What to do with crankcases apart?

[Guest]

Rightyo, I had success yesterday!

I managed to get just enough spare time to get the other pesky allen bolt out finally and get the crankcases split. Yay!

Unfortunately, that meant no time to take photos and no time to clear some space on the bench to put the bottom half. I also need to do up a template of what bolt goes where so I know what I'm doing when I put it back together.

I have a suspicion that someone's put some nasty gasket goo on the front also as it didn't want to let go and there was what appeared to be some gooey stuff coming from between the halves which will require closer inspection.

I'll see if I can't get down there tonight and do some more. Now that I'm on the quiet part (hammering on an impact driver at night tends to upset my better half), I can hopefully get some more done and really get stuck into it.

Cheers,

Pete

[Suzuki_Don]

Hi Pete. I have the cases split on my 550 and the crankshaft on the bench. And i think the 450 and 550 are fairly similar inside the bottom end. Both are six speeds, etc. If I can help in any way let me know. I also have plenty of pics of the dissasembly process.

[Guest]

Cheers Don, that may come in real handy, although I suspect you'll be putting yours together much faster than mine.

It's already taken me over a year to get them split :-)

Ended up working late tonight, so definitely not going to get down there. Hopefully soon though as I have Thursday/Friday off this week and I may get some time between playing taxi for the wife.

[Suzuki_Don]

Cheers Don, that may come in real handy, although I suspect you'll be putting yours together much faster than mine.

It's already taken me over a year to get them split :-)

Ended up working late tonight, so definitely not going to get down there. Hopefully soon though as I have Thursday/Friday off this week and I may get some time between playing taxi for the wife.

Pete you need daylight saving in QLD then you would get an extra hours work done on the bike every day.

[NICK!]

Hey Pete, I used to take a big sheet of styrofoam, like somthing a TV would come packed with, and stick the bolts in the styrofoam in the corresponding place where they came out of the engine. I'd also draw an arrow pointing forward to show the front. That way when it came time to reassemble I would just pull the bolt out of the foam and drop it in its corresponding hole in the case. One for the bottom and one for the top. Used to save me a lot of time guessing which bolt went where.

After several engines a zip lock bag did fine, you eventually get a good feeling for where the bolts go.

You might have "jack bolt" holes to help seperate the cases. Usually one of the case bolts themselves do a nice job. The jack bolt holes would be threaded holes in the lower case at the gasket surface, easy to spot as they are "blind" hole rather than through holes.

[Guest]

Don: I wish!!!! Been waiting for daylight savings for years... Captain Bligh seems to think otherwise though unfortunately...

Nick: Good idea with the foam. I was planning on just poking them through a piece of paper for the moment though.

My biggest problem isn't the motor bolts though, it's actually the rest of the bike which is still in boxes from moving house last year. That's the mess that's really going to give me some "fun" sorting out!

[Steve]

Have you determined whether your heim joints are any good? I have a set from a donor 450 sitting in my parts box that I have absolutely no need for. They can be yours for the cost of shipping, if you are interested.

.

[Guest]

Hi Steve, no idea at the moment I'm afraid.

All my parts are in cardboard boxes from moving house last year, so I need to get the garage organised and sort them out again.

I'm considering making up or finding some rear sets that fit the GS though, so I may not require the standard ones yet, but unfortunately it's far too early to tell.

Thanks for the offer though and if I do need them I'll give you a yell, but in the meantime don't hang onto them for my sake if someone else is in need.

[Steve]

... don't hang onto them for my sake if someone else is in need.

I did not realize that I was 'hanging onto them' in the first place. I was digging through a box looking for something else and saw the pedal with the linkage and asked myself "I wonder what bike this came off of?" I have parts from a few non-GS bikes in some of my parts boxes, so I was not sure. However, seeing your post and the pictures, I was reminded that they came from my son's first bike, an '81 450T.

.

[mcneilk]

engine strip

not to hijack this thread but i thought this was relavent. i have taken the motor out of a '78 850. last night i went at it without any manual. i have downloaded the manual from basscliff's site but no cpu at the shed.

i was reading the manual this am. first off when i removed the cams i didn't loosen the caps diagonally. secondly i didn't mark the tappett covers with the corresponding tappets. third i didn't loosen the bolts of the cylinder head in any kinda pattern. will any or all these things cause problems later? whats it called under the cylinder head? i took that piece off to.

this bike and motor werent in any sorta running condition when i got em. its more my learning tool.

another thing after reading the manual is the about the valves. how can i get em out without the valve lifter tool? also are they supposed to move easily. i can't get em to budge a bit. the whole head is in terrible shape with rust and crud as are the piston tops.

the next step is splitting the cases but i won't tackle that until i have this other stuff sorted. then its time to organize and box up whats come off so far. this project is completely without a deadline and close to 0 budget. the more the budget goes up the further away the deadline will be.

[Nessism]

You need a valve spring compressor to remove the valves - compress the springs and remove the small keepers holding everything together (mark the valves with where they go first).

Not good about mixing up the valve buckets, the other issue with loosening up the bolts is not super critical I don't think. More important when tightening the bolts.

[Guest]

Ok, had a spare half an hour yesterday morning before work, so cleared some space on the workbench to put the bottom half of the crankcases.

Got a piece of paper and stuck all the bolts through and even managed to take some pic's.

It's looking pretty clean inside, although it appears there are some small amounts of metal filings etc. that will need to be cleaned out.

Top half still sitting on the bin for now:



Shifting forks look pretty good at a quick glance:



Closeup of the crank shaft:



Bolts:

[Guest]

And the gearbox:



Apologies for some of the pic's being a bit blurry, not even a digital camera can make up for my really bad photography (lack of) skills!

Anyway, next step is to start getting all those bits out to inspect and then clean the cases and paint them.

[Busafied]

How many miles on this motor? (sorry if you posted that already-)

I build a few engines here and there, mostly more modern ones now.
but about 30+ through my years.
last being the Hayabusa motor pushing tad over 300 hp on low boost.

Check your bearings for ANY scoring or wear.
Cheaper to replace them then tear the motor back down because you chose to skip this step.
The case markings (Letters stamped into your cases) will be your guide for main bearing replacements if needed.
Take the markings on the case and the markings on the Crank, use the chart in your manual or pdf file and replace them per the CHART.
Use plasti-gauge to verify clearances and adjust them accordingly.

I prefer to use Ultra Grey to mate my cases, it IMHO is the best by far.
Again only my experiences///
Replace the push rod & output shaft Seals, etc etc/

As mentioned, pull the wrist pin's and check the small end for distortion/scoring as mentioned, if they look good typically the rest of the rod is fine.
Pull the rod caps and just verify there is no scoring hiding under there or wear in the bearings.

YOU HAVE THE MOTOR DOWN NOW- Use our experiences and DO IT ALL ONCE~

Check the bearings on the transmission shafts for roughness, clean them with kerosene or another solvent, then test them again see if it fixed the rough feel or not.
If they still feel rough or you see pitting REPLACE.
A trick to replace an Output Shaft bearing, have the old one pressed off/
Then put the OUTPUT shaft in the freezer for a few hours, then push the bearing over the cold shaft.
HURRY, time is not your friend~ If you dilly dally the bearing will become cold and shrink down on the shaft causing you to have to have it pressed on ...
Just work fast and it will slide right on.

Next-Check your Transmission gears, you will need snap ring pliers to pull them apart.
Keep it in order take your time and PAY ATTENTION/
You want to check the engagement dogs on the gears (in between them) for rounding off of the edges, especially 2nd gear (longest throw and most suspect to missed shifts and rounding of the engagement dogs).]
Check your Shifter forks for worn edges.

I use Copper coat spray for all my head gskts, spray let get tacky then install to cylinders then slap on head.

Torque Sequence is MOST important on re-assembly-
Typically you will start in the upper center bolt then move around outward and clockwise per the manual.
Tear down, just try to remember to use a cross pattern, like you are supposed to do while tightening your lug nuts.

Most of your quality Gasket sets I would not use a sealer on.
Your cheaper eBay sets, use the Ultra Grey as mentioned it will help keep the gskts from sticking to your cases and covers...
I like the Ultra Grey IMHO and Experience it is the EASIEST to clean off the cases and covers, and yet one of the BEST sealers on the market.

When you set up your valve clearances just use the method prescribed in the manual and a nice non- magnetic set of feeler gauges (brass).
Enjoy removing the cams a few times unless you get lucky and get them figured out the first go around-
Jot down the Range on the INT (intake) and EXH (exhaust) from the manual, then I write down the measurements and adjust accordingly.

I am sure I am missing something, I have alot on my plate right now dealing with some personal issues.
But, I will try and keep up with the post and help when I can.

GL-
Ron

[Suzuki_Don]

You need a valve spring compressor to remove the valves - compress the springs and remove the small keepers holding everything together (mark the valves with where they go first).

Not good about mixing up the valve buckets, the other issue with loosening up the bolts is not super critical I don't think. More important when tightening the bolts.

Pete, you don't necessarily need a valve spring compressor tool to remove the valves and springs if you do it the "Aussie Way". Place head on work bench with rag stuffed in the combustion chamber (this prevents the valve moving down when you hit the valve retaining collar with the lump hammer). You then take a spark plug type socket, wrap it in black electrical tape so it won't score the inside surface where the valve bucket sits.

Place socket on valve collar and using decent size hammer (one size larger than claw hammer, here we call it a club hammer) give a sharp strike to the socket and the valve collets will pop out. Works every time and much faster than using the valve tool. You will need a special tool to replace them though, as a normal valve spring compressor will not work. You need to build an extension on the tool to reach inside the bucket cavity.