Moped Riders Association

[Forrest]

Hello

Last month I found a 1980 Puch with a a 2 speed engine. The people I bought it from said it ran last year, but after sitting under a carport for a year the engine was "froze" up from sitting. I got it home and put some sea foam in the cylinder and let it sit. A couple days later I was able to get the engine freed up by putting a strap wrench on the fly wheel and turning. After It was free i kept turning the fly wheel and kept spraying 2 cycle oil in through the carb port and spark plug hole until it seemed to move free and smooth. The problem is that there seems to be a very loud noise coming foam the engine case area, the best way I can describe it is the way bearings sound after you clean them out and before you repack them with grease, sounds like dry bearings (hope that makes sense) I went ahead and cleaned the carb, and changed the clutch fluid, which seemed to only have half the amount the service manual calls for. I Put everything back together, starts right up ,seems to run and shift fine, except for the "dry" bearing sound. This is first 2 speed Puch I have had, so i don't have any experience with them, and my engine fixing has been limited to honing cylinders, new pistons and rings (basically top end work) never taking the cases apart. So i guess my question is where do you think the noise is coming from? the bearings? What should I look for next? Looking at the service manual I honestly don't think I could split the cases apart, at least and get it back together!

Thanks

Forrest

[Tab]

Probably the bearings. You can't take that engine apart without all the correct 2-speed transmission tools. The ZA-50 was a great engine back in the day...but parts are now scarce and the tools are almost impossible to find.

[Ike]

Forrest,

Are you the Forrest that i got the Beautiful white Targa from a few years ago?

But Tab is probably right about the bearings in your Puch 2 speed. 99% of the time, if a 2 speed has sat neglected for any length of time, the bearing will rust and cause the noise you are hearing. I have had many 2 speeds over the years that have had this problem. Most of them ran fine but the bearings were very noisy.

Tab is also right about cost of parts and the special tools needed. If you decide to rebuild this engine, i have all the Puch tools and i can loan them to you if you want? That is, if i get them back from the guy who has them borrowed right now?? lol.

Ike

[Forrest]

Hello

Thanks for the answers, Yea Ike its the same Forrest, That was a nice looking Targa! If I could only get them them to run as well as I can make them look! Not That I'm going to, but what would happen if I kept running the engine in this condition? Would the bearings just seize up and cause major engine damage? I found this bike after looking for a good project bike for a while, wanted something I could keep and ride. What would you guys do? would you look for a used engine? If I do that should I stay away from the 2 speeds?

Thanks

Forrest

[alrob]

My guess is that it is the crankshaft bearing on the magneto side only, as that is what caused the similar noise on my Puch that had been sitting a while. Mine is an E50 though. On those the clutch side bearing is inside the transmission and is much better lubricated by the ATF. The magneto side bearing is lubricated by the 2 stroke oil only as it is in the crankcase, so if it sits for too long that little bit of oil can dry up and then the bearing will start to rust. It does make an awful sounding noise. It is not too hard to fix on an E50, but I know nothing about ZA50s.

Al

[Tab]

If you want a reliable daily runner, get a 1-speed. If you like tinkering and hunting down expensive parts, the 2-speed is for you. I own both. The 2-speed is a bit of a disappointment due to the gearing. Tomos has better gear ratios.

[Ike]

Forrest,

Its hard to say how long your engine will last with bad bearings? It may go forever and it may not last for 20 miles? It may even get a little quieter if you start riding it again, but it will never heal up. It will eventually tear itself apart.

Like Tab, i am not a big fan of the Puch 2 speed. If it were mine, i would try to find a good 1 speed. They are a lot more common, easier to work on and parts are much cheaper and easy to find.

From what i have seen you do to old bikes, i know it will be beautiful no matter what you do to the engine.

Good Luck with whatever you decide to do.

Ike

[Smitty]

The E50 is by far my favorite Moped engine. I too also believe that Tomos has the very best 2-speed Moped engines made. The Puch ZA50 engine to me was just way over-engineered, and as has been said, they're really hard to find parts for, and when you can find ZA50 parts, they're high as a Georgia pine!!!
The bearing noise may quieten a bit after running ... but, I'd venture to say that they will wear more rapidly and end in failure. The Puch ZA50 bearings aren't really on the reliable side anyway, from what I've seen and heard of them.

[Forrest]

Thanks for the tips guys, I will ride it for a while and see how it goes. In the mean time I will start looking for a Puch 1 speed.

Thanks

Forrest