All that rust is what is left of the bearing retainer!! That is a prime example of what happens when you dont flush your mill out after the last run of the day or even worse if the motor inhales a dose of water, which looks to be the cause here...
ORIGINAL: James c harrell
Can't say all of this is very encouraging being as I jumped at the opportunity to try the ceramics. Couldn't resist at the price of them. On the other hand experience is king and I do have another engine for parts. Really hope theywork out though, I was kinda planning on re-building that spare engine. Just to show you what I was dealing with when I decided to try the ceramics I will show you what I found when I pulled mine down. This engine came from a friend of mine and I do not know the history of it but it did run(believe it or not it ran pretty good) Maybe you can tell me what this mess came from. Retainer in the rear bearing was gone and both were rough.