Last night I heard the death rattle from my beloved Ryobi 4 stroke
trimmer. After hundreds of hours of abuse it seems that a valve head
came off. The spark plug was smashed but intact, the piston not holed,
and the crank and connecting rod are all in good shape. Since it was
always run with the air cleaner on it seems that the only thing that
could cause the horrible rattle and compression loss is a valve coming
apart. The valve stems still go up and down so that makes it seem like
the only thing that could be rattling around inside the cylinder
smashing things is the valve head.
Looking on the web last night for a replacement I find that Ryobi no
longer sells a 4 stroke engine. But wait! Didn't MTD buy Ryobi? and
Troy Bilt? Yes! And now Troy Bilt makes a 4 stroke trimmer that looks
almost exactly like the Ryobi. And the parts that matter appear
exactly the same. So the split shaft that allows me to change from the
line trimmer head to the carbide blade head without turning off the
engine (Don't try this at home kids!) means I only need to buy the
string trimmer model and my old stuff will work with the new engine.
Cool. I'll post reports about the Troyobi when I buy it.
ERS