Bad float needles?

Would you consider Seafoam similar to Marvel Mystery Oil in this respect? I add Seafoam to my tank regularly since I don't get to ride nearly as often as I'd like.

 

I've heard of people doing just that... getting out there in the dead of winter to let it idle for a while. Can you elaborate on why this is bad?

If the ground was dry, I rode through the cold months... So I never winterized.

 

Not the same. Seafoam is mostly Naptha. Naptha is not an oil.

 

One of the primary products of burning hydrocarbons is water. Simply idiing an engine does not get the transmission up to a temperature where that moisture can be driven off. Every engine, no matter how new, has blowby (combustion products passing the piston rings and entering the crankcase). That blowby contains water vapor. The water vapor acts in combination with other combustion byproducts to form acids in the engine oil, which is not a big deal on a machine that is ridden regularly enough for the oil to be changed in a reasonable amount of time. On an engine that will be sitting for months, you want as little acid formation as possible, and for those acids to be in contact with engine internals for as short a time as possible. While idling an engine from time-to-time won't cause a catastrophic failure, it will reduce the time before a rebuild is needed (years instead of decades), which is of some concern where classic machines are concerned.

 

K-moe, thank you for that in-depth answer. Your knowledge, as well as many others here, absolutely amazes me.

 

All I do is spend as much time learning as I can, then pass it on.

 

Ok then, what can you tell us about 2 stroke outboard boat engines... heh...

Not kidding, I have a real "head scratcher" on my hands (1979 Johnson 50hp - you might remember it's signature olive green lower unit and white black and orange cover, from the late 70's style) ... When I open the cover there are so many crazy looking and delicate linkages and things connected to tiny levers, etc...
That said, I can tell you that this forum (due to my experiences with the XJ) has given me the courage to tinker with that boat engine a bit.

Though, I know that this conversation is for an entirely different forum... so disregard, I'm just babbling!

 

I like them, but haven't worked on one in 3o years. Even then all I ever did was regular maintainance by the book.