82 seca 650

So I picked up this 82 seca 650 bout a year and half ago for 500 bucks.

got new battery,
new starter
replaced sight glass in brake fluid resevoir, added fluid
changed plugs
changed oil, new filter
new air filter

ran it for a while

noticed cracks in boots, tried to bring them back by boiling in hot water w wintergreen oil, used ultra black rtv in the cracks, applied thin coat of 5200. still leaked air
replaced valve shims to specs, created oil leak in valve cover gasket
bench synched carbs

ran ok but figured the bad boots were holding it back.

sat for 8 months

this week:
new carb boots
replaced head gasket, which was leaking
replaced valve cover gasket
removed and painted headerpipes, created exhaust leak by breaking nut on header pipe fitting (havent fixd that yet)


i also broke two screws in the brake fluid reservoir(its tied together with fishing twine), and two screws on the timing plate cover.

i did not remove the cylinder block or replace the cylinder gasket, check piston rings, the valves themselves, or clean the carbs. wish i did since i had the thing all apart. (but im a shorcut taking little bitch and i put the bike back together, cause i thought the boots were my major issue.)

i wanna say it sounds worse than it did before. like reseating the cams on reassembly f***ed up the clearances(in my haste i failed to recheck them), or (though the arrows were lined up with the dots on the cams and the timing plate was at T) the timings off.

i still wanna clean the carbs.

advice?

 

Advice? Quit taking shortcuts.

Go back over the valve train, ensure the cam timing is correct, re-check and re-shim the valves as needed and get everything in spec.

Then do a compression test to determine whether or not you've got something viable left to work with.

 

My advice is a bit more blunt than Mr. Fitz's... your haste + shortcuts are making it worse. I was there too....

Some additional advice? stop breaking screws. Get some kroil and proper tools like an impact driver (the kind you hit with a hammer) too.

1. quit the shortcuts - you'll find more problems later caused by the shortcuts, and all of the steps listed below reward patience and precision
2. timing/valve clearances
3. compression test dry + wet
4. read the articles "in the church of clean" and "the whole nine yards" on here
5. clean/rebuild the carbs to the letter based on the 2 articles above. I would recommend breaking the rack and doing throttle shaft seals and fuel rail o rings too