| Author | Message | ||
     Tootal |
What he said, and this may help: http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/product_catalog/Prod uct.jsp?skuId=&store=Main&catId=&productId=pH26258 &leafCatId=&mmyId= | ||
| Etennuly |
I would like to help with this project also. I have not been down this particular path so in all fairness I will bow out and sit back to watch. You have been an inspiration to my Buelling, so march on soldier! Real that monster in. From what you posted above, I wondered if you had checked the muffler bearing seal?! They can spray out under backpressure from what I have heard!  | ||
| Xbimmer |
Conversely, a head gasket replacement on a BMW would be a breeze compared to what you are going through right now. I'm not so sure about that, at least on an Oilhead. An Airhead yes, can be done on the side of the road if needed. IIRC the Oilheads have dual chain driven high cams in the heads, could be real complex. Dr_greg's problem puzzles me, there's so much oil in different locations... | ||
| Dr_greg |
Well, got the heads off. Found some gasket "fragments" and the O-rings didn't look that great.  Got the exhaust port pretty darn clean the first time...  Old head gasket headed for the trash can...  Top of rear cylinder shows old gasket residue...  Next step is to remove the cylinders (might try to pull the wrist pins and leave the pistons in). Or I'll pull the wrist pins later. I want to put the pistons back in the cylinders on my bench (my ring compressor is too long to fit otherwise). Then clean the heck out of every mating surface and try to reassemble. I'll keep up the documentary. Oh yeah, gotta do the valve seals too...also might remove the pushrod cover and replace that gasket (I've got it, so why not). Can't do any work tomorrow night since Mrs. Greg and The Doc are headed to a UNM Women's Basketball game (we have season tickets). Probably come home a little early Wednesday and make some progress then. Then big family day Thursday. | ||
| Jlnance |
Looking good Doc. | ||
| Chadhargis |
Nice work. I am planning to do a tear down of my 600 this winter since that bike has over 32,000 miles on it (not gentle ones). Maybe next winter, I'll drop the motor out of the Ulysses and give it a good once over just for fun. I enjoy spinning wrenches, especially when it's too cold to ride. | ||
| Dr_greg |
Well, since I'm not gonna have time to "spin wrenches" tonight, I'll pass on a few pics of the LAST air-cooled V-twin I had apart... After 41,000 miles whaddya think of this main bearing inner race?  When I say "split the cases" I mean it!  Here's the crankshaft...  She's comin' together!...  Gettin' closer...  Hey, belt drive!  Engine in frame!  And this, my friends, is the prettiest Ducati ever made (IMHO of course). 1992 900SS. Half-fairing so you can see the engine; white frame, black wheels. All the coeds say "nice bike" to the Doc when he's on this one! Check out the tailpiece...  Never leaked a drop of oil, neither. And no head gaskets, no case gaskets, nothing. Heck of a good exhaust note, too. Those old 2-valvers sound the best. Sorry for the Italian interruption...normal Troy, WI service to be resumed Wednesday evening  | ||
| Hughlysses |
 Holy crap! When I saw that, I figured the next photo would be of a flaming Uly carcass in your driveway! Glad to see that was un-Uly related. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
wow! What killed that bearing? Did the oil pump crap out on you or something? | ||
| Chadhargis |
I owned a Ducati Monster 900....and 1995 model. It was SO sweet, and I should have never sold it. I miss my baby....   | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I wish I had had the money to buy it Chad. It was sold and gone before I knew you were putting her on the block. For things like that, I try to sell them to friends with first right of refusal if they ever decide to sell it. | ||
| Chadhargis |
I don't know if I could have sold 'er to a friend. It would be sort of like having your wife leave you and marry your best friend. You'd have to see her every time you visited him, and know in the back of your head he was riding her fast and hard.  Now, if he still shared her with you, that's a whole different story. LOL! | ||
| Natron |
this thread just took a really weird turn...  | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Now, if he still shared her with you, that's a whole different story. LOL! I think it would take a significant amount of Ron's "special birthday mix" to get me into the "wife swapping mood". Check with Mike.  | ||
| Dr_greg |
As to what happened to that bearing...here is a photo before I disassembled it.  Notice the missing balls? The (plastic) retainer disintegrated; there were pieces on the crankcase. There was about 1/8-inch of lateral motion at the end of the crankshaft. It was still running fine. The way I discovered it was after changing oil I always pull the plugs (easy on that bike) and crank it over with the starter until oil pressure comes up (I installed a gauge). As soon as it got pressure I felt this "grating" through the handgrips. I knew something was wrong... AFter the rebuild it runs great. But there's nobody to ride it. Any volunteers? | ||
| Froggy |
/me raises hand Can swap with my UlySSes if you want to ride that for a bit! | ||
| New12r |
Did you ever discover the source of the leak? | ||
| Dr_greg |
Did you ever discover the source of the leak? I don't think there is a single source; the leakage is too widespread for that. It's almost as if I didn't even install gaskets. Perhaps the mating surfaces looked cleaner than they really were. Rather than agonizing over the diagnosis, I'm trying to look forward and do everything I can to prep the surfaces, make sure no gaskets/O-rings are deformed improperly, torque meticulously, etc. Replacing gase gasket this time, too. Oh yeah, first consult the Necronomicon for any hints on gasket sealing then invoke Cthulhu's wrath on the demons of oil leakage. And if it still leaks cast my lot with Yog Sothoth and depart this mortal world for R'lyeh. Gonna head for the spa shortly to relax and have a cuppa, then go out to my shop and remove the rear cylinder and piston (front already off). Pictures in a couple hours. P.S. Stopped by the local H-D dealer after work and picked up some wrist pin clips. BMW dealer is on the way home so I stopped to see Dean (salesman and good guy). He has a new GS in gray (my favorite); he'll take $1,000 off. I might actually ride it sometime soon to see if they've improved since my last GS test ride in 2006. P.P.S. Dean said the service mgr at the H-D shop told him any "Harley" engine w/over 60K miles is on borrowed time. Better think about engine replacement. I think he's trying to sell me a bike. But...at nearly 20K miles/year, and at least 10 years of riding left, I was hoping that the Uly would be good for at least 200K miles (with some engine work, of course...hopefully top end). Maybe not? Maybe so? | ||
| Froggy |
Oh no 60k?!?!? Damn, Tramps S2T with over 200k (odometer is missing) must of disintegrated by now! | ||
| Dr_greg |
Those of you that have disassembled engines know this...when I removed the rear piston pin clip...  ...it goes SPAANGGG...and disappears. THIS is the reason you have rags stuffed in the crankcase. Do a search...yup, there it is about ten feet away on the other side. Whew! Both clips on the bench; we're safe now. Don't worry; I've got new clips to install. This is as far down as I'm goin'...always wondered what that "knife and fork" connecting rod looked like. Well, here it is.  Here's the front cylinder; hone marks still visible along the "wear axis"...forgot to borrow a bore gauge from the ME shop before Thanksgiving so I can't measure the bore. Still... looks pretty good. Maybe it'll last after all.  Finally, I tried my best to look angry...  "A lousy spark plug thread repair AND I GET THIS?!?" | ||
| Dr_greg |
Oops, forgot a picture. When removing the front cylinder I was unable to get the cylinder off keeping the piston inserted (I was sloppy). But with the rear cylinder I was a little more careful and kept the piston inserted. That's OK; I have my dad's 1962 ring compressor ready and waiting...  I'll shove the piston back in on the bench, then slide the whole mess down on the case, insert the wrist pin, then we're off and running! Hey, do y'a think I can get this beast running by Sunday?? Tomorrow is pretty much a social day for me (friends and students coming over for dinner) but Mrs. Greg (aka "Deadbeat Annie") has given me permission (I think) to wrench on Saturday & Sunday. We'll see. | ||
| Xbimmer |
the service mgr at the H-D shop told him any "Harley" engine w/over 60K miles is on borrowed time. Any "new style" (hole through the center) BMW final drive over 60K is on borrowed time IMHO... I belong to BMW MOA and the last issue of the club rag had an extensive article about BMW's secrecy with their failing final drives. Failed units are returned to Germany so the dealers (allegedly) can't really tell you why it failed. And the factory ain't talking. Anybody shopping for a new BMW needs to ask the smiling sales rep or svc mgr about that drive problem, or the Can-Bus limitations, or why you have to buy a centerstand separately for such expensive machinery, or how come the anti-theft electronics won't let you start your own bike sometimes. And although I sympathize with Dr_greg's frustrations with this problem, IMMHO the "dumpy looking" bike in his two pix is NOT the Buell. Buells are what Beemers used to be, pure form following function without a lot of extra designers' nightmarish crap... And although most BMW dealers give the rider more support than HD dealers, try getting that from the factory. Buell factory support rocks in comparison. Thanks Dr_greg for your thread here, I'm keeping track myself and interested in your findings and your fix. | ||
| Jepann |
Buells are what Beemers used to be, pure form following function without a lot of extra designers' nightmarish crap... Can I get an Amen! Xbimmer, You are so right. Dr greg, It is great fun, in a vicarious way, watching this unfold before me, thanks. jep | ||
| New12r |
any "Harley" engine w/over 60K miles is on borrowed time. Some one is so full of shit his eyes must be brown... Good luck, hope you get to ride Sunday. | ||
| Ulyscol |
Dr_Greg, Just curious, have you checked the flatness of the mating gasket surfaces. | ||
| Dr_greg |
Just curious, have you checked the flatness of the mating gasket surfaces. I'm going to attempt to check the flatness of the head, at least. However, I don't have a surface plate, and don't want to put the job on hold till Monday when the ME shop is open. Other than that, just clean and reassemble. Oh, I'll measure the valve springs, and stuff like that just for the heck of it. Really wish I could have measured the bore... If---at the end---it doesn't leak, I may be left scratching my head like the rest of you. Seeing the inside of this engine at 55,000+ miles, I cannot believe it won't last for WELL beyond that. BTW, the main reason I didn't remove the engine (actually considered it) was having to disconnect all the OIL lines. Anything with oil in it I'm not gonna touch! And access is plenty easy with the engine rotated. | ||
| Road_kill |
"any "Harley" engine w/over 60K miles is on borrowed time." I disagree. I have 120k on my '85 Super Glide and have done one top end (at 84k). I can't sell the bike because it has been WAY too fun to own. As with many here, I am not able to own just one bike. I cannot find that perfect one. They are all compromises in design and execution. For me, the Uly is a keeper. I accept (so far) the nuisances in exchange for a near constant grin on my face when riding. Dr. Greg, I hope you enjoy a day away from the project. I wish you all a very happy thanksgiving. Now, the wife and I are going for a afternoon ride. | ||
| Tootal |
Well Happy Thanksgiving all. While Dr. Greg is taking a well deserved break I thought I would share my V-twin rebuild. It's a 400 HP, belt driven, sixteen valve, V-twin. It had a bad knocking noise so we tore it down and found a bad crank bearing:  After two weeks she's up and running:  It's a Neuman Esser two stage CO2 gas compressor. The fun we have!  (Message edited by tootal on November 27, 2008) | ||
| Road_kill |
Now that's a V-twin! Regarding head flatness check: When I've not had access to a surface plate, I've used a thick piece of glass - they are pretty flat by the nature. I sometimes adhere a sheet of VERY fine sandpaper (I had some 2000 grit laying around) on the glass and GENTLY move the head in a figure 8 pattern. This doesn't mess up the head and can quickly show/fix any slight irregularities. | ||
| Blk_uly |
or the same piece of glass with valve lapping compound. When was a kid, we used to "lap" both the head and cylinder like that on our two stroke mopeds. Then we would install the head without the gasket. You might not belive it but one of my buddies had a two stroke, two speed puch moped[49cc] that we made do 65 mph! I love making something do what it was never intended to do |
