| Author | Message | ||
     Egobuster1 |
well the colder months are starting to set in here so I'm starting to tear the bike down for winter and i know i have over due rear rocker box gaskets that need replaced. I'm also going to do the intake seals while I'm in there and I'm going to remove the header and paint it all black again. im wondering is there any other seals that should be replaced while the engine is rotated. also can i get some links to good seals as i have a link for the intake seals by James but I've heard there rocker box gaskets are good as well just not sure which ones. also not sure if i should replace my header seals while the engine is rotated or not. just looking for some advise on this as i have a couple months to get it all done so no huge rush but don't really wanna do it again for awhile | ||
| Greg_e |
The exhaust gaskets are cheap, might as well do them too since you will have the header off. You might consider black header wrap. Give the plug wires a good check to make sure there is no damage. | ||
| Egobuster1 |
Alright I'll add header gaskets to the list. Yeah I was thinking of doing plugs and wires also. Does anyone have a recommendation on what plugs and wires to use. Also recommendation on what rocker box gasket so go with. | ||
| Sifo |
I'm a big fan of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". It took me a lot of years to really embrace that saying. | ||
| Rsm688 |
definitely exhaust gaskets, how many miles are on the bike? | ||
| Egobuster1 |
the bike has 8500 miles on it right now and its 07. alright i found a link on here to the james intake seals James Intake Seals was wondering if they make the rocker box gasket kit or should i just order this from American Sport Bike Rocker box kit and i would want #17196A 07-10 XB Rocker Box - $65.95 since i have a 07 i assume for exhaust seals would this be what i would want here http://www.americansportbike.com/shoponline/ccp0-p rodshow/5933.html or do i want this http://www.americansportbike.com/shoponline/ccp0-p rodshow/5931.html | ||
| Jeffroj |
"i know i have over due rear rocker box gaskets that need replaced" Huh? You own a Buell, I'm sure you have enough bad parts/oil leaks to fix, and you're looking to replace things that aren't broke? I'm with Sifo. :P | ||
| Jeffroj |
If you're just looking for things to replace: Upgrade your 77 connector, it will be more $$ in 5k more miles when your VR goes. Check your wheel bearings front/back, they seem to last not very long on Buells. Check you exhaust cable, they can fray at the exhaust side. Check the lip on the primary cover that the clutch ramp pushes off of, that will break in the next 5-10k miles. | ||
| Teeps |
Sifo Posted on Monday, October 14, 2013 I'm a big fan of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". +1 Though, some may say you're not trying hard enough... | ||
| Sifo |
definitely exhaust gaskets, how many miles are on the bike? Why? I've got about 54K miles on my XB12. I've rotated the engine exactly once. That was to ceramic coat the header. The gaskets weren't leaking when I did it, and they aren't leaking now. I don't remember the mileage when I did that, but to say that they are due, just makes no sense to me. Jeffroj made some good suggestions on preventive maintenance that make much more sense to me. I've started pulling the seals off the wheel bearings periodically and wiping out what old grease I can and packing with fresh grease. I haven't had a wheel bearing fail since. Both my front and rear spat out rusty water when they failed. Freshening up the grease seems to help keep the water out. | ||
| Egobuster1 |
Being a automotive technician it's just normal to anytime time you dig into a major job you replace as much as possible as the parts usually are fairly inexpensive it's the labor so if I'm going to tear into the top of a motor I might as well do all the gaskets plugs and wire. It's more preventable maintainece then replacing what's not broke. Also since I'm going to remove the header you should always replace a gasket once a torqued piece is removed as the gasket is way more likely to fail afterwards. | ||
| Sifo |
Missed the part about painting the header. Certainly up for new exhaust gaskets because of the header removal. My intake seals on my '06 have been good for 54K miles. I know some seem to experience problems with them, but how do you predict which will fail? Will the new ones fail sooner than the original that lasted me 54K? It's a crap shoot. At 8500 miles, you are getting "near" time for plugs. Then again, 8500 miles on an '07, if that is your typical yearly use, you may not need new plugs until the 2015 riding season. Plug wires? Take a look at them. If they've rubbed through the insulation, it's an easy time to replace them, but I doubt it's a problem at that mileage. Plugs and wires are pretty easy to do anytime. I've never seen a replacement schedule for gaskets. They are designed to last until taken apart. Personally, if I were rotating my engine today, I wouldn't replace my rocker box gaskets, even after 54K miles. I guess my point here is that rotating the engine isn't part of normal preventative maintenance on these bikes, therefor there really isn't PM that needs doing just because you have the engine rotated. If you like though, it's a great time to replace the fuel injectors, TPS, and throttle body too. All have been known to have problems at times.  I wouldn't recommend all that, but you could.  | ||
| Egobuster1 |
Well my rear rocker box is puking so it needs done bad so I'm debating how deep into that I should go with just replacing the rocker box gaskets or should I dig into push rod O rings too. My intake seals are completely done as I can't even hold a cold idle anymore it just dies out And the header removal will require the new exhaust seals so I figured another 20 bucks for plugs and wires would just be easy to do since I'm right there and it's cheap | ||
| Greg_e |
Look at the butterfly in the throttle body very carefully to see if it has started to crack at the shaft, it's $75 for a custom stronger replacement shaft, but could be much more if it breaks and the engine ingests a hunk of steel. Not saying go ahead and replace it, just saying give it a good look while the TB is off. | ||
| Egobuster1 |
^^^^^^ Appreciate it that man I haven't heard if that one yet so I'll check it out. I just a cleaned it about a month ago and it looked pretty good but wasn't really looking for cracks though | ||
| Egobuster1 |
can someone shed some light on if these are the exhaust gaskets i need for my header pipe. http://www.americansportbike.com/shoponline/ccp0-p rodshow/5933.html http://www.americansportbike.com/shoponline/ccp0-p rodshow/5930.html | ||
| Greg_e |
I have used these, pretty sure it is what you need. http://www.americansportbike.com/shoponline/ccp0-p rodshow/5931.html I don't think you need the flanges, they don't do anything with the sealing, they just pull against the retainer ring to pull the tube against the gaskets. Only need to replace them if they are damaged or more ugly than you can tolerate. | ||
| Egobuster1 |
Yeah I don't know what the difference is between the 2. I assumed that gasket you posted was for the older lightning since it made reference to a tube frame and the other one that I posted actually talks about the XB | ||
| Arcticktm |
A lot of folks, including me, are using NGK regular or Iridium, and with Magnecor wires. I switched to the Iridium based on Al Lighton's (American Sport Bike) recommendation, and got the Magnecors (direct from them in Michigan) because my stock front wire had rubbed half way through. I also added a lot of braided nylon loom to these and other wires anywhere there was rubbing or appeared to be a good chance of it. Wiring/cables routing was not a strength of Buell. |
