Charmayne's rebuild of her 550L

[Nessism]

It's heartbreaking to read about those broken bolts. Most of the time they can be safely extracted if you take your time and don't force things. I use a 1/4" short handle ratchet wrench so the temptation to crank the bolts is reduced. Spray them with PB Blaster then heat with a torch until they are red and then hit them with the PB again. Use your short handle wrench turning BOTH in and out. The idea is to get them to crack loose. Heat, spray, turn, again and again. Once you get them to move the PB will penetrate better. Again, in and out, slowly working out of course...but never force them.

 

[storm 64]

Yeah Cowboy, if your nut welding trick doesn't work, I'd be happy to dig them buggers out for you... Good luck

 

[roeme]

As noted in the other thread, I doubt that the cylinders are bad and suspect the valves and compression gauge/measuring setup instead, so I'd rule those out first before taking the cylinders off...But since you have a capable machine shop available, yeah, why not.

 

[cowboyup3371]

Top end came off but first, I did a valve clearance check and cylinders 1 and 2 still match while both 3 and 4 tightened up slightly from what I checked in September of 2019. However, when I removed the intake cam and then the number 2 shim, I found this:

Broken Intake 2 Shim by Scott Baker, on Flickr

I'm trying to understand how that happened when I know the shim was sitting in the bucket properly after the adjustment. Fortunately though, all pieces are accounted for and that cam lobe is not damaged

Number 2 Cam Lobe by Scott Baker, on Flickr

Top end is off though. I'll drop the cylinders off on Thursday now as I have to work late tomorrow to push new network statements to all of our hospitals. Then we'll dig into the valves to lap them and replace the seals. I'll also order parts this weekend once I know if there's any other damage.

Top End Removed by Scott Baker, on Flickr

 

[Nessism]

If by chance that shim is a K&L then you found your answer. They made a bunch of bad shims a few years back and contaminated the market. Z1 even stop selling them for a while.

 

[cowboyup3371]

After dropping the cylinders off at the machine shop today I proceeded to remove the valves but needed help as the oil seals would budge. Steve and I finally got all of the valves out and cleaned up. They don't look too bad:

Intake valve before cleaning
Intake Valve before Cleaning by Scott Baker, on Flickr

After
Intake Valve after Cleaning by Scott Baker, on Flickr

And Exhaust before
Exhaust Valve before Cleaning by Scott Baker, on Flickr

And after
Exhaust Valve after Cleaning by Scott Baker, on Flickr

Valve seats also look good
Other Cylinders Valve Seats by Scott Baker, on Flickr

Valve Seats by Scott Baker, on Flickr


Lapping will come after I order parts from Parts Outlaw this weekend.

Only questionable item I had though were the measurements for the outer valve springs. According to the service manual, the standard free length setting is 43.0mm through 43.25 mm and the limit was 41.3mm. However, each of the springs measured between 42.2 and 42.84. They are technically still good but I wonder if I shouldn't replace them anyway. Decisions decisions

 

[Nessism]

Those valve seats look horrable. At some point in that bikes life the valve adjustment wasn't tended to properly.

And you may want to try to find someone with a centerless valve grinding machine. It takes about 2 mins. per valve to clean up the faces and trim the stem to look like new.

 

[cowboyup3371]

While we wait for the cylinders to be checked by the machine shop and Norm to remove the broken exhaust bolts, I removed the pistons from the bike to clean them up slightly. I haven't removed the rings yet as I'm waiting to find out for sure what I'm going to order. Both numbers 1 and 4 looked like this while 2 and 3 were slightly better:

Pistons before cleaning by Scott Baker, on Flickr

After cleanup:

Pistons after cleaning by Scott Baker, on Flickr

 

[cowboyup3371]

The machine shop returned the cylinders today saying everything is in spec and after honing them for me. I scraped off the gasket and now we wait for the head and parts plus I want to go through the wiring.

Cylinders after honing by Scott Baker, on Flickr

Other set Cylinders after honing by Scott Baker, on Flickr

 

[cowboyup3371]

Still awaiting parts but removed the wiring harness today so I can run through it

 

[cowboyup3371]

Parts came in yesterday so valves got lapped and re-installed today.

Lapped Valves by Scott Baker, on Flickr

Other Lapped Valves by Scott Baker, on Flickr

Won't be able to finish things up until next week as I have other stuff to do first.

 

[Redman]

Good progress.

(Getting way ahead of me. )

 

[cowboyup3371]

New piston rings are installed but I'm still working on cleaning up the side covers before I will install them. I need to run another coat of aircraft stripper on the back side of the stator cover as I forgot to hit it earlier. Sadly, it's hotter than the recommended temperatures on the can so I'll either go back over late tonight for that part or wait until later this week when it cools down some.

New Rings Installed by Scott Baker, on Flickr

Working on the shine by Scott Baker, on Flickr

It's also a running joke in the house that I will put EVERYTHING into a project, something few projects are completed without, especially when I'm working with wood. And of course, Charmayne's bike was no exception today. Tears from the frustration of determining the root cause of the problem, the sweat from the heat right now, and of course blood from a nicked thumb on one of the piston rings:

Bloody piston by Scott Baker, on Flickr

 

[cowboyup3371]

Top End is re-installed. I'm still cleaning the wiring and need to finish some other smaller items but I think I'll have everything else together by Monday or so.

Top End reinstalled by Scott Baker, on Flickr

 

[cowboyup3371]

Wiring is finished with new bullet connectors replacing old ones and blade terminals removed, cleaned, and re-inserted. I then tested the resistance between the ignitor connector and the coil connectors on the harness as well as fuse block connector to start button. Everything is looking good there (at most .2 ohms above or .1 ohm below what the default reading is) as far as I know with my limited understanding.

 

[Guest]

Well today, I went to drain the oil out of my bike. I started to work on the front where the filter was then Scott was nice enough to remind me to drain from the oil drain plug which,? thank you dad it would?ve been a mess if you didn?t stop me?. After I removed the drain plug, the oil started to come out fast and very clear. Something didn?t look right which reminded us that Scott left the petcock on prime when he picked up the bike filling the oil with gas.

Sorry for digging up very old comments but how does the gas find its way to the oil? I'm asking because I had the same thing this spring when I drained oil! There must have been about 1:1 ratio of oil and gas, around 6 liters total. My best theory is that also a carb flooded and gas got on the cylinder head intake side and the valve happened to be open and gas finally dripped between the piston rings to the oil...???

 

[fastbysuzuki]

Sorry for digging up very old comments but how does the gas find its way to the oil? I'm asking because I had the same thing this spring when I drained oil! There must have been about 1:1 ratio of oil and gas, around 6 liters total. My best theory is that also a carb flooded and gas got on the cylinder head intake side and the valve happened to be open and gas finally dripped between the piston rings to the oil...???

petcock left in prime position, faulty petcock, petcock leaking fuel down the vacuum line into number 2 cylinder, or faulty float valve in carb.

 

[cowboyup3371]

We have had problems with her fuel gauge for the last year or two. After narrowing it down to the gauge itself on Sunday, I finally got around to fixing that today. Unfortunately, losing 5 hours on Monday due to work requirements and other scheduling issues means the bike still isn't finished but I'm looking forward to Saturday getting here so I can get it out for a road test.

 

[cowboyup3371]

Been busy with other things so I don't get to spend a lot of time in the garage but I'm still doing a little bit every night. I'm hoping to reconnect the wiring and pipes tomorrow so maybe be able to have the bike running for a test ride on Sunday

Engine and Carbs reinstalled by Scott Baker, on Flickr

 

[cowboyup3371]

Well, the bike is back together and finally running.

Bike Reassembled by Scott Baker, on Flickr

I didn't get it out on the road yet today but will after I put the license plate back on and wax the chain tomorrow after work. After we ran the bike in the video above and then let it sit for about 20 minutes, I grabbed the Harbor Freight compression tester and numbers are at 89/89/89/92 for each cylinder. This puts the numbers about what they were when I tested it with oil and the bike cold (remember that hot numbers with that tester were in the low to mid 70s). I'll test it again later this week with both the HF tester and one I'll rent from O'Reillys. However, I think that for now the compression numbers look better.

I hope we have solved her problem but only time will tell. One fix was verified though - her gas gauge is working again.