Need some help getting this running.

I have an engine from an early 80s XJ550 that I'm trying to get in running condition, and I had a few questions.

First off I'll say that I have everything for the engine that I need to get it running, as far as I know. I have the entire wiring harness and the entire engine seems to be intact. It shifts, isn't frozen up, and it spins over, has good compression as well. I haven't tried to turn it over with gas running through it yet because the carburetors were a train wreck of a mess.

I've been cleaning them out for a few days now with carb cleaner and making sure nothing is clogged up. This is the first time I've really worked on something like this so I'm doing everything to the best of my knowledge. I took the bowls off the bottom and the tops off the vacuum chambers, and have been spraying them down for a few days, making sure to get the carb cleaner in all the jets and openings.

First question I had is where can I get a carburetor rebuild kit to replace the seals?

Also, what does is this tube coming off the crank case for, and what kind of oil does this engine need?
http://i.imgur.com/r4sJt1J.jpg[

As far as the wiring harness goes, what are the key components that I need to get it running? I don't need any of the lights, speedo, tach, or other wires, just the ones that deal with the actual running of the engine.

Also, is there anything I need to know prior to sticking the carbs back on and trying to fire it up?

Thanks a lot! And here's some more reference pics of the engine.

http://i.imgur.com/ZCxHZuQ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ES1QeKS.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/n3CLHKm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/9E5URXO.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/uP4anMK.jpg

 

The tube you referred to is the crankcase ventilation. It has to be connected to the airbox.
It is always a good idea to take plenty of pictures of what you are working on.
As for the rest of your questions, more experienced guys will chime in soon!

 

Thanks man!

I think that's still the only thing I need to get to. I can probably find it on ebay for cheap though.

 

Welcome! In case you haven't found our parts man yet

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14561.html

 

for the carbs, all you really USUALLY need to replace in my opinion are the float needles and seats and the float bowl gaskets. You also should check for vacuum leaks around the throttle shaft seals (might want to replace those seals too if you're in for it). You also need to inspect the rubber diaphragms on vacuum actuated throttle slide piston doodad that I don't know the names of.

chacals and rickcomatics write ups on the carb cleaning are excellent. chacals is more in depth but likely more involved then you are looking to get into so start here. if you're just spraying carb cleaner at them you arent doing enough (unfortunately)

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=2908.html

as for the wiring harness, I can say you wont need the lights hooked up but thats it. This really depends on how good you are with a wiring diagram you absolutely could build a harness with bare bones but your going to need to know what everything is looking for first in terms of ground or +12v (or neither!) before it will work.

 

Here's a couple minimum wire diagram threads

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... +wire.html

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... +wire.html

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... +wire.html

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... +wire.html

Are you building a go-kart ??

 

Thanks for all the information guys! I'll start sifting through it tomorrow before I go out and start working on it.

And yes, I am building a go-kart.

I had the frame sitting around in my shed going to waste, and my friend had an engine he didn't need. So I decided to drop the engine in the kart frame and sell the whole lot for some money to put into my Jeep.

 

As far as the electronics you will need to get the engine running; you will need the 2 coils, the cdi box, the starter relay, battery and related cables, and to figure out how to bypass the safety circuits.

You will also need to do more to the carbs than just shoot cleaner into them. Follow the link above in Maxim677's reply. Once they are cleaned, you will need to synch them. Don't forget to set the float levels. Before you can get the carbs synched properly, you will need to make sure the valve clearances are correct.

There is a member on here that put the 550 motor in a quad. Do a search and you might find some more relevant info in his thread.

 

Mikuni teardown: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=31061.html

 

Ooooo, i bet that thing is gonna fly! Hope you got good brakes =).

 

Go-kart tips - -
Drop the gearing by 33% - - max speed 80-90 MPH

Keep the airbox and entire intake tract, or face POD tuning hell

plan on adding a small fan and header wrap to keep the mill cool.
You put a fatazz seat in front of a 550 motor and you kill the airflow.

Your alternator power budget is 19 amps max. 13 amps nominal. Don't overdo the fan.

PM sent !!

 

Man, all that carb work looks intimidating.

They way I've had them sitting is with the hats, diaphragms, and bowls off. I made sure to get the carb cleaner in all the jets and openings.

I didn't remove any of the jets or valves though, and they're all still bolted together as a cluster.

I had a friend who works on bikes as a hobby come over and look at them. He checked the main jets and looked it over, said that they should work.

Should I risk tearing them all apart and possibly doing something wrong, or should I check and see if they work?

 

It's entirely up to you whether you try them "as-is" or not. I'd imagine in a kart they'll be a lot easier to take off again if they're not right?

If that's the case I'd be tempted to try them (just make sure the starter jets in the float bowls are clean, they get blocked very easily & should be able to launch carb cleaner 15 feet across the workshop when clear enough)

That said, it is worth getting them right as the engine will sometimes run seemingly fine on dirty carbs but you won't get the full potential without a proper clean & refurb, and if it does run you'll be more tempted to leave them.

Church of clean is a great thread for beginners to doing multi-carb R&R jobs. Very lengthy post but very worth reading (I learned a lot and got some useful specific tips from it even as an experienced home mechanic, and I still refer back to it now and again)

I'd advise sitting down with your favourite drink one evening & thoroughly digesting everything Len has to say on the matter, then when your hangover evaporates tear into them with the computer alongside for reference & get that motor purring better than new http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14692.html

 

Thanks for the link!

Looks like I've got some studying to do.

 

Is there any diagrams for this kind of set up? I'm not against building an entirely new harness off a diagram. All I need it to do is start, run, and shutoff. The simpler the wiring the better. I'm pretty sure that I have all those parts, so I'll go ahead and see if I can get them separated from the rest of the harness.

EDIT: Seems as though I'm missing the starter relay, at least I think I am.