Topic: 1977 CB550F Restoration

[dagersh]

 

[dagersh]

OK,

Here are some brief updates on the polishing results:




Intake Manifolds after Walnut Shell/DriShine Media with Simichrome




These bolts were completely oxidized.  This is after the Green Pyramids and then the Dri Shine with Simichrome.

I am thinking it would be pretty cool to make and even bigger tumbler in order to put in engine covers, and even cylinders and heads.  I have the motor off one that is messed up, I am thinking to use a large plastic container with the Dri-shine.  Instead of one hold down, I would use four for better stability.  It might take longer, but I think it will work out OK.

I will post pics of that project when I get to it.

This weekend I am going to switch out the choke flap from my corroded #3 Carb into the new one provided by Harisuluv.  Thanks James!!!




Here is the flap, and the JIS Screws holding it in




Here is the nut, washer and connector set up (documented so that I put them back the right way)  Here, I have already loosed the nut, carefully bracing the connector while applying torque to the nut




Here is the male connector and spring on the other side.  I will hopefully be able to remove the shaft from this side so that nothing needs to come apart here.

Then I will test out some new polishing techniques on the ruined carb to see what kind of polished result I can get on the carb bodies. 

After that, I need to pull the Rocker Arm Shafts from the head and start polishing it, after making sure its totally free of glass bead media.

As always, waiting for the weekend....

Gersh

[JoeP]

Awesome!

I have a 75 cb550F in similar condition (also blue, and even has ape hangers!). I just cleaned the carbs too and was wondering what to do about some rusty bolts. Looks like you have the answer.

[dagersh]

Joe,

It works great.  Just make sure you organize yourself so you know what went in the tumbler, and where it goes when it come out.  For washers and nuts, I will use a zip ties to keep them together, as long as it is not too tight, the media will polish everything just fine.

Gersh

[dagersh]

Ok,

Got some work out of the way…

I was able to easily remove the Choke Butterfly from that old, dingy, corroded #3 and installed it on my new one.

Turned out to be very straightforward.  I took a spare #1 Phillips that probably came as an installation tool for some kind of product – I have 2 matching ones, so I am assuming some sort of furniture.  I checks its fit on the JIS screws and found it pretty good.  To make sure, I filed down the tip so it was not so deep, and then it fit really good.  A little bit of rotational pressure, and the screws came right out with no fuss.





I then removed the nut, washer and connector from the axle and slid the whole thing out. 



I then put them into a small vibratory tumbler for a few hours to clean off some of the corrosion.  And reassembled onto the good carb body.  Following advice from the Forum, I put the screws in loosely, and worked the action of the butterfly before tightening fully.  The result is a nice smooth action.



Speaking of the Vibratory Tumbler…  I owe you guys some pics of my results.  Here are some shots of various bolts and also the intake manifolds.  All of this was the result of using Eastwood’s Dri-Shinell media with some Happich’s Simichrome added in.  Times range from a half day to several days, depending on how fast I got the desired results.







It takes some time, but the results are great, and the process is totally safe and clean.

Next it was onto removing my Cam Shafts and Rockers from the head:
Again, following advice from the forum, 2 major points to follow:
1.    Keep the components the same!  i.e. the #1 Exhaust Rocker goes back as the #1 Exhaust Rocker on reassembly.  The #1 & #2 Exhaust Cam Shaft must remain the #1 & #2 Cam Shaft on reassembly.  Otherwise, your parts will have to spall which can lead to excessive wear and tear or even worse, failure.  So keep very organized during this disassembly.
2.   Protect the Cam Shaft Cotter Pins – they are not available!!!
So here goes…

First I labeled everything.  On the CB550F, the exhaust side of the head is flat in the middle, whereas the intake side has an angle.  So I labeled the head front and back (on retrospect, I should have named it Exhaust and Intake, but I digress….)



I then labeled all the Rockers as well.  After my CB450 Project, I have a ton of Glad Freezer bags as well as small plastic bags from Western Hills Honda Orders.  I will use them to excess to keep this build organized!



I then took a 6mm nut and put it on the cotter so it sat just proud of the top of the cotter.  This is to protect the threads of the cotter.



I then used a 5/16 punch and hammer to tap out the cotter pin.  I was careful, but had to use some force here.



And it came out with no drama.



I them went to pull the Cam Shaft in order to remove the rockers.  At first I did not realize that they were tapped on the open end for a 6mm bolt (one from your engine case will do just fine…) so I struggled a bit to get the first two out.  Once I realized that the shafts are tapped, it was breeze to remove the other 2!





Here is where the cotter pin lives…



Ahhh – so much easier when done correctly!



A nice empty head (much like mine…) ready for vaporblast



Everything in its place awaiting a quick clean and lube before reassembly



These are then put in the big Bag labeled #1 & #2 Exhaust which contains the appropriate Cam Shaft and Cotter Pin.  I have the Washers and Nuts for the Cotters tied together with a zip tie as I polished them in the tumbler.

I then wanted to move back to the carbs.  Since I now have a really nice working set, I wanted to really clean them up.  I took the old corroded #3 as a guinea pig and put it into my 18lb Vibratory Tumbler.  At first I used Harbor Freight’s Abrasive Ceramic Polishing Media



with a bit of all purpose wheel cleaner and water.  Not a good idea – the abrasives break down and get stuck in the larger orifices of the Carb.  So I cleaned out the tumbler bowl and used the Dri-Shinell and mixed in a some Walnut Shells as I wanted to make sure the Carb was covered completely in the bowl.  I let this go for about 4 hours, mixing in a bit of the Simi-chrome here and there.  We have success!!!
So encouraged, I put Carbs one and two in and left them overnight and most of the next day.  They still need another day or two, but I am not up at the garage, so they will have to wait until this weekend.  But here are the results so far.

That said, when they are done, I will run them a few cycles in the Ultrasonic cleaner to make sure that the polishing media is cleaned from the all the orifices, and them hit them with brake cleaner and compressed air for certainty.

These are some quick pics with my phone.  When you see the third carb in the pic, that is the REALLY clean #3 that I got from Harisuluv for reference – and it looks old and cruddy next to the others.









Next up, the Exhaust and then the Engine have to come off.  The Cases will be PC’d Aluminum Gray from Powder by the Pound and the Cylinder, Head and Head Cover will be sent out for Vaporblast.  The Breather cover will be polished on my wheel as it has a bunch of blemishes that need to be worked out.  All the engine internals will be cleaned, and I will give her a valve job upon reassembly. 
I will of course post pics as I go along!

Thanks for watching!

Gersh

[riverfever]

Damn those carb bodies look nice.

[maduncle]

Wowie wow wow!

I love shiny stuff - well done mate.

And once again, you are publishing a bookworthy thread of fine dismantling details - one that 550 owners will appreciate in the future.

[dagersh]

Unc -

Only if I can get it back together again!

Thanks guys!

[dmonday]

Thanks for the great pics of the carbs, getting ready to replace some o-rings that are leaking in mine.

[dagersh]

DMonday -

Float Bowls?

[dmonday]

DMonday -

Float Bowls?

It's the o-rings that go around the brass fitting "t" that then feeds into the 1 and 2 carbs.  They are leaking and leaving stains on my engine. 

[dagersh]

gotcha.

Make sure the grooves they sit in are clean when go to replace them.

Gersh

[ejether]

Those carbs are sure pretty!  Do you have any worries about abrasive in the passages now?

[maduncle]

Those carbs are sure pretty!  Do you have any worries about abrasive in the passages now?

... if it's not a personal question? 

[dagersh]

Whew....  A bit too personal!

No, the "abrasives" are really soft, very organic corn cob, and do nothing to abrade the surfaces.  The heat from the process mixed with the Simichrome are what actually polish the surface.

It is such a gentle process that it takes days to get results...

Gersh

[dagersh]

Well, polishing the carbs left a bit to be desired.  I am trying another method, which I think will work out much better.  I was able to clean out the passages really well with lots of air, and I then ultrasonic cleaned them.  However, the heat of the water in the Ultrasound dulled out all that beautiful polishing!  Next up, I will use fresh Dri-Shine and I will install the Float bowl, Tops Cap and use stoppers on anything else that leads to a passage.  Meanwhile, I cleaned all four well, and gave everything a coat of WD-40 which I then air dried so that they are protected.  Although not as shiny, the carbs are ready for reinstallation.

But that all said I moved on to tearing down the engine.  With the Cylinder Head Cover off, nad the Rockers and arms removed, it was time to remove the Cam Shaft and Cylinder Head.  I followed the instruction in Clymer getting ready to pull everything out.  I made sure that the Cam Chain Tensioner was as loose as it would go (All the way Clock-wise) and then rotated the engine to access one of the two 7mm Knock Bolts that hold the Sprocket to the Cam Shaft.  I removed that bolt and then rotated the engine a full turn and removed the second knock bolt.





I got stuck here, as I could not get the Cam Chain off the sprocket.  Luckily, I got some great advice from Lester Piglet.  He said to use a screwdriver, or anything long enough, inserted down the back of the Cam Chain Tunnel to pressure the tensioner.  Once I did this, the Cam Chain  was easily removed from the sprocket, and everything came out smoothly.



Here is a link to that discussion

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=134242.0

I then pulled the headers off the cylinder head.  I took all the Chrome Exhaust Joints off the pipes and put them in to the bead blaster.  I was very happy with the results.



I then put the blasted joints in my tumbler which will work on getting a nice sheen out of them over the next bunch of days.  I also took all the Cylinder Head Nuts and washers, the exhaust collars as well as the nuts for the exhaust and intake manifolds and put them in as well. 
What I do here, is take all the alike parts, i.e. the 12 Cylinder Head Nuts, run a plastic zip-tie through them and lock it up.  This allows the polishing media to get to the individual parts, but keeps them all together and organized.

I then removed the nuts holding the Cylinder Head to the studs following the procedure s in Clymer.  Once off, I cleaned everything using Soda and Glass Bead where more stubborn.  I then let everything soak in a tub of warm water, moving the part around in order to get flow through all the passages and threaded holes.
I then put the entire head into my Ultrasonic Cleaner for 40 minutes.  Between the warm water bath and US Cleaning, the head is clear of any glass bead.  I will remove all the valves and springs and send the head out for Vapor Blasting.  Upon reassembly, I will lap the valves.  Here is the head after cleaning and being blown dry with Compressed air.




Onto removing the cylinder



I was able to get it off with the gentle coaxing of a rubber mallet.  I started to soda and glass bead blast it, but unfortunately time ran out and I had to head back to NYC,  Next weekend, I will post pics of all the polishing and then continue cleaning the cylinders of old gasket remnants.  I will also disassemble the Cylinder head of the valves and springs.
Hopefully I will then have everything ready to send out for Vapor blasting.

Gersh

[maduncle]

Cool - keep going!

[dagersh]

I need to get back upstate ASAP!

[maduncle]

I need to get back upstate ASAP!

Floods?

Snow??

Just missing the barn???

[dagersh]

Last two!

Back up, but need to ski!

[dagersh]

OK - lots of snow so I was able to hit the slopes a bit as well as work on the bike afterwards.

I pulled the Cylinder and then removed the pistons.  I had one clip get away from me, and spent an hour looking for it.  I found it and then realized that I need to replace the clips anyway.  Oh well, at least I cleaned up the shop a bit in the process.









Here is what the pistons and pins looked like upon removal.  Just out of curiousity – are the marking s of the pins OK?  Also, the pistons cleaned up fantastic with a soda blast.





I then went on to clean up the exhaust system.  I Bead blasted the headers , muffler and shields.  Everything cleaned up pretty nice, but the headers have some rust pitting and will need to be redone.

I am wondering what the consensus is on Jet Hot’s Polished 1300 Coating.  How close is it to Chrome?  I have used them successfully on my ’86 Moto Guzzi Lario’s Satin Black Header and Pipe. It has been more than a decade and they still look brand spanking new.

I also left the Exhaust Collars in my Tumbler for a few days with Simichrome added in.  The Results are stunning!





I sent out my Cylinder, Head, Head Cover and Oil Filter Cover to Arnold's Designs in Ridgway, PA to have them Vapor Blasted.  I will definitely post pics upon their return. 
Next up will be removing the Bottom End from the Frame and disassembling it.  From there I will clean up the cases and powder coat them Aluminum.

Gersh

[maduncle]

Exhaust collars cleaned up well.

Which 'cases' are you powercoating? I only ask as I wonder if you are talking about the crankcases.

I don't know if I would powder coat a crankcase unless you can do some serious masking out of gasket areas and the entire inside surface area, wouldn't want any powder coat inside the engine.

[dagersh]

That's the plan for now.  If I am not comfortable with the amount and quality of my masking, I will also send them out for Vapor.

I was able to achieve really good masking of the cases on the 450 for paint, but with some other methods, I think I can safely PC the cases.

Gersh

[maduncle]

Hmmm - be interested to learn more about the pros and cons of powder coated engine cases.

I recently got all my CB450 cases and other associated parts vapour blasted (picture on page 7 of the thread)

http://www.hondatwins.net/forums/1-project-logs/26784-maduncle-s-next-cb450-so-where-s-one-going-7.html

[calj737]

As long as care is taken during the prep stage of powder coating, there's no downside to having an engine coated. In fact, you can use a thermal dispersion coating in the jugs and heads that actually help draw engine heat out. This finish is not as durable as powder cost, so limit it to the jugs and heads only.

Professional shops know how to care for an engine and tape off sensitive surfaces. Afterwards, just warm water rinse the cases to flush any debris prior to assembly.