Engine Removal

I'm excited to be a new member, and have definitely enjoyed perusing the boards. I've already benefited from the vast amounts of experience that is available here. I have an 85 maxim xj700. I've dropped the engine so that I can replace it with a like model with less miles. Does anyone have any maintenance suggestions while the engine is out. Also, The engine that I'm putting in has been dry for 4 months. thanks.

 

check valve clearances, new seals, check torque, timing...it's all pretty basic mechanical procedure

 

Hi Stevo, welcome, take the opportunity to check that the starter clutch isn't disintegrating. Wiz.

 

absolutezroo, a pretty basic mechanical procedure to me, would be changing the plugs and oil. Due to my limited knowledge of all things combustion, I hope to avoid opening the head at all. I was wondering if I need to grease the u-joint, replace electrical components, prelube the swapper engine,etc. any suggestions?

 

How many miles on the replacement motor? From what I've read, the valves can start to be out of tolerance at 10 K miles--it's pretty easy to pull the valve cover(considering that you're doing an engine swap!)
You could even pull the pan to see how much gunk is in the motor, or if there are fragments of any of the guides, but that would require a pan gasket.

Pre-lube by spinning the motor with plugs out and Ign. unplugged for 15 - 30 seconds.

Paint the motor while it's out !

 

I was told that the engine had around 12k. My plan has been to get it onto my chassis and hope things go smoothly.
So now... I've got the engine on and hooked up. The tran spins freely in neutral and shifts through all gears, but the engine appears to be seized to some degree.


The engine(I was told) was in good running condition when it came off the original bike after an accident 4-5 months ago. It was covered and kept under a carport, but there are some small signs of rust. Right now I'm marinating the pistons in a bit of marvel and hoping that the oil will penetrate.

I've already asked this in another post, but can I get some suggestions on how to manually turn the crankshaft without going through the left side engine cover. The cover appears to be developing some stress fractures and I would like to avoid messing with it.

 

While the Engine is out ... you can do a pretty good job "Media Blasting" the jugs and crankcase.

You can bring-out the natural beauty of the bright aluminum alloy by "Media Blasting" the Engine with either ... a) Walnut Shell b) Baking Soda or c) Plastic Bead Media.