flywheel over to feel the compression i noticed the engine would make a loud click when turning through  compression., turn out after a few hours looking on the R165 confused,  i figured it out! Simple! The piston is aluminum the cylinder is iron so the piston will have slightly more clearance to make up for aluminium's expansion rate. This allowed some movement of the piston slapping,  this only happened when the engine has no oil and drained for a while. So yeah the faster you heat these engines the less wear and tear it will have!

[glort]

The 170 sounds just like the 165. Amazingly so even though my 165 has a muffler from a 2 stroke on it.  The mechanical clatter is the loudest thing in an aircooled anyway.
I sure would like to find a 10-15Hp water cooled horizontal. Wouldn't knock any size or type back actually, I love these things!

Have to put it on a trolley and hook it up to an alternator or an induction motor and have some fun with the thing!

[Jesse McB]

Theres a 15hp diesel engine for sale in Hamilton for $400! Changfa type horizontal water cooled with rebuild parts, only ran for few hours! I would buy it but i have no truck and it would cost alot to get it. If i can find a way to pick it up ill buy it! It weights 300 pounds ! I think is a s1100.

[Jesse McB]

Today im making the alternator bracket and the tensioner. I  have like no metal shop tools to work with so im working with minimal tools lol. My alternator bracket will be made from a few peices of scrap and a bike wheel axle for the through bolt. The tensioner is simple, just a peice of metal cut from a speed square with a long hole slot to allow for adjustment. Also more engine parts arrive, my 2 fuel injecter nozzels and 2 fuel pump barrels. I also just purchased a few torque wrenches, so all whats left on list to completion is a 36 inch 5 rib serpentine belt !

  Ill post pics soon! 

[mobile_bob]

if you can buy a low hour s1100 for 400 bucks you best better jump on it, not likely to ever find another at that price.

as for 300 lbs?  i think you are a little light?  if memory serves me it is a bit heavier than that.

bob g

[Jesse McB]

Yeah bob I contacted the guy but didn't hear back from him yet! I will at least try to get the engine so I don't feel bad lol!!!!  


Here's a few more pic of the homemade alternator bracket made form garage door latches and an adjustment bracket made from a speed square!  


Its not  complete yet !!!!!

[glort]

My alternator tensioner of Choice is a turnbuckle.

You can tighten the belts in the fly and they have plenty of ajustment.  Sometimes they may spin with vibration so I either put a bit of wire  through them or Paint the threads.
I have picked up a couple of spring loaded belt tentioners off cars to use.  I think these are the best option of all as they keep the same or relatively the same tension on the belt the whole time and don't need any adjustment.