Author Topic: Intermittently smoking  (Read 912 times)

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Offline Coredozer19

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Intermittently smoking
« on: May 23, 2018, 07:12:02 PM »
Started it up (cold start) it’s smoking out of the left banks. I warm it up. Drive it and it stops smoking. Drive it a few more miles down the road and it starts smoking again from both pipes. Fresh rebuild. What is wrong with my bike? 1973 Honda CB350F.
1973 Honda CB350F

Offline eigenvector

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2018, 07:50:00 PM »
Cold start smoke can be oil leaking past the valve guides. 

Did your fresh rebuild include new valve guides, if not that's what I would suspect.  Personally unless compression was low smoke on a cold start doesn't bother me.  If they were new valve guides I'd be bothered though.

As for it coming back - you didn't indicate whether or not you shut off the bike before that second leg of your trip.
Rob
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2018 HD Softail Heritage
1979 CB750K Limited Edition
1977 CB550K
1984 CB700SC Nighthawk
1983 VF750S Sabre

Offline ekpent

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2018, 09:36:07 PM »
 Could be that the second wave of smoke comes on when the pipes get hot enough to start burning off some oil.

Offline dave500

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2018, 01:13:37 AM »
seems to be a few posts of fresh built 350/400s smoking?

Offline Coredozer19

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #4 on: May 24, 2018, 06:06:28 AM »
Yes I am having a handful of problems. I’m getting frustrated. I did not replace the valve guides and the motor was sitting for 38 years untouched
1973 Honda CB350F

Offline Coredozer19

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #5 on: May 24, 2018, 06:19:05 AM »
I know the first go around I put the oil scrapers in backwards so the engine was burning oil pretty good. So the pipes are coated I’m sure. I put a brand new set of plugs in it when I got it legal. Maybe 60 miles on them now. Hopefully they are clean. If not I’ll do a compression test and see what I get. If that checks out good then it is the valve seals right?

I also have red gasoline. The tank liner is red and it seems to be leeching into the gas. I dont know if that would cause it to smoke.

Also I noticed like I said after I let it sit on the side stand all day when I got back to the shop to ride home it was smoking from the left bank. Which could be because the oil stays up in the valve train on only that side if the bike is leaned. The other bank would have leaked back down into case due to it leaning right?

I just want to figure out what’s wrong. I’m tired of these smoke problems. I just want to ride it :,(
1973 Honda CB350F

Offline calj737

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #6 on: May 24, 2018, 06:31:12 AM »
The tint of your fuel is inconsequential to smoking. It is very likely the guides and/or the CI kit. There are numerous threads about these kits smoking after builds.
'74 550 Build http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=126401.0
'73 500 Build http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=132935.0

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of it's victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis

Offline Coredozer19

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #7 on: May 24, 2018, 10:48:28 AM »
What’s the CI kit? And I didn’t replace the valve guides
1973 Honda CB350F

Offline danyo

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #8 on: May 24, 2018, 10:51:26 AM »
CI kit - pistons and rings from japanese seller on ebay - cruzinimage.

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Offline eigenvector

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2018, 05:22:36 PM »
Worn valve guides are why it's smoking on start up (probably).  Normal for an engine that old and unless it's excessive not really a big deal - what's excessive?  Beats me - the local refinery points to you as to why there's so much pollution in the air? :D
Rob
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2018 HD Softail Heritage
1979 CB750K Limited Edition
1977 CB550K
1984 CB700SC Nighthawk
1983 VF750S Sabre

Offline Coredozer19

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #10 on: May 25, 2018, 04:41:57 PM »
Okay so I’ve decided that I’m not messing around at all anymore. I am going to put a brand new ring kit in it and new valve seals.

Can anyone point me to the right direction of a good kit for a top end job. I don’t care about money.

I need a head gasket and a lower jug gasket. And I need the valve seals.

Anything else anyone can think of that could be causing the oil in my cylinders?
1973 Honda CB350F

Offline calj737

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #11 on: May 25, 2018, 05:45:30 PM »
Valve guides.
'74 550 Build http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=126401.0
'73 500 Build http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=132935.0

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of it's victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis

Offline Coredozer19

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #12 on: May 25, 2018, 07:54:02 PM »
Are the valve guides not the silicone rubbers that come in the rebuild kit. The bike only has 5k miles on it. So if it’s a wearable item I doubt it’s worn.
1973 Honda CB350F

Offline dave500

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #13 on: May 26, 2018, 01:12:10 AM »
they look like this,if the guides are worn new seals might hold for a while but will get distorted as the valve stem cranks over,old seals go hard and fail to flex to help seal,if they are the stock ones they'll be hard.

Offline calj737

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #14 on: May 26, 2018, 02:59:56 AM »
The rubber items shown in this last picture are the "seals". The guides are what the valve stem travels in. They need to be removed and installed by a machine shop, then new valve seats cut to align the valve face exactly perpendicular to the new guide.

Since your most recent post said, "I'm going all out to fix everything..." I'm telling you to do the guides. A machinist can determine whether there's any play in the guide that truly requires their replacement, but it takes someone experienced to make that determination. Guides can be a source of oil usage/burn/smoking.
'74 550 Build http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=126401.0
'73 500 Build http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=132935.0

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of it's victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis

Offline dave500

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #15 on: May 26, 2018, 03:53:03 AM »
worn guides WILL cause oil use and smoking,you need to find an engine rebuilder/machinist who gives a #$%*,these are a small engine and need attention to detail,they cant be slap happy.

Offline Coredozer19

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #16 on: May 26, 2018, 07:28:29 PM »
Only the left bank smokes on startup and then once it warms up both smoke when I bang the throttle. Could this all be because of the valve seals. Or could I have a ring bore issue aswell?
1973 Honda CB350F

Offline Deltarider

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #17 on: May 27, 2018, 12:13:19 AM »
You could try an oil that makes the rubbers swell a bit more and supple, like Castrol's High Mileage.
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Offline Coredozer19

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #18 on: May 27, 2018, 06:47:02 PM »
I’m just gunna pull it apart and replace the piston rings and the silicone seals.

Where should I get new rings from. I want something reliable.

Where should I get the seals from?
1973 Honda CB350F

Offline Coredozer19

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #19 on: May 28, 2018, 05:23:23 PM »
Confirmed. I can see the oil coated on the intake valve where it shouldn’t be.
1973 Honda CB350F

Offline dave500

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Re: Intermittently smoking
« Reply #20 on: May 29, 2018, 12:52:39 AM »
have a look at the guide and valve stem wear aswell.