2 stroke cold seize

I've heard this before, read up on it a bit. Hasn't happened to me yet.
It makes sense to me but I really don't hear too much about this issue either.
I normally let my 2 strokes idle for a minute or so before I get into the throttle.
Anyone do anything different, longer warm up, shorter or don't pay attention to it?

 

I let them warm up. Length of time depends on the outside temperature. If I can't touch the muffler I start using it. I also let them idle for a minute or so after use to cool and let a little more oil build up in the crankcase.

 

Couple pizz revs and I'm off to the races.

 

I always let it idle for a minute or two to build some heat before I start cutting , I do this with just about everything that burns fuel.
Same on shut down , let it idle for a short period of time before stopping'

A lot of changes go on internally when things get hot.

Not sure if right or wrong but just a habit I am in.

Look at something like formula 1 racing. The tolerances in those motors are so close that they have to be preheated before starting to prevent it from locking up.

 

Definitely let it warm up and cool down.
Pistons grow much faster than bores open up.

 

agree. It's a habit I've had for a while. I also let my equipment idle before shutting off, just feels like it is the right thing to do.

absolutely

 

Cold seize is more of an issue with water cooled engines...like dirtbikes...I've seen it a few times...only one with an air cooled engine though...super rich daddy buys his spoiled brat idiot kid a new Yamaha Blaster on Saturday and it was sitting there blowed up Monday morning...dad insisted Yamaha should warranty it, but I think we just ate it...daddy bought a new Warrior too...the dealership owner was a real suck up to anybody with money. We all knew what really happened though, the kid jumped on the quad to go for a spin in the woods next door before they took it on Saturday...the dang thing went from 0 to bouncing off the rev limiter in 0.0001 seconds...and stayed there the whole time he was on it. It was no real surprise to see it back on Monday...the real surprise is that the lil punk wasn't in the hospital. When he turned 16 we heard he was giving the local GM dealership fits with his new Corvette and 1500 4x4 too.

X2(3?)

 

Idk...I let my saw chug along for a minute to shake the cobwebs off. I don't jump out of bed and start running, so either should a saw.

 

That's the same thing I was told as a kid with my first 2 stroke dirt bike. They all should be warmed up but much more critical with liquid cooled engines for obvious reasons.

I've only siezed one engine not during testing and thats because I was young and stupid. Rode my air cooled YZ wide open for 3-4 miles on dirt roads trying to get home on time from a friend's house. Lost the big end rod bearing and wrecked stuff. This was after a year or so of ownership. Lesson learned early on. We weren't loaded either. I paid for that 2 year old used bike by working it off.

 

Yep. brenndatomu it's correct, more of an issue with water cooled 2 strokes. I had it happen myself on a 2 cylinder 650cc Kawasaki jet ski. There were scores on all 4 corners of 1 piston. Dealership covered it guy insisted I was at fault. Thing is I always let my engines warm up before sending it. This wasn't any different, except it seized. Never had any cold seizures ever since or before. Something was off and after rebuilding it, it was totally fine.

 

That's the classic sign of cold seizure.

 

My mentor told me that he would hold the edge of his finger on the cooling fins, and when they were warm enough that he didnt want to leave his finger there... it was warmed up. True story lol.

 

It is, but it wasn't me that cold seized it, is all I can figure. Used ski from a dealer, first time I had it out, and that, after it warmed up. Then it seized. Odd, but that's what happened. I think someone from the dealership ran it either in water or not and did the damage. Then walked away.

Like I said, they fixed it for free and it was a great jet ski and never gave me any issues, even though it was not stock.

 

While warming them up is a good idea the new saws pretty much won’t cold seize because they take the warm up into consideration when building it and make the tolerance for it. They can’t control how people warm stuff up and it is a hard one to get out of under warranty. Hard to prove a piston wasn’t oversized a bit too much after half of its on the cylinder wall.

 

I cold start, let it idle for a few seconds then go to town. Dont pay much attention otherwise.

 

That's what a few guys I know do. B.I.L. is a prime example. Soon as the saw will take full throttle without stumbling he's on it. I say nothing. He hasn't wrecked his saws yet. I'll still stick to my way.

 

What should i do? Ill wait longer if its cold out

 

Stihl tells you to check that the oiler is working by spinning the chain to visually see oil fling, no mention of warm-up.
Starting a chain saw: Step-by-Step Instruction | STIHL

Echo tells you to let the saw warm up before cutting.
ECHO Chain Saw Basics for Beginners, News - ECHO | ECHO

I can only find start procedure for Husqvarna. No mention of idle to warm. Same for a Dolmar manual.

I'm not stating anyone should do one or the other.
When I mill, I let the rig sit and idle for several minutes after starting, then after each cut, I let it sit there and idle for several minutes to cool off. Immense heat build w/ milling. I've done it after dusk and the front of the muffler was cherry red.

 

You do what you feel comfortable with. It has worked for you this long. I'm pretty ocd about certain things and probably go beyond whats needed.

 

I recall riding on the tractor while dad was plowing when I was a young feller...manifold was glowing...then I remember seeing how it went black as the engine was left to idle...maybe that's part of my ingrained thinking that a lil warmup and cool down time is beneficial...sure can't hurt!