From: Customer
To: TechSupport@Hodaka-Parts.com
Subject: Need Help With A 96 Dirt Squirt

Hello,

I am attempting to resurrect a fallen model 96 Dirt Squirt and the motor had some water in the head sitting atop the piston – I freed up the piston, but it will need to be bored – I have a gentleman ready to do the job, but I want to know if I need a new head and where I can get “larger” pistons and have both in hand prior to measuring and boring.  Do you sell any upgrade kits or know of any piston/heads that are commercially available?  Thanks for the help.  Contact by email is usually best.

From: Bill To Customer

Congratulations on the find.  Bringing back the Dirt Squirt will be a ton of fun for you.  Parts are in good supply and its cost effective.  Let’s see if we can get you started with some suggestions. 

Top end rebuild kits are off the shelf and available in all sizes.  What your cylinder is currently bored to and what it needs to be bored to in order to clean up the cylinder (remove all wear points on the cylinder and make sure it is true so the piston goes straight up and down needs to be done by someone who is comfortable boring two stroke cylinders.   

There are several ways to approach this.  The first is to have someone local who understands two strokes bore it until it “cleans up AND matches the piston that you’ll be using”.  If you order a .040 over piston but the cylinder could have been cleaned up with only a .010 bore you wasted your cylinder.  In other words you almost need to have an assortment in hand before you start the bore.

We are very particular about who bores our cylinders.  If we bore we have the pistons in hand that allow us to bore to minimum requirements so future bores are left should you need to bore the cylinder in the future.  If you send us the cylinder we would clean it up, bore it to fit a piston assembly, paint and return.  Another option would be to send you a handful of pistons and whoever bores the cylinder would bore it until it cleaned up.  Just be very careful that whoever does the bore knows what they are doing.  You only have .0015 - .002” clearance and the bore must be straight.  If you are not accustomed to boring two strokes you could wind up with a problem

Another option would be to send us your cylinder and we would send you one of ours that has already been bored.  We would send you back $40 - $80 for your used cylinder depending on its condition. 

Whichever way you resolve the cylinder/piston problem you’ll still have to look into other water damage that may have occurred.

The only way water can get in between the head and the piston is if the spark plug was left out, or the engine was missing the carburetor or the exhaust system was missing and those points were left exposed to the elements..  Since you have the piston freed up you may have already taken off the head and you should be able to slide the cylinder off of the four studs coming out of the case.  What I want to get at is a look at the lower end connecting rod to see if there is water/rust buildup.  With the cylinder removed you can look at the base of the connecting rod with a flashlight and by moving the rod back and forth you can see the condition of the lower end bearing through the slit in the connecting rod.  The lower end is critical since the top end is running > 8,000 rpm’s.  And if there's any rust damage to the case bearings, lower end rod bearing or the lower end wrist pin it’ll come apart on you and destroy the top end you just put on.

Let’s stop there and you tell me how much and what kind of help you need from us.  Good luck, Bill.

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From: Customer
To: TechSupport@Hodaka-Parts.com
Subject: Need Help With A 96 Dirt Squirt

Bill,

Wow!  Awesome information my friend.  I will definitely have you guys handle the boring and matching to the right size piston.  I believe the lower end needs a rebuild of some kind, but have been soaking it in Marvel Mystery Oil to free everything up and break down rust.  I will empty it and clean it and get a look at the lower end bearing and let you know.  You are right about the water intrusion though – this particular bike had its front end removed, and it sat (I’m assuming in a puddle of some sort) until the exhaust rusted off and water got into it.  I am a Hodaka “Philanthropist” of sorts, so I will leave no complete bike behind for any reason, thus I frequently take on more than I can handle.  I currently have two Model 96 Dirt Squirts, two model 94a Wombats, and a Model 97 Super Combat that are all in the process of being restored.  So I would love to use you guys for top end rebuilds if you let me know how to get started.  Thanks again.

Hodaka Dave does all of our cylinders for us.  He’s also the chief mechanic for the Two Brothers Race Team.  To get things going you’ll package the cylinder and mail it to Dave and we'll ship it back at no cost with the piston assembly it was bored to.  Could I suggest that you hold off until you see how the crank looks?  Shipping the crank and the cylinder together would be cheaper than shipping them individually.  Just something to think about.  But if you find that the crank is good then you can just buy the cylinder bore/piston assembly package online and ship it out.

Other than the crank and the cylinder bore you might be able to do the rest of the work yourself.  Rebuilds are pretty straight forward and we have a bulletproof package that gives you all the seals, bearings and references each part to the schematic so you know where they belong.  And if you have problems during the weekend you can give us a call and we can help you out if you need it.  

If you have any other questions just let us know.  Take care, Bill