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All I think about now is riding:0

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by Stephen Downey, Jul 16, 2019.

  1. Stephen Downey

    Stephen Downey Member

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    to answer the jetting question^^^ I did 116 main and 43 pilot. 4 into 1 header, no muffler, pods (eww pfft) and I'm liking the dynatek coils in the near future so those jets seemed like a place to start?
     
  2. Stephen Downey

    Stephen Downey Member

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    so the season is over I left work with an oil puddle under the bike. and I know why its because I tried rebuilding the carbs and by the time I got it pretty close to right I had ran it so long and it was running lean I'm guessing so in a nutshell I'm sad like in my gut sad right now all the research I did this one I learned hard. ordered my gasket kit. so I'm asking , with oil on the ground after over heating and an engine rebuild in the very near future, any advice I should focus on? beside starter clutch? hone walls, get new rings. . can I deck this head? worst day ever
     
  3. Timbox

    Timbox Well-Known Member

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    Not too sure how just oil on the ground means you blew the engine? Could admin move this to his other thread pls...
     
  4. Stephen Downey

    Stephen Downey Member

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    oil is on both sides of motor engine won't start, sorry wanted it to be read. ill figure it out
     
  5. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

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    Double check the torque on the head nuts.
     
  6. Stephen Downey

    Stephen Downey Member

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    okay ill check that, oil was directly on both sides of engine. was not completely empty so i added and checked my plugs they were covered in carbon. theyre changed and bike seems fine just after a 13 hr shift and bike wont start when bike always starts, noticing oil in 2 spots like that, idk, that seemed bad to me. now i have 140$ in gaskets coming i didnt need yet
     
  7. Timbox

    Timbox Well-Known Member

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    Stephen, I think you might want to do a little back tracking and take your time. The more you just go for it and not diagnose the problem the more money you will be using up. Find the problem by doing good trouble shooting. Some of the guys use baby powder on the engine to she where the leaks come from. I would guess if you were checking the valve shims that this is your leak location. Might be the donuts or it just could be the valve cover gasket. Are all plugs dark? The chance that all the cylinders failed at ones is very uncommon. I still think you are in the tuning stage with your carbs and that is the issue. Clean them plugs up, get a compression checker and see what you have. I would guess the cylinders are good and you just need to take your time and tune them carbs and fix the valve cover gasket. Clean that engine up and see what is going on.
     
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  8. Stephen Downey

    Stephen Downey Member

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    copy that, and am embarrass to say I hadn't started on shim check yet and I've been on 12s at work all weekend so I'm starting that soon but, so when I discovered the vacuum leak I changed the throttle shaft seals and I clear hose checked float levels and fixed that . but I had been dialing very rich to compensate for obvious lean symptoms (vacuum leak) and yes the plugs were disgusting looking and only a month old but new plugs got me going. I believe valve clearance then a proper tune is most important next, I'm very happy its not the end of the season, actually the company I bought the engine gaskets from gave me a chance to opt out because of the time it would take to ship. things worked out. thanks guys!
     
  9. Stephen Downey

    Stephen Downey Member

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    I tried searching, I cannot find anything relative but ever since I believe I overheated and I found the oil under both sides of my crank on the ground, I have no more problem pertinent to losing oil but when I hit my starter button I get maybe one spin of my starter everything stops then it resumes and starts ok. im checking my starter circuit as soon as I hit post reply, then renting a compression tester if I can. anywhere else I should look?
     
  10. Stephen Downey

    Stephen Downey Member

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    I'm checking my valve clearances and so far exhaust #2 was .43 and exhaust #4 the .88 fits. Like the bucket is not coming all the way up? I'm positive when I checked yesterday they were tight. Could the buckets be sticking?
     
  11. bigfitz52

    bigfitz52 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    So after everything you've been through you're just now checking your valve clearances? The bucket gets firmly pushed up by the valve/spring. If a valve isn't closing, the valve is sticking. Generally speaking, as the engine wears, valve clearances tighten up as the valves pound themselves into the head. You didn't mention if the .43 and .88 numbers are metric; I'll assume so. Sudden (or intermittent) large valve clearances indicate a sticking or stuck valve, which is a distinct possibility based on all of the abuse you've described heaping upon this poor motor.

    I would recommend turning the motor over slowly by hand a few times and carefully watching the operation of the cams and buckets. Check the clearances more than once and record your findings. Continued huge valve clearances indicates a serious problem that shims won't fix. I would recommend a compression test but if you've got a valve or two not closing fully it would be a waste of time.
     
  12. Stephen Downey

    Stephen Downey Member

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    I tried uploading a video of it running. It was about 24 sec and says too large. Valves are shimmed most were tight. With the carbs and exhaust off i let seafoam sit on the faces as I spun the engine thru the week with atf/acetone in the cylinders cranking a little each day. And when done I got different readings, changed shims, then checked them again and again everything stayed consistent. My cams were always retarded to my eye less than a tooth. But I took the cams off the shoulders and moved them a tooth and everything lined up perfect. Since I couldn't move chain with the tensioner out one tooth I have to say that would've been a hard jump with the tensioner in, looks more like the previous owner may have made a mistake retiming. Idk. Timing good, valves good, carbs are like mirrors inside, I have pods and no muffler so I'm trying 43s and 116s for jets everything inside new and fresh. It's running nicely I've bench synced and sitting at work ready to color tune and vacuum synch in the morning. Couldn't have done this without everyone's info here thank you. I'll be making my own seat, have an xj900 caliper to rebuild and fit for the rear. Probably could've used any caliper i like how the 900 caliper matches the lines of the yics valve cover. Swapped swing arms for a virago so U joint was fitted for that with new needle bearings. And I happened upon the seca shocks I liked the dual springs one chrome one gold I'll repaint changing the chrome to silver. Lots of paint and powder coat to do but I'm almost running smoothly and that's saying a lot considering yes this poor engine was subject to some abuse but, I bought this bike running poorly and I neglected to fix it in the proper order it was my first I learned a lot it's healthier than it was when I got it and it's far from finished. Since there's a welder here in the shop at work I brought the oil cooler piece here to weld some AN10 fittings I think that will be a cool addition. No pun intended
     

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    Last edited: Dec 1, 2020
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