Beginner restoration of a 82 XJ550 Maxim

The T bar connector the fuel line goes onto has O rings to prevent fuel leaking which are not visible with the carburettors assembled. Unfortunately the carburettors have to be split from the mounting rails to replace them.

 

Yeah I have the carbs all the way into pieces, cleaned and was in reassembly doing the wet setting and putting those fuel line connectors in when I found the T was leaking. When I had it apart I could see ridges but there were no O rings that would come off like the pieces between the other carbs.

I just need something to seal that, I’ve got them all apart so it would be easy. Maybe I can find an O ring at the hardware store I can just put on there?

 

Some of the tees are rubber coated steal with ridges that acted as o-rings. Some tees had just o-rings. Get a new tee with o-rings. Do it right do it once.

 

Lostboy thats what it is, steal T rubber coated so those act like ridges, but yeah they aren't doing so great haha

 

600 fuel tee and it has orings , Len sells those too.

 

Hey guys I'm going to be putting the carbs back on and trying to get things to run now with what I think was the issue with the flooding fixed. I'm remembering how terrible the airbox experience is, I also think longterm I'll be pulling the airbox to clean things up. What would you guys suggest for this 82 xj550 in this area? I know Pods are options, just curious what you guys would suggest before I do anything.

 

If you need parts for anything I've had a really good experience with Oldbikebarn

 

Howdy folks! Been awhile, but I'm back at it. I got the engine running, Whoot whoot! But a few things were happening. 1. It sounded a little rough close to idle, had a hard time keeping it in idle it wanted to die out even after adjusting things. 2. A few times when I was letting things run and revving it, it would start to rev up in RPM's on it's own! I wouldn't touch anything and it would just be climbing, I'd have to usually kill it to stop it.

Moving forward.
First, I haven't done a valve clearance adjustment yet so I'm getting into that now. Where do you guys recommend getting the shims once I measure and know what I need? Also any recommendations on gauges? I tried two that were way to big, the lowest gauge was bigger then specs for this bike.
Second, any ideas on the ghost revving?

I'd like to get the engine purring before I move into all the safety stuff and taking things apart again. I also do not want to take the carbs off again with the airbox. So I need some pod suggestions. This is my brain dump, send me wisdom

 

Shims-
Pool, talk with me
Wanna order new, talk with LEN

sync gauges- get a set of the Morgan Carbtune Pro

ghost idle-most likely due to not being Running-synced. If it continues after syncing, then it’s likely a vacuum leak. But don’t diagnose it as that till after you’ve done your running-sync.

 

Hogfiddles thanks for the advice. Let me ask some clarifying questions.
1. Great, I'll reach out when I know what size shims I need. The question I had on "gauges" where to get ones small enough to slide in and measure the shim clearances. Are those called Feeler gauges maybe? I don't know, but the two I tried, (look like thin metal pieces on a keychain) were too big for the clearance specs. Autozone didn't have small enough ones, I'll find some on amazon or something in the .10mm-.25mm range for these clearances.

2. After I measure, change the shims to get clearances in spec, then are you recommending doing the running carb sync? Do you know places that do that so I don't have to buy the tool?

3. It's more of a Ghost Rev haha it's idling, then randomly it starts to climb in rpms and can't be stopped till I cut it. Just to clarify.

Step 1 I need to get the right feeler gauges or whatever they are called to measure the shims and then get the right onces and swap them. I know I saw videos in here on how to do that. Then...?

 

https://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/bigfitzs-airhead-valve-adjustment-with-pics-parts-i-ii.116006/

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F2X8L4J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Thanks guys. I'll get in and do the clearance measurements, I'll let you know my measurements and I might see if you have some shims in your pool hogfiddle that I could get from you. Appreciate the help! Stay tuned!

 

I’m alive! Time to get this thing ready for summer.

Ok, so valve clearances. I finally got a gauge that could do it and got things measured. Things are all over the place which might explain running rough, remember the bike sat for years before I got it. Help me out here with knowing what shims I need, here are my measurements.

In: 1 - .02mm?(.04 wouldn’t fit) 2 - .10mm 3 - .13mm 4 - .02mm?(.04 wouldn’t fit)

Out: 1 - .13mm 2 - .15mm 3 - .10mm 4 - .18mm

What do you guys think? Can I know what I need just from that or do I need to pop out all the shims first? I was hoping to pop out the old ones and put in the new ones at the same time but maybe I can’t do that.

 

intake .11mm to .15mm
exhaust .16mm to .20mm
In:
1 - .02mm?(.04 wouldn’t fit) tight
2 - .10mm tight close but still out of spec
3 - .13mm in spec
4 - .02mm tight
Out:
1 - .13mm tight
2 - .15mm tight
3 - .10mm tight
4 - .18mm in spec

first step is to remove shims (one at a time) and look on back side to get size. when you have the size you can determine replacment shim size.
if marking has worn off you will need to measure shim thickness with a caliper.

you may be able to swap some shims around to bring some valves in spec.
it is a good idea to have a spare place holder shim or get some plastic place holders from xj4ever, to help with swapping around shims

get a note book and record shim locations and sizes then when you replace shims record that data too.
with this info the next time you need to measure and change you will have the info you need to get a new shim
always keep the history of your measurements.

then you measure your ignition system record that info too.

same with charging system voltages and ohms measurements.
this will all help with future problems that may arise.

Hogfiddles posted a link above on how to do the shims read it a few times.

valve shims are the first step in getting bike running correctly.
,
if you have access to a compresion tester it would be nice to see those values.
you could do that now just to see how bringing shims into spec changes those values.
this will help understand the importance of shim spec,

 

This is great thank you, it was about as I finished the post after cleaning things up I realized I probably would need the shim sizes inside…

So I’m going to go back and take each one out, read and record, then I’ll know what I need to get from maybe some of y’all’s extra stashes or somewhere else.

When I pull them out, before I move to the next one do I have to put that one back in or can I leave them empty knowing I have to replace many of them? Will it cause any harm being empty waiting for the new ones?

I don’t wanna wait for fakes and I don’t have any spares yet so I just need to know if when I pull it if I should put it right back or if I can pull all the needed ones and leave empty.

I have initial compressions, and yeah I’ll measure again after I get them in spec that will be cool to see.

 

Don't leave the buckets without shims, you can cause damage if you do.

 

And I run the shim pool so let me know what you need....and feel free to send a pm with your figures and I’ll doublecheck them for ya

 

Alright! Note to others, after you measure the clearance pull the shims and get the numbers so you can do the math and know your replacements rather than being like me and taking it apart twice haha

In review now with shim numbers:
In: 1 - .02mm(285) 2 - .10mm(275) 3 - .13mm (270) 4 - .02mm(285)
Out: 1 - .13mm(260) 2 - .15mm(265) 3 - .10mm(280) 4 - .18mm (260)

Soo I’m thinking for the replacements :

Intake into spec (.11mm-.15mm)
1. 285 - (.13mm(spec)- .0(measured)= 285-.13=272
2. 275 - (.13(spec) - .10(measured)= 275-.03= 272
3. .13mm is good
4. 285 - (.13 - .0(measured))= 285-.13=272

Exhaust into spec (.16mm-.20mm)
1. 260 - (.18mm (spec)-.13(clearance measured) = 260-.05= 255
2. 265 - (.18mm(spec) - .15mm(measured))= 265-.03= 262
3. 280-(.18-.10)=280-.08=272
4. .18mm good

Ok, I tried to share my math to help but this is the finals please check if I’m right. Also I’m guessing that they come in multiples of 5 so I’m going to round to that number going wider knowing they get tighter over time.

Need Replacement Shims:
In: 1 - 272(270 rounding would give me .15mm gap) 2 - 272(270) 4 - 272(270)
Exhaust: 1 - 255 2 - 262(260 rounding so .20mm gap) 3 - 272(270 rounding so .20mm gap)

wow that’s a novel, I’m trying to be helpful and organized writing it out. I hope this helps someone some day. You experts grade my work thanks!

 

In: 1 - .02mm(285) replace with 275
2 - .10mm(275) replace with 270
3 - .13mm (270) good no change
4 - .02mm(285) replace with 275
intake
swap cylinder 2 into cylinder 1
get 270 for #2
get 275 shim for #4



Out:
1 - .13mm(260) replace with 255
2 - .15mm(265) replace with 260
3 - .10mm(280). replace with 270
4 - .18mm (260) good no change

exhaustt swap cyl 1 shim into cylinder 2

get 255 shim for #1
get 270 shim for #3