|
@Lethedethius: What do you mean by "engine knock"? I do see a small risk for slow oil-buildup ontop of the pistons even if the average pressure should be atmospheric when all valves are shut. The best reason for this fear is if one valve have a small leakage. I guess this can easily be checked by removing the sparkplugs now and then.
I know nothing about the Honda engines (and verry little about any modern engines) in detail. I would love to see my "split" experiment on a modern engine with injection and also one with turbo. What may make a reversible modification difficult on an OHC engine is if removing the tappets may not give enough clearence between the cams and the valve shafts. This was the case with my Fiat but since the engine was wrecked anyway all I had to do was to cut the clearence needed with my angle-grinder! :-)
On an OHC engine with rocker arms I suppose it may be quite easy to make a reversibe mod by removing the rockers only. (provided there´s no hole where oil starts to squirt like crazy when parts are removed...)
If an engine is to be modified "all the way", still with a chance to turn back, I suggest that the crankshaft oil orefices is shut by another method than welding. There´s always a risk for small drops of metal entering the crankshaft when welding and even if it´s a junk-engine I suggest to first insert some sort of metal plugs before welding starts.
I once read in a military handbook that a seized piston or bearing can be temporary "fixed" by removing the piston and then plugging up the oil-holes in the crankshaft by some layers of tape compressed by ha hose clamp! This is a realy dirty fix thay may both hold just around the corner or forever... I wouldn´t do this if I didn´t have a reliable oil pressure gauge! -A warning lamp may not give the early warning needed to save the engine if the hose clamp slowly gets loose.
|