well - I was recently working on an old motor cycle - mechanical lifters ... we were thinking carb - but finally checked the valve clearance --- exhaust side was too tight... the motor would start perfectly and ran great... Then it got hot, started to run poorly, big loss of power, eventually hard to keep running - impossible to start back up. (until it cooled down). Wash rinse repeat - same story every time... we checked the valve lash - it was too tight ... once the motor warmed up the valves stayed open and compression dropped... valve lash reset, motor was a "little" more noisy - not much, but once it heated up it sounded perfect... completely hot - runs great - no power loss - problem solved good luck to you.

Similar problems are becoming common on Vanguards. Here are a couple of ideas. 1. sometimes the Mikuni fuel pump starts to seep fuel into the crankcase (from the vacuum line). Fuel fumes in the crankcase are expelled into the air filter compartment from the breather and ingested through the carburetor air stream. This results in a rich fuel air mixture. Remove the air filter and disconnect the breather hose from the air filter housing. flex the breather hose so it is facing away from the carburetor inlet. Run the engine to see if there is a change. 2. Where did that engine oil go? If oil fumes were expelled from the breather, perhaps the air filter received a coating. How could this happen? I don't know -maybe by excess tipping? If the air filter is contaminated, a rich mixture might occur. Sometimes the wrong filters have caused this type of problem. Aftermarket filters have also caused problems because they are manufactured with more restrictive paper. 3. sparkplugs that are the wrong heat range or sparkplugs that are misfiring may allow black exhaust to be expelled. Sometimes the mis fire may not occur until the engine gets real hot. The experts may have more suggestions if these ideas do not help.

Earlier this year we had a "Gust Front" blow through, winds over 50 miles an hour and we lost three trees in the wooded fringe of the back yard. What will be my future hosta area as soon as I finish clearing out all the various vines and ground covers. As it turned out we also lost a fourth tree, a big hickory which provided the afternoon shade on my temporary bed of hostas. A very large crack was discovered leading down into the heart of the tree. So out it came and very quickly once discovered. So quickly that I didn't get a chance to cover my hostas. They were showered with sawdust mixed apparently with lube oil from the chain saws. Within a couple of days they were showing numerous damaged and dying leaves. The intense afternoon sun was no help either so now all my plants are in pots under the second story screen porch at the back of the house getting early morning sun. They are a sad looking bunch right now but even the Fire and Ice which is a 3rd year plant with three eyes had a second flush in the last few weeks of cooler temps. I'm going to keep them in pots for the foreseeable future. My wife has recently developed a debilitating health problem so I just don't have time to mess with them. Life is turning out to be a lot like war...no plan survives contact with the enemy.

Danhunter, We were just in the same position you were. We have a 1957 ranch in NE Ohio and our heating oil bills were $600/month this winter. Here's what we did: 1. Converted to natural gas. We didn't have gas service to the house, so we had to run the gas line inside and out as well as install a new burner on the boiler. Since the boiler was only 5 years old, it was worth it. Our first gas bill was $141 for 2 weeks, about half what it was on oil (this was before doing any of the insulation below.) The conversion cost us about $2000, since we did as much work as possible ourselves. Besides what we'll save on heating costs, the house will be easier to sell (whenever we get to that point) with gas heat. No one wants oil. 2. Last week, we insulated the attic with cellulose. DIY at a cost of just under $600. We foamed around all the openings we could find before blowing in the insulation. 3. We foamed the exterior walls of the crawlspace and packed fiberglass batts in the joists around the hot water pipes of the baseboard heating system. 3. We has a company come in and dense pack cellulose in the walls for $1800. This was just done Monday, but the house is much quieter. It was raining last night and I had to listen really hard to hear it. We notice that the furnace doesn't kick on nearly as often as before, but of course this is partially due to warmer weather. It will be next winter before we'll really see how much we'll save, although we should see some savings on AC this summer. I'm sure we would benefit from new windows, but that will have to be in the future. I also installed the foam insulators behind all the outlets and switch plates, and we will redo the weather stripping on the doors. An energy audit is a great idea. None of our energy providers around here offer them, and I think they cost about $300 more or less.