200es Smokes on Start up...why?

[Richbo666]

Why does my 1984 200es smoke on start up for a good 3 mins orso ? Is it valve seals? can i get away without replacing them? does it affect the power?:wondering

[my1423]

Need more info!
Post a vid,
Pull your spark plug. What color is it? black, white, brown, ashy? Any deposits?
Black or white smoke?
Black smells of gas running rich from the choke or needed adjusted carb.
Warms up turn off choke and black smoke goes away.

If it is white smoke and smells like oil, Most likely you need rings.
Gets hot enough to burn the oil more completely and the piston and rings expand sealing it up.
Valve seals can add to this, but most of the time if you need valve seals you need guides, Piston, rings, cam chain, new gaskets.

[kb0nly]

Very common, my 200ES did this, as well as a couple other i have worked on. Most of the time the valve guides are fine, but the seals are shot.

Here is the test... If you let it sit for a day or two and start it and it smokes then ride it til its clear, now let it sit a bit, say a half hour. Now start it again, do you get any smoke when the engine is warm but sat a while? If not its the rings, if yes and you get any smoke at all then its the valve seals. The valve seals will leak as it sits, if it only smokes when you first start up its normally the seals, but the thing is if you tear it down to replace those damn seals you might as well refresh the top end, otherwise eventually you will be doing it again anyway.

I went through this on mine, pulled the head, replaced the seals, everything was fine. Then a few months later it started to lightly smoke again when cold, ended up doing a bore and hone, new piston and rings, and then rebuilt the head, valve job and new seals again. I had that one done by G&H Discount ATV, but i don't know if i can recommend them fully, they did a good job on the work, but it took forever for them on the turnaround.

atc007 on here can do this also, i just had him bore and hone a cylinder and rebuild a head with new valves and seals for another 200ES i rebuilt for a friend. That one is now smoke free for the first time in years.. LOL

[dougspcs]

It doesn't really which or the other it is..since no matter what, rings, seals, guides. They are all in the same place..

Don't really understand why everyone is so reluctant to face the fact that after 25+ years these machines need some real repair and want to dance around the fact they have to get into that engine to make it right again..

It's not that huge a deal, the manuals are all online to step by step you thru and it's not break the bank expensive. Couple hundred bucks tops..and that's if you need a piston set.

Top-end redo and problem is solved..100%

Done right it'll be good to go for the next 25..

[kb0nly]

It doesn't really which or the other it is..since no matter what, rings, seals, guides. They are all in the same place..

Don't really understand why everyone is so reluctant to face the fact that after 25+ years these machines need some real repair and want to dance around the fact they have to get into that engine to make it right again..

It's not that huge a deal, the manuals are all online to step by step you thru and it's not break the bank expensive. Couple hundred bucks tops..and that's if you need a piston set.

Top-end redo and problem is solved..100%

Done right it'll be good to go for the next 25..


Couldn't agree more.....

When i pulled my 200ES the first time i didnt do rings and bore because it looked really clean, compression was in spec, etc. Main reason i did the motor pull was a leaky headgasket and valve seals, but i guess the seals and gasket leaking was masking that it was burning a bit of oil from blowby as well. Mine could have really got by with a hone and rings the cylinder measured up really good, but i told them to bore it up one size and be done with it, i don't want to pull it again in a few years, its a big enough pain to do it every 25... LOL!!