The Build
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Friday 21st March 2008
OK, we're on the move again. I did phone SEP in December and they said the crank was done but they were waiting for the main bearing shells which were on back order with Suzuki in Japan. I thought there was no point pestering them and waited to hear from them, which I did last week. They rang to say they were in, I parted with my credit card details and the crank arrived the next day. Haven't had a look at it yet as it's all packed in shredded paper which will go everywhere and the garage is too cluttered to open it in there.
Today I did a bit of clearing up in the garage ready to make a start on rebuilding the engine - main problem is my neighbours' cats going in there crapping and pissing everywhere :-( Once I'd got that cleared up I tidied the empty cardboard boxes and other clutter up and sorted out the bench. The first thing I looked at was the crankcase bolt that was sheared. I wanted to try to get it out to replace it. I was worried it might be tensile and a bit tough to drill but I drilled a 3mm hole in it fairly easily and it came straight out with the stud extractor. I think it's the first time I've got one of those to work!
I decided to quit while I was ahead and that was that for the day. In reality I didn't have any more time, but I'm off for the rest of the weekend so should get more done. I need to get some more bits but can still get the crankshaft and gearbox back in and the crankcase back together.
Saturday 22nd March 2008
I was mountain biking round Afan Argoed Forest Park for the morning but did make it out into the garage for an hour in the afternoon. I removed all the main bearing shells from the crankcase - they all look in reasonable shape and although I'm unlikely to use them again I thought I may as well keep them. So they're all labelled in pairs and in a plastic bag.
I checked out the sheared bolt and it just seems to be a plain 8mm x 80mm bolt but I'll see if I can check what tensile strength it should be, I don't trust the markings on its head as the one used might not have been correct which could explain it having sheared in the first place!
It's so long since I took the thing apart that I couldn't remember which of the clutch cover screw holes had a stripped thread. I ended up quickly sticking the cover back on and fitting a few screws till I found the right one. I then used the 6mm tap Andy lent me to cut a thread for a helicoil insert. I'll order some inserts off eBay, only a couple of quid for 10. I'll also get some 10mm ones so I can fix the engine mounting lug that stripped too.
The crankcase has been sitting in its box since it arrived back so I pulled it out to have a look. The conrods are all packed separately so I'll need to refix them onto the big ends, there are also 10 little boxes containing the main bearing shells. One thought I had was that I can't reassemble the top end till I have new circlips, unless I reuse the old ones. Not recommended I know but I'll have a chat with Andy - can't actually see there's much risk of them popping out, the little buggers were tricky enough to get out in the first place! Hopefully I can make a start on getting it back together tomorrow.
Sunday 23rd March 2008
First job of the day was to reassemble the conrods onto the crankshaft. The journals and big end shells were plastered with a kind of grease and it wasn't clear to me whether to leave it on or not. Andy reckoned better clean it off and use some engine oil to refit, and I was worried about it plugging the oilways etc. Then I cleaned up the crankcases with the compressed air and a bit of paraffin. Then I got the gear cluster fitted in the upper crankcase half which was easy enough, followed by the new main bearing shells. Once I'd applied plenty of oil to those I plonked the crank back in the upper case and set about cleaning up the mating surfaces with some acetone ready for the sealant. The two halves went together easily enough once I'd lined the gear selector forks up and it was then a case of find the right bolts for the right holes.
Once the crankcase was back together I made a start on refitting all the bits that came off it - alternator rotor followed by the cover, gearshift mechanism and cover. Then refitted the pistons which was actually easier than I expected. I don't have a new base gasket yet so I need to order one of those before I can get much further - may as well get the cylinder barrel fitted before making a start on the camchain. Here's a pic of progress so far.
Monday 24th March 2008
After abandoning play yesterday I was about to go over to the pub when I had a thought. So I nipped out the garage to check and confirmed that what I had glanced at and assumed to be head gasket was actually base gasket and was in good shape. I also dwelt on a couple of minor concerns overnight. Firstly there was a solitary little steel dowel sitting on the bench and although I was sure I'd put all 4 of the main crankcase locating dowels in place I'd initially had a gear selector fork positioned incorrectly and had to lift the cases apart and sort it before refitting, so it was possible I'd dislodged it. I also wasn't confident of the gearbox - I seemed to be able to get all the gears but wasn't certain about 6th. So first thing this morning I took it apart again. It didn't actually take long and I soon confirmed that all the dowels were indeed in situ and made absolutely sure the selector forks were right before sticking it back together. The gearbox felt just the same though ...
I'd left the pistons on the rods so after fitting the base gasket slapped plenty of oil on the rings and in the barrel and got going sliding the barrel over the pistons. This was fiddly and took a while but I got there in the end. Next up was refitting the camchain tensioner blades and the chain. Then I had a slight aberration and decided to have a look at the lower cylinder head mating surface. I did this by simply turning it upside down, at which point most of the cam followers fell out onto the bench. This was A Bad Thing as they're all individually shimmed and if removed are supposed to go back exactly where they came from. Once it was done it was done though, and I decided the best thing to do was just stick them in in the likeliest spots based on where on the bench they'd fallen and check the clearances later. I then proceeded by sticking the cylinder head on and torquing that up.
To set up the valve timing I had to replace the starter gear on the end of the crank followed by the cover to align the mark on the gear. Once that was done getting the camshafts in the right position was just a matter of following the Haynes manual. With the cam holders torqued up I could fit the camchain tensioner and the external oil hoses and check everything rotated OK, which it did. When I came to fit the oil pump I decided it was time to invest in some circlip pliers otherwise I could be there all day so I nipped up to Halfords to get them, investing in a feeler gauge while I was there.
Once back the circlip was soon in place and that was about all I could do inside the clutch housing till I get a replacement gear position switch. I decided I'd better have a look at the valve clearances and was pleased to find that 14 of them were comfortably within the clearances listed with just one intake valve on cylinder number 2 being too big and one exhaust valve on number 1 being too tight. If I'm really lucky I might just be able to swap them around but it may well involve a but more juggling than that! Still, the situation's better than I thought it might be.
So, it's the end of the Bank Holiday weekend and I'm pretty pleased with progress. I reckon once the camshafts are redone and I have the bits I need there's only a few more hours work getting the engine back together. Before I reinstall it there are a couple of other jobs to attend to though:
- The engine mounts need modifying to raise the engine a bit.
- I need to get a threaded spigot for the sump as the push on one with jubilee clips won't pass scrutineering.
- I need to speak to Muffett about replacement gear ratios for the diff - redlining in top gear at Llandow and doing the bus stop chicane in 3rd gear mean it's presently quite significantly undergeared!