| Author | Message | ||
     Dr_greg |
1. The Spark Plug Blowout. Some of you may recall on October 9, 2008 when the rear spark plug on my '06 Uly blew out (!) on my evening commute. The mileage was 54,495 miles. Luckily I was two miles from home and limped in. I had hoped it had "unscrewed" and I could do an in vivo (is that the correct term?) repair, but alas, it was not to be. That became clear when I rotated the engine down. 2. Top End Teardown. Downward engine rotation went better after I removed all the necessary fasteners (thanks to a couple BadWeBbers there). Boy, was everything greasy! I did a lot of cleaning... After downward rotation I started to screw in the rear plug but it slipped right in. Uh-oh. Among the various options it became clear that the Time-Sert thread repair kit was the best. So I ordered a kit for the 12mm x 1.25 (as I recall) from Jim Pendergrass (pendergrasstool.com) and got it very promptly. A pic of the kit is below (top-notch stuff).  Removal of the top-end components went uneventfully; I meant to take some more pictures than I did, but I was understandably more concerned about the actual job itself. Here's a picture of the front cylinder bore (I decided to "repair" both heads...nothing like PM). Anyway, the hone marks still prominent after 54,495 miles...not bad!  BTW, there was an awful lot of "oily spooge" in both intake ports. Much dirtier than the exhaust ports. Looked worse than my VW TDI diesel with its stupid EGR. Well, almost. If you're interested, I pulled up the rear cylinder; here's the rod, etc.  3. The Actual Thread Repair. Like I said, the Time-Sert kit is first class, and repairing both heads went flawlessly. You use a stepped tap to cut new threads, then a spotface tool, and finally thread in the insert. I'm confident that I'll never again hear that "BAP-BAP-BAP" sound, and accompanying huge power loss. Below is a not-very-good picture of the head, showing the copper-hued insert:  4. Reassembly of Top End. My local dealer (who has no air-cooled Buells on the sales floor anymore) actually had ALL the parts I needed (head, rocker box, and valve cover gaskets, O-rings for pushrod covers and cylinder/head oil passages, and fiber washers for valve cover). I was impressed! I took GREAT CARE in making sure the cylinder/head O-rings were in place when I fitted the heads, and meticulously torqued them down. Everything looked good. Installed throttle body, reconnected throttle cables, etc. Oh yeah, while I had the engine down I decided to get the headers ceramic-coated. I always liked the look of the "bundle-of-snakes" exhaust on the Britten V1100 (and I saw a Buell tuber like this also) with their BLUE headers, so here's Dr. Greg's choice:  5. Engine Upward Rotation & Final Assembly. The title for this section should be: "The Uly may be easy to work on but there is a definite SEQUENCE to assembly" Followed the manual; jacked up the engine and fitted all the various fasteners, cables, connectors, etc. Then I tried to fit this bracket in...  Well, you can see from the lettering on the part that it didn't want to fit! I missed the "fine print"...that bracket---and this one, too---  had to be installed BEFORE rotating the engine up. NOW you tell me... OK, so rotate the engine back down...disconnect all the cables, connectors, fasteners, etc. OK, ok, so it wasn't THAT bad; but it was still frustrating. After installing the #@^&%$ parts, I got the engine back in place and everything else buttoned up with, um, no real issues... ...of course all this time the fall weather has been GORGEOUS and I'm missing riding during my favorite season of the year. Humph. 6. Does It Still Run? Got him (how can Ulysses be a "her") back together...  and hit the starter button...hey, he fired right up!! ALL RIIIGHT! This was 10:30 p.m. Monday night, and the Uly is my "car"...I ride him everywhere. In the meantime Mrs. Greg's been shuttling me around. So---even though I hadn't yet done the TPS reset---I rode to work on Tuesday morning. BTW, right then was when WINTER descended on New Mexico...you might know. Upon getting home, I put Uly in the garage, then went out a couple hours later to check things over, only to see this:  NOOOOOO!!!!!! 7. The $%&*#@ With It - Go For A Ride. Well, rats. Not being one to give up, Friday evening I did the TPS reset and went for a 200-mile ride in the northern New Mexico mountains (brrr) Saturday. When I returned I put Uly in the garage (note my beautiful epoxy floor - thank you Mrs. Greg and 2nd son Keith) and about an hour later there are two silver-dollar sized pools of oil on the floor. $%^&*#!!! I had taken GREAT care during assembly; new gaskets, O-rings, everything. Sigh. When I rebuilt my 1992 Ducati 900SS (which has no head gaskets, BTW), IT didn't leak oil...humph again. But I have to admit that during the ride---which does include some great stretches of road---the Uly was as fun to ride as ever. Gotta get that oil leak fixed. 8. Epilogue. Well, upon further inspection, looks like the oil leak is between rear cylinder and head. So I guess I'l buy new gaskets & O-rings again, rotate the engine down again (I'm good at it now), pull the rear head again and reassemble again. Maybe if I do it under a full moon and try to wake up Cthulhu over there in R'lyeh and get his help I can get it to seal this time. One thing for sure: I'm tellin' that 1200GS rider that I park next to that Uly isn't leakin' oil, he's markin' his spot. Wanna make somethin' of it? Thanks for reading. Writing this is a stress-reliever for me. | ||
| Froggy |
Awesome, glad to see your mostly back on the road. Perhaps now that the head is coming off, get it powder coated black?  | ||
| Dr_greg |
Update: now there are FOUR oil puddles under the engine; two in front at the front fairing/muffler bolts, and two under the mid-engine area. Sigh. How much is a GS again? I was one of the Uly's biggest evangelists, but...I hate vehicles that leak oil. | ||
| Dr_greg |
get it powder coated black? Yeah, get the rear head coated black, and the front coated, um, vomit yellow? | ||
| Okc99 |
How do you (I) get blue colored piping like that? Does it fit over the pipes or are they replacements??? | ||
| Treadmarks |
Good write up Doc, and welcome back.  Pushrod box o-rings, maybe?  | ||
| Froggy |
 | ||
| Bud |
did they sell you the new model pre-crushed head gaskets ? they need to be mounted with out the o-rings | ||
| Hughlysses |
Nice report. Regarding the oil leaks- you obviously should have consulted the Necronomicon prior to reassembly. (Anyone that can work an H.P. Lovecraft reference into a motorcycle repair story is OK in my book!)  | ||
| Firstbatch |
Dr, I feel your pain on the multiple rotations. It is as you said an exercise in sequence. Interested to hear more about what got missed on the gaskets that resulted in the leak. Looks like you did a great job with the insert. Nice write up and don't despair, you have a new found bond with the motor that will serve you well in the future. I'm sure you would have rather been doing this fix in the dead of winter then now. Best of luck....persistence is genius in disguise! | ||
| Ratbuell |
I like the header - very X1W Check your oil cooler lines - they get aggravated easily when moved around in my experience. +1 on the pushrod housings, although the first pic you posted puts the drip on the wrong side of the engine....at least, it looks like it. That's a L peg and shifter, yes? Another thing to check (and I could be waay off base here, never rotated an XB motor..yet) - do any of the mount bolts go into oil passages? I only ask because a leak where you were working - rockerboxes, heads, base gaskets - would be fairly easy to spot, especially on a clean engine.... And OKC - it was mentioned, waay up top, that the header was powdercoated blue. Stock header, just a refinish I also know that's one of the colors that can be done in ceramic coating (slightly better insulating properties). | ||
| Bertotti |
Ceramic coated headers. Who did the work on them? Thanks for the report any idea what caused the blow out? | ||
| Crusty |
If you're not sure of the source of your oil leak: Clean the engine thoroughly with Gunk and let it dry. Spray all around the suspected area of leakage with a dry foot powder. (get the cheapest can on the shelf) Start the bike and go for a short ride. The oil will be absorbed by the powder and will show up at the source of the leak. | ||
| Stevem123 |
Hey Dr. Greg, Nice write up and pics. Hope you find the oil leaks easy to repair. Did you investigate the oily deposits in the intake valve area? Any comments on that would be helpful as I may do a tear-down this winter if I get my 01 S3T back in service. BC Steve | ||
| New12r |
I have done a number of top ends and never had a leak afterward?? Have you located the leaks? | ||
| Wheelybueller |
Dumb question,but Did you replace the base gaskets.the generally don't reseal after being disturbed. Just my $.02 Blue ceramic looks great,by the way. | ||
| Xbimmer |
Dumb question,but Did you replace the base gaskets.the generally don't reseal after being disturbed. I asked that in his original thread and I'd still like to know, should you replace the cylinder base gaskets once you release the torque on them by pulling the heads? did they sell you the new model pre-crushed head gaskets ? they need to be mounted with out the o-rings I'm unfamiliar with this option. What are pre-crushed head gaskets? Dr_greg, thanks for the pix and the tips, they'll be helping me soon. I can understand your frustration right now since the incident cut into your very anticipated trip. But try to look at it this way, you've racked up a LOT of trouble-free miles in a short time on your Uly. Cripes, 50K on a belt?  I think you'll find your problem and remedy it, then head off on your next 50K. Doing this project yourself is impressive enough, lots of others for whatever reasons pay somebody to do the work and never get to see how things work. Your Time Serts look great! Good luck! | ||
| Wheelybueller |
Yes,always replace a gasket once you disturb it. | ||
| Dr_greg |
Don't think the base gaskets are the problem; also don't really want to face the job of stuffing the rings back in the cylinder. BTW, what's the chamfer like at the cylinder base? Can you stuff the rings back in w/o a compressor? (my compressor is too large to fit). When I disassemble I'll find the source of the leaks (both cylinders) and I'll report back. I'm almost positive it's between head and cylinder, and I suspect the O-rings inside the cylinder (not the pushrods; definitely not the pushrods). Header was coated by Jet-Hot, Tempe, AZ. High-temp ceramic coating, not typical powder coating. I'm happy with the blue; they do a number of colors (silver on my '92 Ducati). The head gaskets did require O-rings; which I replaced also. I plan to take my receipt for all the gaskets, etc. down to my dealer and say "repeat this." If they have the parts in stock again I'll do the job on the next weekend. If they don't I'll order and do it over Thanksgiving. Yes, I've had 54,000 largely trouble-free miles (however, I have had to do a number of things: clutch needle bearing, front disc of course, and a few others). And I always like acquiring knowledge about a vehicle. That's why I hate to sell a vehicle, because I also sell all the knowledge that I gained (the hard way, usually). And why I always try to do my own wrenching (not possible for some; I understand). I do find that at age 61 I like riding more and wrenching less, but them's the breaks. Thanks for all the interest and suggestions. I find that the Internet usually returns an objective posting with objective responses. Much appreciated. So if I can dodge the flying spark plugs, the oily spooge, the creamy paste, four kids, a job, and "Deadbeat Annie" (Mrs. Greg), maybe in a couple years we'll see 100K miles. | ||
| Dr_greg |
Yes,always replace a gasket once you disturb it. At the risk of starting an argumentative discussion (which I dislike), I would offer many counterexamples. Yes, head gaskets (and such)...of course. But many other gaskets---in my experience---can be reused depending on their condition. Of course one is always safer is using new gaskets, as you recommend. | ||
| Bud |
pre crushed head gaskets are the latest from buell , and they supersede the oil gaskets from the buell- HD tech forum  NEW Pre-crushed Head Gasket • O-ring no longer required • No other procedural change • Supersedes prior gaskets Important Service Note: Service kits may contain the o-rings for prior model years. Do not use O-rings with this new head gasket. | ||
| Tootal |
Dr. Greg, I feel your frustration. I've had intake leaks on the Buell and the Road Glide and have had both of them apart at least 20 times. Buell is fixed but not the HD. If your taking it back apart I would recommend changing the base gaskets. If you lift the cylinders up until you see the wrist pin you can pull the keeper and the pin then shove the piston back into the cylinder so you don't disturb the rings. Assembly is the reverse of disassembly. I changed many base gaskets on my old 91 FLHS. Like I said, I feel your frustration. | ||
| Skinstains |
Pipes look excellent. Mind if I copy them ? How about a re-torquing of all the head bolts and rocker hardware before the teardown ? I have found that dreading the rotation is far worse than the actual job. Last idea from me...just park over oil spots and the leak(s) will blend right in. | ||
| Dr_greg |
I like those new head gaskets! Anyone have a P/N? I think they'd be worth ordering, even if it delays the re-repair a little. Re the base gaskets: good idea on pulling the pin; I think I'll do that as well. Might as well do everything, huh. BTW, riding the Uly in to work this a.m. reminds me of how much I love this bike, momentary frustration or no. I've never really felt this way about any other bike...well, maybe my '92 Ducati  | ||
| Jlnance |
Dr_greg, There a top end gasket kit, which contains every gasket from the base up. I suspect it's cheaper than buying gaskets one at a time. Even has new valve guide seals in it. | ||
| Dr_greg |
There a top end gasket kit... Excellent. That's what I'll get. Will it have the "integrated" had gasket? | ||
| Jlnance |
I'm not sure. I got one when I did my Blast, but it was identical to the sportster (so I have a set of spares.) | ||
| Reepicheep |
To hunt down and kill the head gasket leak on my KLR-250, I had to heat cycle then re-torque (which was a PITA as you have to remove the cams). I got pretty good at pulling the top end apart  | ||
| Tootal |
Dr. Greg, If you used stock valve guide seals and they look like Harley's then you might want to get some viton seals. Harley's get hard and start leaking the vitons last a long long time. In the picture the viton is on the left. I would hope Buell uses this type of seal but if they look like the one on the right then it's the same as Harley. I don't mean to tell you what to do, just giving you options.  | ||
| Dr_greg |
Didn't replace valve seals; don't have a spring compressor. Probably should, given all the spooge in the intake port. Thanks. BTW, the leak(s) are small enough---and it's so nice to ride again---that I'm in no hurry to re-repair. When I do I'll relate the experience. | ||
| Road_kill |
First of all, thanks Dr_greg for sharing. Nice pictures and a good report. Glad your back on the road even if it's a bit cold and your bike is marking its territory. I also appreciate the comments and tips of others; new head gaskets, top shelf valve guide seals, etc., etc. I've bookmarked this thread for future reference. I'm sure it will help me down the road. Maybe sooner than I thought - those ceramic coated pipes look great! | ||
| Skinstains |
Hey Doc, since you're a fellow Bueller I'll let you in on a secret of mine...Get a big "C" clamp and drill a hole in the stationary end large enough for the valve stem and keepers but not too much larger. Whammo ! Instant valve spring compressor. If you don't want to drill a hole in your C clamp you can use an appropriatly sized socket over the valve stem compress the spring and tap it 'till the keepers fall out into the socket. Using the socket method makes replacing the keepers a bit tricky as you might immagine. | ||
| Xbimmer |
...Get a big "C" clamp and drill a hole in the stationary end large enough for the valve stem and keepers but not too much larger. I used a piece of 5/8" plastic pipe trimmed and taped:  Been working great on my airhead for 20 years, glad to see it'll work on my Buell too. | ||
| Dr_greg |
Excellent! I was just thinking of making a valve spring compressor. I've got an "XB Top End Gasket Kit" on order (probably won't come with the cool integrated head gasket...dunno which valve seals) and I plan to re-do everything over Thanksgiving. So we can consider this case closed for a couple weeks. P.S. Only downside is that whenever I come to a stop I can smell a trace of burning oil...that connotes shoddy equipment in poor repair; certainly not the image I have of the Uly. |
