Seized LiFan Generator (Part 1) - What Happened? 

We have used the ru-vid.comUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!

Scotch-Brite the crank journal, run a hone through the con-rod 'til it fits, use the torque specs from whatever that's a clone of, put the oil back in and send it.

My suggestion would be to clean the crankshaft and hone the con rod then use plastic gage to get your.003 clearance. I noticed that the piston skirts seemed a little tight also.

An interesting little challenge! - I'd be looking at that big-end again and seeing if if can be made to live again. It doesn't look too seriously burned (but I am viewing on my phone), but with some care, all that abraded surface could be pared back and still reveal a usable surface which could well have remained in spec. The crank looks exceptionally good, considering what's gone on. This engine reminds me of a Fuji Robin 8HP diesel we had on a generator, and it had suffered much the same way. The guys at "Engine Reclaim" made an excellent job of renovating the rod - The crank was fine, and removing the tarnish from the piston skirt was all it needed to bring things back to spec. However, as we see "Pupp, popp, plooff, plopp, Popple pudd"!! You've already got it back together again, and something ain't right somewhere! - Timing? Or bad valves? Can't wait to see!

I’m excited to see a rebuild. There is very few things in life as cool as watching an engine start for the first time after a rebuild.

Seems to be a common pattern. Oil runs low, and the rod fuses itself to crank. In this case, the operator heard it happening and stopped the engine before the rod broke, but most of the time, it just runs until the engine flies apart internally. From all of your videos that I have watched, I have picked up and learned many things, but the top of the list of things I've learned is to KEEP THE OIL FRESH AND FULL, and always use synthetic oil! The second on the list is to drain the carb each time, keep the fuel fresh and use stabilizer. Because of you and your videos, I have completely changed the way I maintain my Predator 8750. Hopefully, because of you, it will last nearly forever. This LiFan engine looks identical to my Predator 8750. All of the Honda clones look pretty similar. I bet you could use the specs, and maybe even the replacement parts, from the Predator on this LiFan. Thank you James.

Honing the connecting rod or grinding the crankshaft would make for a nice rebuild video. No new parts repair videos are the most fun videos to watch.

Use a micrometer to check the crankshaft to make certain that it is round then ream or hone the rod to match with clearance. You can get an adjustable reamer set that covers from 15/32 to 1-1/16 for $55 or one that goes from 15/32 to 1-3/16 for $83 on Amazon or get a single reamer that covers the size needed. Either one is cheaper than the new rod and you have them to use for other things. An automotive machine shop could also do it. Even a flap wheel might do a good enough job.

Wow at how clean that cylinder looks

Having a good laugh with this one because it makes me remember when I was young and foolish & I had a very similar problem. It was a rather old and battered genset but I needed it back and running so I honed the connecting rod. It freed up and was still a touch tight so I put it back together. 20 years later it is still sitting just behind me in full working order. Changed the oil after 30 minutes run and it now shows no sign of problems in the oil. Only used once or twice a year. It will probably outlast me.

The teaser at the end was funny. Flames out the exhaust and intake. Can't wait for the next vid on this.

As others have said work with what you have there if you cannot find a replacement. I would polish the crank then use some sharpie or similar to cover the big end on the connecting rod to see where it is dragging and go from there….. Keep up the great work..

A guy below recommended cleaning up the crankshaft journal and cleaning up the connecting rod as well. I would go this route. Some fine polishing sand paper (or whatever they use in machine shops), and go lightly. I bet before too long, you'll have a perfect fit.

Ahh man, teasing with that little trailer at the end.

You are the best on you tube the only bad thing I see is you need a table to work on not on the floor . I hope to see you soon working on a table even if it’s just 2 horses with a piece of plywood. Thank you , you are the best

Lifan is a major manufacturer, they build engines for all sorts of things.. motorcycles, scooters etc. I was a bit surprised.. the build on that looked better than I expected, nice bearings supporting the shafts, a balance shaft, the casting on that rod and piston looked nice. I think I would try to hone it, and plastigauge it.. see if you can get it to loosen up. Usually when they run low on oil and seize up you will see some blue color on the parts that got hot.. either the owner caught it quickly and shut it down, or maybe there is a machining defect from the factory and it was just a bit tight on the clearances, it got a bit hot, parts expanded and it grabbed and locked up quickly. great video.. looking forward to part 2

This one sure keeps my interest. I didn't notice any comments about low oil shut off. Please mention the presence or lack of in next video. Also your method for testing the low oil shut off so you can be certain its working before engine reassembly. Thanks for the video

Makes sense it's the connecting Rod bearing surfaces aren't smooth no more and it's gripping the crank shaft

I agree with some of the comments below, polish the crank journal, clean up the con rod bearing till it's a nice fit on the crank, and rebuild ...

That’s trick for pulling the rotor is pretty good! I’ve heard of Irish spring soap in a crank to pull a pilot bearing but this is just as ingenious

Nice job at a diagnosis. Will be interesting to see what you do with this in the future.

I like the nut on the flywheel trick to remove flywheel with hammer as opposed to gear puller. Also, the hydraulic removal of rotor is very cool. These Chinese clones are fun to work on. Parts cheap, unfortunately, these units don’t last. Sometimes you get lucky. I just sold a Champion generator that had over 1000 hours on the meter.

Good job, but I might try lapping the con rod to the crank. I have done that before and had great success

Looking forward to the next video on this generator, I'm sure you'll bring it back to life, nice work as always!

James, you always do the job right. Others have gotten good result working many times with what they’ve got. With some checking over and some fine hand work it looks like this engine can go back together with little to no new parts. Good luck with this challenge. Someone said it’s not rocket science. I’m a fan.

Thumbs up for teaching me to use water.

Hello James. that engine is damaged that crankshaft may be twisted possibly. the best option is to fit a new engine with the same characteristics and get it running and worst case scenario use that generator for parts...thanks for the excellent generator diagnostic and repair tutorials...James Condon Academy.. .😁👍👍👍 greetings from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷...

In trade school we were warned about putting bolt into holes with water or oil in them. Never thought I would see it put to a good use.

Reminds me of old Triumph motorbikes that had the dural rod running direct on the crank.

Very nice work as always! Love and blessings from Ontario Canada!

I love the trick of using water and bolt to get the rotor off. I am amazed the connecting rod was not gauled since it was the cause of the lock. Looking forward to the next video. Dave.

Great tear-down video! Loved the disassemble. I'm half way so far.

Awesome timing! Just sitting down with my coffee.

I wouldn't have thought of using hydraulic pressure to get that off. That's a neat little trick.

Interesting state for this one to be in. Looking forward to seeing you get it to the point of the test start as seen in the teaser at the end!

I have just found your channel, James, and I am totally hooked! I wish I had had it available when I was doing light machine maintenance years ago. Your knowledge, patience and expertise is amazing. I would love to see the engine rebuilt. Like some other commenters, I think trying to lightly machine the crank shaft and big end to make them fit better would be a good first step. If that does not work, go for the new con rod.

Hi James, yet another challenge for you. By watching your video's, you will solve the problem without any question as you always do. Will look forward to seeing you next video on the outcome of the engine.

You’re going to get it running!

Interesting disassembly, thank you for another entertaining video.

I do think the valves are apart of the issue Good video that stator put up a massive fight nice work getting it off without any casualties @James Condon

Excellent video James, looking forward to the solution for this unit

My back hurts watching you work on the floor

I have some experience of killing small engines like this. Mine was a 3 inch pump using a diesel engine. The issue was the splash-fed oil system which didn't like being left to run when located on an inclined slope. Oil cut-off doesn't help if that part of the sump is still full.

Spoiler alert at end, nice. Looking forward to part 2! 👍👍👍

I love the water puller trick! Never saw that one before. Brilliant.

Very interesting failure! I wonder if it’s just a defective engine that didn’t have the tolerances quite right from the factory. Quality control seems to be all over the place with some of these manufacturers to say the least.

Good video. Use plasta gage on the rod bearing to set the proper clearance. I think the valve rotator is missing on the exh. valve. Might try a percision expandable reamer for the rod bearing. Thanks for the video.

Wow finally I saw one like mine.. this one will be interesting for me ...can't wait to see part 2 U gonna do it Mr. James 👍

I have saved buying many connecting rods , take 400 grit wet and dry sandpaper and W.D.40, carefully sand the rod bearing surface to nice new surface , do the same with the crank journal . Then plasti guage the fit to check clearance . It will save you $90.

Generator Guru? Uhh..that would be you sir. Thanks for the video.

go for it James use other genset torque values may have to polish crank journal use std clearances etc ,here in the tropics is polish clean up and assemble with just gaskit set

great thing about Aluminum rods is that they tend not to destroy the crank journal. Some hydrochloric acid and linish with wet/dry sand paper (spun with a shoe lace) and they can polish up like new. Spare rods are available online inexpensively. If you have a really non identifiable chinese clone engine............just measure the rods crucial dimensions and find one online that measures up.

Yep me to just sat down with a wild Turkey my guess connecting rod as you said it ran out of oil and the rod got hot and expanded and seized. great video's mate Thanks

Can't wait to see the results.

I love your videos..but please for my back and knees watching you…can you get a bench to work on please 🙏 😝

Maybe someone before you did a rebuild with an undersized rod, not knowing what they had. I'd mic up the journal and rod to see. If they never got it started, both could be usable, and you could get away with boring and/or lapping. It would be great to find a manual with factory sizes.

Very cool. What a tease👍

This is exactly what happens if you run a drained engine. I have experimented with this on briggs engines, and if they run out of oil slowly (never topped up) the rod will heat up, and snap eventually. But if it's fully drained, the rod will bind so hard and fast that the friction will kill the engine before the rod snaps. I don't know why you would do it, but to me it looks like the engine had been drained (for storage/transport maybe?) and it was started, died, and then oil was added in an attempt to save it to no avail. It takes very little lubrication to prevent the piston from binding to the cylinder, so usually you won't see piston damage when they run out of oil like you would if it overheated.

i work on all things but from this video i will nottt look at these things!! to hard to work on i am far to lazy and smart to tackle these generators let it up to you for the punishment terrific video thank you!!

James, I was really kind of wondering if maybe that this engine slipped through with little to no “Quality Control” when it was manufactured - Or Possibly A Monday or Friday Special. When I viewed this video, it was very apparent that engine parts were out of tolerance enough to bind up rather than totally seize once a abnormal heating condition manifested itself or as you alluded to with the air intake system drawing a large amount of dirt or maybe a combination of both situations. As some of the other comments alluded to, Some cleanup and or minor machining could possibly make all of the difference in the world with this engine - Barring no cracking or severe scoring has occurred. I have seen engines in far worse condition internally than ran like a sewing machine. James, I am really looking forward to seeing your follow up video regarding the engine situation. I am a retired welder/fabricator and had a 1954 Hobart engine drive welder that I occasionally had to clean the brushes on. It’s truly amazing how deeply that the Mud Daubers would build their nests in periods of inactivity of welding equipment. So naturally I am really drawn to your generator repair videos.from my past history of welding and maintenance of my welders.

The conrod assembly can be reused. Assemble the rod cap to the rod, & carefully hone it with a fine honing stone. Won't need much, or wrap p1200 wet & dry around a piece of timber just big enough to fit the rod assembly, & push it back & forth for about 30 seconds, using water to float the debris away. Test fit to the crank, oiling the rod assembly before testing.

Just a note, out of the upmost of respect for you and your video editing sir! Obviously this will be a voice lost in a sea of voices however maybe it’s one more drop in the bucket. Would love to of seen you carefully remove the connecting rod from the crankshaft at the end of the video. Thank you for the content sir!

Would acid cleaning the crankshaft help. Also a light sanding of the Conrod bearing surface to get rid of glazing could help too.

Was definitely not expecting a frozen rod. The way that piston fought being removed I expected to see a chunk of valve head wedged between the piston and cylinder. Glad you’re going to keep going on this one!

Electric overhead hoist, very handy! TEASER!

Thank you for your video.

Water Trick -- IMPRESSIVE!!

James, a little trick when your puller jaws keep slipping off, put a large hose clamp around the jaws and that will help keep them on whatever you are trying to pull off the shaft.

Wow. That was one of the most unusual stuck pistons I have seen especially with no real evidence of serious damage to crank or rod. This is one that you may not be able to recoup your money from. That would be a bummer. You may have another engine that you can bolt up to the generator and be done with it. Looking forward to next video..

Here's the thing. This machine is identical to others that James has renovated. In other words, the manufactureres in China have been gradually been bought out such that the paint job might be different but nothing else is. This happened in the UK between 1960 and 1980 in the bus and coach industry: the phrase used for that homogenisation was 'Badge Engineering'. I experienced the same when I was setting up my kitchen in 2012: all kitchen knives has the same design and manufacture, save for different handles.

In my limited experience, lifan engines have been top quality machines.

I love that water trick !!!!

Thank you for another great tare down video. If it is the connecting rod ot might be worth fixing.

Well.... hopefully you'll find the specs you need.....if not....you have some good parts for other gennys.👍👍

This one has me wondering James !

Nice video as usual

I think you could clean up the crank journal then replace the rod.

A new rod, emery cloth to clean the crank up, ball hone the cylinder, new rings and gaskets and a rotator cup for the valve and she should be as good as used.

i notice you pull the end housing off the generator first. i always pulled the rotor off and stator as a unit. i took an old bolt and cut it down for jacking the stator off with an m12 bolt . i found it easier to get that bearing out.

Hey James! I had the same exact generator with the same exact problem, except mine threw the rod thru the casing. It’s literally a GX390 clone. I used a GX390 casing with a cheapo Amazon GX390 rebuild kit and it all went back together flawlessly.

Hi James my experience would be parts bin mate the challenge is to great with lots of your time with little money at the end and Thats if you get it working James looking forward to see what you will do mate

Someone's been watching Taryl Fixes All for that flywheel removal technique. Works every time.

I had a riding mower with the same problem. Someone changed the oil and forgot to refill the oil before cranking it. I changed the connecting rod and that took care of the problem.

Hello James. I enjoy your videos very much.I was wondering why you don't have a hydraulic lift table or cart to place things at a better working height? You are alway working on the floor. Keep up the good work!

I would be able to take it apart But it would in pieces that I cannot put back together. Kudos for your great tips.n work Maybe the generator part could be put on other engine

Take the rod to a good machine shop, ask if they can polish crank & hone rod big end...

In case no one said THANKs for telling us the PRICE !!!!!

I never saw the valve retainer cover. What happened to that? Did it somehow make it into the crankcase? I don't know what the material it is made of but could that have affected the crank and connecting rod clearance? Great video.

Now the question of the day is is scrap it or rebuild it your call young man 😎

Great video. Looks like it ran out of oil and everything got too hot, lucky the cylinder and piston looks ok, besides the connecting rod, the valves/stem seals might also be damaged.

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Definitely try Scotch Brite and WD40 to remove scoring on bearing shell plus same on journal. suggest you use reassembly lube , refit bigend and check for smooth dragless rotation.

Hey Jim. I really enjoy the videos. I was wondering if you have ever run into a situation where the water trick didn't work to get the rotor off or if the water didn't have a good seal on the back end and wouldn't seal to obtain any pressure. Thanks.

Good machine

Thanks!

Oil pump? And the piston looked tight. Was it or the cylinder warped? Long time since we saw a strip found. Thanks.

How strange. One would think that if there was extreme wear from rod to crank that there would be shavings and a loose fit. Learn something new every day.

Hmm something wrong with the piston and the bore not the crankshaft 🤔🤔

Could the interference be something that just got cooked onto one or both surfaces. It almost looks like that in the video. Maybe try checking the clearances between the two surfaces? Also, maybe try aggressively cleaning to see if the rogue material can be cleaned off. As you mentioned, maybe it’s something that was ingested through the holes in that air filter and got cooking onto the connecting rod or crankshaft. Seems like that would be worth a try.

Hi, James. So, it ran out of oil and damaged the crank bearing. They put in the wrong bearing. Now it is too tight to turn. Just a guess. Thanks for sharing! Stay Healthy!