Author Topic: Starting a rusty '77 CB550K (Read 41086 times)

medic09 · « **Reply #200 on:** March 15, 2007, 05:23:03 PM »

Quote from: Tvag on March 15, 2007, 09:50:32 AM

I think I need a 6mm spoke wrench. I saw one at a motorcross facility down the street from my work for $13 by MotionPro (6.0mm and 6.3mm). Looks like this:

Turned my cleaning attention toward the left cover that contains the front sprocket. What metal is this? aluminum The rust is white and powdery. Any techniques for cleanup? scotch brite Same as chrome? no

I love answering my own questsions when I should be working, instead of scouring the Internet.

You and me both, bro. Think how much education you're providing us with this thread, when we could all be working or doing schoolwork.

Tvag · « **Reply #201 on:** March 16, 2007, 07:35:38 AM »

Got 1 gallon of molasses to clean the rust out of the tank at Agway last night. $9. Also got scotch brite pads (green), cotter pins and naval jelly. The cotter pins are to replace the one I snapped off when I removed the axle in haste, bought 5 and one fits well. Scotch brite has done well to clean up the left side cover oxidation but it leaves trace scratches in its wake. Better than what it was though. I don't recommend for aluminum in good shape. I'll have to smooth that out later with sand paper and buffing but for this riding season, I'm content.

How does one use naval jelly? The swingarm has some pretty decent corrosion on it and I wanted to use this product to help with the rust removal. But it says to prime or paint after use. I just want to remove and treat the rust. What else can I do? Are those rattle can rust treatments a better idea? I mean, the ones that convert rust to something else and change the color. Other ideas on how to treat a rusty swingarm?

dagersh · « **Reply #202 on:** March 16, 2007, 08:13:49 AM »

TVAG,

Is it off the bike? If so, dump it in the Molassas. If not, try using the Scotchbrite Pads to knock off the rust. You will have to put some kind of paint/primer over the affected areas to keep new rust from forming after anyway. Why not use some Rustoleum or like product until you are ready to restore the bike later on.

HTH

Gersh

Tvag · « **Reply #203 on:** March 16, 2007, 08:42:40 AM »

Quote from: dagersh on March 16, 2007, 08:13:49 AM

TVAG,

Is it off the bike? If so, dump it in the Molassas. If not, try using the Scotchbrite Pads to knock off the rust. You will have to put some kind of paint/primer over the affected areas to keep new rust from forming after anyway. Why not use some Rustoleum or like product until you are ready to restore the bike later on.

HTH

Gersh

It's off the bike. In my basement. That molasses is for my gas tank!

What about the needle bearings inside the bore of the swingarm? Nothing in there will be bothered by the molasses? I can just dump the stuff on it? should I dilute it 4:1 ratio with water like in the gas tank or leave it full strength?

Swede · « **Reply #204 on:** March 16, 2007, 09:59:45 AM »

If the corrosion has a lot of pitting then I would recomend sanding it down and hitting it with some paint. I used the naval jelly on my seat pan and it did remove the rust but the surface was really rough afterwards and the paint didn't like to stay very well. The same is true for the molasses it removes the rust but leaves the surface pretty rough.

dagersh · « **Reply #205 on:** March 16, 2007, 10:53:02 AM »

TVAG,

Have you been using a wire wheel at all on the other rusty spots? Maybe use that, then the scotchbrite and then a little prime & paint. If its off, you can really get at it! If not, just use the Naval Jelly.

Good luck!

Gersh

Tvag · « **Reply #206 on:** March 20, 2007, 03:28:26 PM »

I've decided I'll take the wire wheel to it and then paint it. Don't know when that will be though.

And got a kick in the balls this week by my employer. They decided to restrict websites, so now I can only check sohc4.us after work from now on. Don't know how I'm going to get through the day. This week has been horrible. Well, off to do some homework. I'm salty.

Tvag · « **Reply #207 on:** March 23, 2007, 01:32:58 PM »

Spotted a CB500 on the way to work today as I was leaving my neighborhood. Knew what it was soon as I saw it. It looked all stock and in fair condition. Dark Blue. Can I tell you how envious I was!! Getting anxious and I can do nothing but work sparatically on my bike until school breaks in May... felt like a kick in the balls. First bike I see on the road and it's a CB500. #$%*ing ironic.

Tvag · « **Reply #208 on:** March 28, 2007, 07:59:06 AM »

Got a compression Guage for my birthday from the wife!

I mentioned it in passing maybe once. She even got the right one with the 14mm adapter and all without my telling her. Now, to figure out how to use it.

TwoTired · « **Reply #209 on:** March 28, 2007, 11:52:49 AM »

Well, if you want to use it on the Cb550:
Step one:
Get a 12mm adapter...

Tvag · « **Reply #210 on:** March 28, 2007, 12:03:49 PM »

Quote from: TwoTired on March 28, 2007, 11:52:49 AM

Well, if you want to use it on the Cb550:
Step one:
Get a 12mm adapter...

Sorry, ment to write 12mm. typo...

OldSchool_IsCool · « **Reply #211 on:** March 28, 2007, 12:33:13 PM »

Tvag,

Here is a thread where I asked the same question. Please read it to the end as the procedure definitely evolved by the end. Step 9 and 10 certainally came to pass!

http://www.sohc4.us/forums/index.php?topic=17516.0

oh, and Happy Birthday!!

dagersh · « **Reply #212 on:** March 28, 2007, 01:04:54 PM »

Old School -

Is that link valid - or is my computer just puking as usual?

Gersh

Edit: - Yep, the 'puter was puking!

Tvag · « **Reply #213 on:** March 28, 2007, 03:15:23 PM »

#$%*!! It was a 14mm... Son of a... anyone got a 12mm adaptor they don't need?

Guess I'm going shopping.

OldSchool_IsCool · « **Reply #214 on:** March 28, 2007, 05:15:29 PM »

Same thing happened to me Tvag... the counter guy even said the small kit's adapter was 12mm... but NOOOOOOO!! had to make a second trip to return the small kit and get the big kit, the one with 3 or 4 adapters.

sigh

You can order the 12mm adapter separately, but it alone costs more than the difference between the two kits, once you factor in shipping.

Tvag · « **Reply #215 on:** April 04, 2007, 07:03:24 PM »

I'm about to pull my hair out! I have zero time for my cb. NONE! This is intolerable. Progress has come to a dead stop now that I'm in the full throws of the semester. Hope everyone is enjoying thier rides. I'll be in the garage for months to come.

Tvag · « **Reply #216 on:** May 01, 2007, 01:26:51 PM »

I'm back... sort of $:-\$ . I treated myself to a couple hours of work on my bike for the first time in just under a month. This semester absolutely kicked my ass. It was a horrendous stretch let me tell you. I'm not at all please.

So... I managed to grind the rust all off of my swingarm. Washed it down with Simple Green and rinsed thouroughly. I then brought it outside and layed down a coat of Rustolium primer on it. Looks 100% better as of now but I can't wait until I put a couple coats of paint on it.

Semester is over in just under 2 weeks. May 12th to be exact. I have a busy week following that but as soon as all that is done, I'm going full fledge back into my bike. With any luck I'll have it ready to go by the end of the summer before Fall Semester starts. It will be glorious. Hope eveyone is enjoying the weather... I'm insanly jealous.

dagersh · « **Reply #217 on:** May 01, 2007, 02:13:53 PM »

Welcome back TVAG! We are all looking forwad to your progress,

Gersh

OldSchool_IsCool · « **Reply #218 on:** May 01, 2007, 02:58:12 PM »

I was beginning to wonder if you threw the bike back into the lake you fished it from!

Keep at it, Man... we got ur back!

Tvag · « **Reply #219 on:** May 01, 2007, 06:21:09 PM »

Quote from: OldSchool_IsCool on May 01, 2007, 02:58:12 PM

I was beginning to wonder if you threw the bike back into the lake you fished it from!

Keep at it, Man... we got ur back!

Oh no... that bike will not beat me. It's coming back to life whether it wants to or not. I'll make a damn Frankenstein if I have too, but she will run. And I WILL ride. The question is when.

I noticed as I was staring at my bike daydreaming that there looked to be a slight bit of oil seepage on the front right fins. Looks about where I would picture the 4th cylinder would be. About where I thought I heard those escaping air noises from when I fired her up for the first time. Gargle-like, bubbly noises. That's not a good sign huh? I don't have engine integrity do I? I'm going to have to take the top end off aren't I? <sigh> Who's damn idear was this!!??

rbirkhan · « **Reply #220 on:** May 01, 2007, 06:53:59 PM »

This is just my opinion. When I disassembled my engine it was full of for lack of a better term gunk and considerable surface rust (rods crank weights ball bearings needle bearings) the oil had the consistency of cold molasses and would not have even drained. Many of the oil passaged were obstructed and required bore brushing and pipe cleaners to remove the crap. The oil passages that supply oil to the valve train are very small in diameter. The needle bearings on the clutch primary shaft wouldnt even roll, even though the shafts turned the bearings were seized. The engine would turn over by hand but that doesnt necesarily mean all is well. Old oil, water, dirt, rust bugs crud etc. If I had just cleaned the carbs and changed the oil then started it, it would have probably run for 5 minutes before seizing or become so damaged that salvaging what was left would be futile. Someone posted recently where they just changed the oil and hoped for the best. If the bike sat for 20 years I would bet money there is a ton of crap in the crankcase. Condensation forms inside engines and you can imagine that extrapolated through a 20 year period is not pretty. I would at least remove the oil pan and have a look see. The odds are its not pretty. If you do this before running it you will at least know what condition the rotating assembly is in and can prevent catastrophic engine damage. I have since cleaned the entire engine and flushed out the contaminantion and all is well all the bearings are fine and turn like the day they were made. Food for thought. These engines are very tough but like any engine they wont tolerate abrasive particles circulating in the oil for long. Good luck and let us know how you make out.

Tvag · « **Reply #221 on:** May 24, 2007, 09:52:09 AM »

Painted my swingarm finally using Black Rustoleum Epoxy Paint. Not a professional job but pretty damn good considering my ability and resources. Looks 50% better. Sorry no pics at the moment. Just a couple little things to clean up in the back end and then I can put it back together and get started on my leaky forks and rusty front rim.

Preparing for an ill advised Memorial Day Party this weekend. I hate hosting parties. What a pain in the butt.

Tvag · « **Reply #222 on:** May 25, 2007, 07:37:12 AM »

Quote from: Wykydtron on May 24, 2007, 01:13:43 PM

YO! The previous post had good advice in it, but too late huh?

Yeah, I already started it up. It'll be fine. I ran it for 20 minutes till the gas in the resevoir ran out. The PO is an engineer and cares for his machines. This one sat for 20 yrs but it was always covered, drained of gas and indoors. Just to recap when I ran it the #3 pipe was just barely warm and I heard the weezing from around the #3 and #4 cylider area which I presume is a busted head gasket from the oil present. So I'll pull the carbs again and check the #3 to be sure it's perfectly clean and hope that fixes #3 cylinder, then open the head up and deal with the gasket. I actually am glad I have to open up the head, I'll get to take a looksee at the condition first hand. A buddy of mine has a torque wrench so I'll get to work as soon as everything else is in ship shape (2 months?

). I'll ask you guys in the future if there is anything else I should take a look at when I open the top up. I'm sure there's some stuff I might as well examine and/or maintain whilest I'm in there. And thanks to Chris in Boston I now have a '78 engine to practice on so I'll know what I'm in for. I don't intend on damaging it, but I want to have some experience before diving into my own engine.

It's amazing how much I've learned ripping apart and cleaning this bike. I'm disappointed I have nothing to start riding this summer but as soon as I have it all put together right, the education and pride will be worth the time and money spent.

edbikerii · « **Reply #223 on:** May 26, 2007, 07:10:35 PM »

I just opened the top end set (77 CB550K) i got from Western Hills Honda after pulling apart the top end of my engine down to the cylinder head in order to fix an annoying oil leak. Sure enough, the set did not include the rocker cover gasket, and did not include the breather cover gasket, either. Unfortunately for me, the rocker cover gasket is the one that was leaking.

It did have the hockey pucks, though.

Quote from: OldSchool_IsCool on January 25, 2007, 09:26:33 AM

hehehe, actually, I was waiting for you to find a source! <GRIN> Front brake work is my next project after I regasket the top of my motor.

I'd give Western Hills Honda a try. (513-662-7759) and ask for "Vintage Parts".

Tip 'o the hat to Jonsey for giving me the leads on Western Hills and on the tappet gauges. Can't imagine trying to adjust tappets without 'em!

jensk · « **Reply #224 on:** May 27, 2007, 01:28:12 AM »

Hi Tvag.
Good to hear from you again.
Don't strip the head before you have determined the cause of the wheezing and the cold 3 exhaust. Stripping of the head will just generate another workprocess you need to take care of before getting to the fun part

Have you checket if the cold no.3 is caused by lack of carb sync, compression, spark or juice?

When running - does it run evenly or rough at 2500 rpms? - at 1200 rpms? If it runs pretty even at 2500 but not at 1200 it may just be a matter of carb sync since 3 is firing but not pulling as much as the other three cyls. Mine was like that. At first i thought that i had overlooked something when rebuilding the carbs or had a fault in the ignition. When i synched the carbs I could se that the cyl with the cold exhaust just wasn't pulling. After the sync all cyls gets equally warm on the exhausts. My advice would be to do a carb sync when everything else is adjusted (valves, valvechain ignition etc.).

A compression test (did'nt you get a compression tester for christmas?) should show if your head gasket is blown causing a leak around no.3.

You could start by switching spark plugs and spark wires between 2 and 3 since they spark at the same time. If 3 gets hot after the swap the fault is after the coil (2 and 3 share point and coil).

It is not enough to check for spark in open air. If the sparking on 3 is weak it may function at atmopheric pressure but not under compression (9 times atm pressure) in the cylinder. When checking for spark in open air check that the spark is strong and blue. Check that there is equally strong blue spark on all cyls.

How does your plugs look like. Is no 3 plug wet or dry after the engine has been running. If it is wet the error is a missing spark on 3 or to fat gas/air mixture from carb 3.

Suddenly you will be there and your work is finished aka you take a ride. I had mine finished by the end of april. I had new registration plates on it may 1st 2007 the day before it's 30th birthday - First registration date is may 2nd 1977.
/jensk

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Author Topic: Starting a rusty '77 CB550K (Read 41086 times)