Water in Engine

See..... now you know why I encourage you to not turn it into a boat anchor. These engines are easy to work on. So you have finally found a couple stubborn bolts.........you'll still get it done.....

I've said it many times in the past:

The engineers were genius-----
They were simple people with a simple idea, built with simple tools and a simple plan, but a genius product.

You're gonna have an awesome ride when you get done.

Dave

 

Which is why I have doggedly refused to admit that this engine was a water-logged dead weight and have soldiered on to this point. Once these two bolts are out, out comes the generator and crank (damn this thing is monstrously heavy!) and then it goes into the cleaning and de-gasketing phase. Based on how it has wiped clean so far, I think I can get away with just soda blasting the cases to brighten up the aluminum. I had considered powder coating the engine and leaving the cylinder fins bare ala the Midnight Maxim, but I'm going to save my money for other things. I like clean aluminum, anyway.

 

Bearing retainer is out! Best $120 I've spent so far on this bike.


Now its time to start cleaning.

 

I knew I had a picture of this, you will notice the two bolt holes on the top and lower left of the bearing retainer are filed where I tried to score the bolt heads with a Dremel and impact them out with no success. You can also see on the upper screw where the machine shop had to drill a smooth spot onto the bolt head because I befuckered it so badly. Then the bolts were just disintegrated.

 

did they have thread-lock on them?
$ ?, if you don't mind me asking

 

I kind of think so, the one that came out by natural means had what looked like an adhesive, but only on the countersunk head of the screw, not on the threads.

 

Never tried the acitone method but I have had a couple junk bikes that were sitting outside for many years and were froze up
I sprayed PB BLASTER in the spark plug holes and let them sit in my shop for a week and they always free up, But when you first get um started they would smoke like hell until they burn all the blaster out the cylinders
Robert

 

Oh no, there was so much mung built up on the cylinder walls there was no way this bike was going to run just because I freed it up. Now, I probably could have run it with just a top end rebuild, but that would've involved praying the bottom end was ok as opposed to knowing.

 

I don't care what they at about you........ You're alright!

Lol

 

Ordered a replacement head w/cams in way better condition than my original. Finally finished getting my Jeep up to state inspection level, and now my wife is sick. I will get back to finish cleaning this engine soon!

 

How does one go about removing the bearing for the blind end of the generator shaft? I have been diligently cleaning my cases and started polishing them, but that bearing has remained stuck in place. Given the amount of water that came out of this engine, that bearing has some rough spots in its rotation, and when I wash it out with WD-40 a good bit of brown washes out, so it's got to go. I have a slide hammer, but I cannot catch the lip of the bearing to pop it out.

In other news, I have removed all but one of my cylinder studs. That one decided to fight back, and snapped off down at the base gasket surface. So, it's back to the bolt disintegration shop. Also, despite my best efforts with a copper scraper, I don't think I can salvage the cylinders. Its a shame as the block itself is in good shape, but there was too much detritus built up on the liner walls to remove without machining them, and oversized pistons are NLA. Also, replacement liners are expensive to the point that replacing more than one makes the concept economically infeasible compared to a good condition block (& pistons) on ebay.

 

Progress continues with engine prep work. I have obtained a replacement cylinder block plus pistons, and have gone through and de-gasketed all the engine parts and covers in preparation for final cleaning and powder coating. There is one problem remaining, however; the PO took it upon himself to chrome plate the valve cover and had a crappy job done of it. It is flaking and bubbling, and I fear it woud look like shite to try and powder coat over it.

Anyone know how to remove chrome from aluminum?

 

Get another valve cover

Dave

 

Thats what I am leaning toward, research via Google has come up with a bunch of ways to remove chrome, none of which are economically feasible.
Ebay, on the other hand, has offered a number of reasonably priced options.

 

By the time you pay to ship, strip, refinish, you may as well just buy one on eBay for less.

Dave

 

I'm posting just to make sure get notices of your future posts so I can keep up with your restoration. I have an extra engine for my XJ700 and I've oiled it inside and out, plugged it up, and rotate it occasionally just to avoid the issues you ran into. But, if I had a spare engine in the condition of yours I would have torn into to it also if nothing more than out of curiosity. Good luck.

 

Tabaka.... you can follow without having to reply---look below the reply message box, and immediately below the 'submit' button......now look to the left and click on where it says 'watch this topic'.

 

Would that I had a spare engine, I would try and build a hot-rod motor using a 750 crank and top end, then actually putting in a 805cc big bore kit and FI with a 4-1 Supertrapp. Not that I need ANOTHER engine to work on.

 

Well, I'll be darn, ain't that cool. Thanks.

 

Soak it in ammonia. Likely, there is a copper base plate that the chrome is adhering to.

Ammonia is a natural copper solvent. Trust me, removing copper fouling out of dozens upon dozens of rifles has led me to the conclusion that it works very, very well as a copper solvent.

I also learned the hard way when I was younger that ammonia based cleaners will absolutely destroy a fine nickel or hard chrome finish. :x


On another note, once it starts flaking & peeling, feel free to scrub the everloving schize out of it with a wire brush.