Jug replacement plan for XR200?

[Ramanonos]

 I'm trying to figure out what kind of jug and piston kit I should buy on eBay for a 1999 XR200. I acquired an XR 200 in a trade deal that doesn't kick over and do not have much history.  The previous owner had applied a bunch of JB Weld to the middle jug section because he said it was leaking a lot of oil.  He also said the timing chain couldn't tighten. Stil... he said it still ran 4 years ago.  my question is what kind of replacement eBay should I target? The jug says 194 CM. Does it matter which kit I buy?  i'm assuming it's best to buy the packaged jug/sleeve/piston altogether?  given that it's a 1999, I'm a bit hesitant about purchasing something off of a 1983… For example. Thoughts? 

[Chuck.]

I suggest not buying an ebay kit because all of the ones I have seen are Chinese for the CRF230F engines and will be expensive to adapt to the XR200. I suggest first checking your cylinder to see if it has stock bore and if so bore it for a 66mm Wiseco piston. If it is oversize buy a used cylinder on ebay and bore it for a 66mm Wiseco pistion.  Also use the late metal head gasket (same as the CRF230F gasket).

The 194cm jug is OEM on the late XR200Rs, but almost any of the 185-200 2 valve jugs from XL/XR/ATC will fit.  The situation is the 200s have a 65.5 bore, first over is 66mm, next is 66.5. The problem is the sleeve part that fits into the crankcase becomes definitely too thin for high performance with a 66.5 bore. That pretty much limit bore size to 66mm unless you want to spend a ton of money for an oversize sleeve and boring the cases.
If your engine is stock bore no problem, if you need a new cylinder you have a wide choice of options. The 185cc cylinders, if stock bore, will require two boring passes and my local machine shop charges extra, but YMMV.
I have used ATC185 and XR185 cylinders because even if they have first oversize I can still bore them to 66mm.

Common oil weap on these cylinders is at the head on the left side. Another oil leak is on the right rear cylinder stud because it carries oil under pressure to the cylinder head, usually caused by someone leaving out an O ring.

Cam chain not tightening is from improper maintenance, OSA has a write up on fixing. Running a loose chain will wear the cases, you'll see aluminum glitter in drained oil.  If the chain is worn, and I suspect it is, you should also replace the sliders and chain, plus check both sprockets for wear.

[greenhuman]

I have an ATC200x big finned cylinder which has been resleeved to take the larger pistons without worrying about too thin a sleeve. Pm me if you are interested in buying it.

[Ramanonos]

So I bought a used same 194cm replacement on ebay for $60. I suppose now I need to replace the rings and figure out the condition of the cylinder when I get it, but I have no idea if I should hone it with some scotch bright or just throw the rings on raw. Thoughts?

[chadzu]

Do you have any idea what the bore is on this cyl? Best case it's still 65.5 and you can buy a 66 piston kit. Have the cyl. Professionally bored and honed. I know you can probably slap some mismatched parts together and get it to run, but you are doing 90% of the work anyway. Why not make it right?

[Chuck.]

On 6/7/2017 at 4:41 PM, Ramanonos said:

So I bought a used same 194cm replacement on ebay for $60. I suppose now I need to replace the rings and figure out the condition of the cylinder when I get it, but I have no idea if I should hone it with some scotch bright or just throw the rings on raw. Thoughts?

"Scotchbrite" or honing is used to clean piston/ring material from Nikasil plated bores as prep for new rings or piston/rings, very common on newer water cooled engines. XR cylinders have liners that are not plated so the bores are prepared the old fashion way:

• Inspect for wear and taper, and an oversize bore is almost always needed on a used cylinder.
• Pistons are available in 0.5mm increments.
• XR OEM bores are 65.5mm, a lot of ATCs are smaller, a 66mm oversize is common, a 66.5mm bore weakens the lower part of the sleeve.  So a stock cylinder is good for one overbore.
• Usual method is a new piston/rings, and then bore/hone the cylinder to suit.