"notbob" wrote in message
...
On 2012-03-27, Jules Richardson wrote:

* can't remember what I used now, but something rated for high temp and
oil contact.

Not familiar, it being decades since I was a motor wrench.

One quickie trick is to squirt some heavy motor oil (50-60wt) in the
sparky hole to give the rings some temp sealing power. It will go
away, but often gives jes enough seal to get the engine running.

nb

Here is a trick that seems to be little known, but one that has worked for
me at times over the many years I owned a small engine shop.

For a vertical cylinder engine, remove the spark plug - rotate the piston to
TDC (Top dead center) and then pour in paint thinner. It dissolves carbon
on piston rings and valve seats. Let stand overnight. Then drain oil and
refill with new oil. This will often bring compression up from virtually
nothing to a workable engine. Not a permanent fix, but gets you by. For a
horizontal piston (vertical crankshaft), tip the engine on its side with the
spark plug up.

Bob-tx