Respectfully disagree with you Sax on this one. The sound he is hearing is piston slap. It is common among 2-cycle engines in general but even more so with the Duraforce. I suspect the Duraforce has slightly more piston to cylinder clearance to begin with than older models. Anyway, as the crankshaft is partially either up or down it the rod puts a lateral force on the piston and causes it to "slap" against the cylinder wall and make a clanking sound. The sound is more prominent when the engine is slowing down or speeding up. Water cooled 2 cycle engines dampened the noise quite a bit because of the water jacketed cylinder as opposed to the noise amplifying fins on air cooled engines. Suzuki and some others went so far as to put rubber cushions between the cylinder fins to dampen the clanking sound. The sound he is hearing could be worse than normal if the engine has ever had a partial piston seizure. Now.....that being said, It is slighly possible that a crack in the rod on the big end with excessive play in the needle bearings would make a clanking sound but it would not be long for this world if you know what I mean. Piston slap is the noise that gave 2 cycle Japanese motorcycles their characteristic sewing "machine" sound. One of the worst offenders in the piston slap noise arena was the Kawasaki 750cc triple. It was an air cooled wildly ported 3 cylinder big bore 2 stroke that would throw you off in a heart beat. It had a ton of piston slap because they has to make it relatively loose to prevent seizures. The Suzuki 3 cylinder 2 cycle 750 was water cooled and much quieter. As far as curing the noise in the Duraforce. If it is bothering you too much about all you could do is replace the piston and hope you have a tight enough piston to cylinder clearance to not make the noise. A completely different engine of a new shortblock would solve the problem too.

You CAN change the oil in a "sealed" transaxle. I did mine on my John Deere LT155 (which sports a Tuff Torq transaxle.) I wasn't having problems, but the tractor was approaching 300 hours of use and I wanted to change it. I'm glad I did, as it was looking pretty tired! Since these units don't have drain plugs, you will need to remove the transaxle, wash it off, remove the fill cap and turn the unit upside down to get the old oil out. Take notice of how much oil comes out so you can replace with the correct amount of fresh oil. (Mine took 2 quarts) If you're doing this yourself, use a digital camera to take pictures of the way the belts are routed, and to keep track of any linkage/wiring you have to remove along the way. It will help when you go to put it all back together again. My axle called for 10w-30. I used Mobil 1 15w-50 extended performance, and it's been working great going on the second summer after the change. It sounds like a scary job, but I was able to do it in a few hours taking my time. With what a new transaxle costs, I'd give the oil change a shot before buying a new one. A few other thoughts--make sure that the belts are routed and tensioned properly, that the little fan on top of the transaxle doesn't have any broken fins.

Call the IRS and ask them. There is a similar problem here in our city. A theme park went bankrupt and everything was taken for debts. Some of the equipment had not been paid for, some was leased. Some owners got their stuff back others didn't.

Well, I will share some of my experience with you and hope that it helps some. I am not in a good frame of mind this morning, so forgive me if this is choppy. I've been dealing with a CRF cat for 4.5 years. I hear ya on tired and frustrated! My experience has been that the ups and downs happen frequently. More than once I've looked at my kitty and thought, "This is it." From time to time she will be "off" for a few days at a time. Three years ago in October she went under the bed for 2 days and did not want to come out. She looked so sorry that I didn't give her fluids, and couldn't bring myself to give her her thyroid meds (bad, I know, but it was a call in the moment). I was surprised when she just bounced back about the time we got in to see the vet. That was the point I stopped focusing so much on doing everything medically right, and just started doing what was right for her day to day. If she wanted to eat "junk food" because it was all that would go down and stay down, so be it. How are your temperatures where you live? My cat does much worse in cooler weather. She is antsy and uncomfortable when the temperature of the house gets under 70F. She will huddle up under blankets, or act agitated and only calm down if she is held or cuddled. Given she is quite thin, I suspect she is incapable of staying very warm on her own. I tried to give her a heated bed, but for whatever reason, she does not like it. I understand that your situation is a bit different because of the cancer. My little boy buddy cat passed away from cancer in 09. He did not have CRF, but with the blessing of the vet, we gave him fluids the last couple weeks of his life to prevent him from getting dehydrated until he told us he was ready. One day the fluids were helping him to still enjoy some quality of life, and the next day I felt like I was giving him fluids only to prolong the inevitable--- it is just something you know when you love them. But along those same lines, he was getting so dehydrated without fluids that I would not have just stopped them and let him be. Do you know how to test your cat for dehydration by pulling up the skin on her neck? I'm so sorry, I know there are no easy answers. This is a day by day thing. Do what is right for today to give her some enjoyment and quality of life- whether it is a certain food, or some extra warmth, or a birdfeeder by the window, or her fluids. Then start with a clean slate tomorrow and decide how her quality of life is, and what you can do to make it a good day. I wish you all the best, it is so very difficult. (((HUGS)))