Topic: After motor install, in frame: I had instant fear of not remembering if

[Redline it]

If I put the valve cover on without the dowels. Even without them one would get the sense that its aligned with the top cam bearings right? I'm looking for them without luck. I don't want to go through that again, loosening valve adjusters. I torqued the bolts in 6 stages, stopping at 7ftlbs. Would there be a way to remove those 2 out side bolts and with a feeler reach inside to feel the joint differences. I know the procedure says no  torque  value of any bolt should exceed 1ft lb difference than the rest. Or how long would it take the best of you mechanics to loosen the valves, and remove the valve cover, carefully, and put it back together, carefully. It's in the frame with nothing else attached to the top end. I don't remember even taking the dowels out unless they came out of the head and remained in the cover. I started in July., Thanks for the opportunity to ask.

[HondaMan]

Which engine is this?

[Redline it]

Which engine is this?

cb400f 1975

[HondaMan]

If you mean the locator dowels for the upper cam cover, yes, they are critical components. They withstand the forces of torque and heat to keep the upper cam cover located, which keeps the cam bearings in place, too.

In the 550, I have loosened the upper cover by removing most of the bolts and keeping 4 of them (in the corners, so to speak) in place while I nudged the upper cover off. it's a similar design. This would let you peek/feel in there to see if the dowels are in place. I only lifted that cover up about 1mm to do it. At the moment I can't remember WHY I was doing this, only that it worked. 

[Redline it]

If you mean the locator dowels for the upper cam cover, yes, they are critical components. They withstand the forces of torque and heat to keep the upper cam cover located, which keeps the cam bearings in place, too.

In the 550, I have loosened the upper cover by removing most of the bolts and keeping 4 of them (in the corners, so to speak) in place while I nudged the upper cover off. it's a similar design. This would let you peek/feel in there to see if the dowels are in place. I only lifted that cover up about 1mm to do it. At the moment I can't remember WHY I was doing this, only that it worked. 

thank you, i was hoping to get by just removing1 bolt, the hole that the dowel is in, and leaving the rest of the bolts torqued to specs alone, and drag a stiff thin wire down the hole to feel  for the top and bottom of the dowel, the other bolts would have 1 seam at the head level. the dowels would have 2 before the threads. i'll wait a day and if you happen to catch this question let me know what you think about it. if anything it could cause a leak that i'd have to disassemble it and start over. i did use honda bond only lightly on the corners for the packing oring to stay in place, nothing on top of the packing oring. it was new from the guy in japan that sells the cheap 466cc piston kit. i also bought on ebay 4 new honda .25 or first over pistons, it took me long time to figure out who i got em from.

[Tracksnblades1]

If you mean the locator dowels for the upper cam cover, yes, they are critical components. They withstand the forces of torque and heat to keep the upper cam cover located, which keeps the cam bearings in place, too.

In the 550, I have loosened the upper cover by removing most of the bolts and keeping 4 of them (in the corners, so to speak) in place while I nudged the upper cover off. it's a similar design. This would let you peek/feel in there to see if the dowels are in place. I only lifted that cover up about 1mm to do it. At the moment I can't remember WHY I was doing this, only that it worked. 

thank you, i was hoping to get by just removing1 bolt, the hole that the dowel is in, and leaving the rest of the bolts torqued to specs alone, and drag a stiff thin wire down the hole to feel  for the top and bottom of the dowel, the other bolts would have 1 seam at the head level. the dowels would have 2 before the threads. i'll wait a day and if you happen to catch this question let me know what you think about it. if anything it could cause a leak that i'd have to disassemble it and start over. i did use honda bond only lightly on the corners for the packing oring to stay in place, nothing on top of the packing oring. it was new from the guy in japan that sells the cheap 466cc piston kit. i also bought on ebay 4 new honda .25 or first over pistons, it took me long time to figure out who i got em from.

Do you have any dowels left over from your build….

[HondaMan]

If you mean the locator dowels for the upper cam cover, yes, they are critical components. They withstand the forces of torque and heat to keep the upper cam cover located, which keeps the cam bearings in place, too.

In the 550, I have loosened the upper cover by removing most of the bolts and keeping 4 of them (in the corners, so to speak) in place while I nudged the upper cover off. it's a similar design. This would let you peek/feel in there to see if the dowels are in place. I only lifted that cover up about 1mm to do it. At the moment I can't remember WHY I was doing this, only that it worked. 

thank you, i was hoping to get by just removing1 bolt, the hole that the dowel is in, and leaving the rest of the bolts torqued to specs alone, and drag a stiff thin wire down the hole to feel  for the top and bottom of the dowel, the other bolts would have 1 seam at the head level. the dowels would have 2 before the threads. i'll wait a day and if you happen to catch this question let me know what you think about it. if anything it could cause a leak that i'd have to disassemble it and start over. i did use honda bond only lightly on the corners for the packing oring to stay in place, nothing on top of the packing oring. it was new from the guy in japan that sells the cheap 466cc piston kit. i also bought on ebay 4 new honda .25 or first over pistons, it took me long time to figure out who i got em from.

That approach might work, if the dowels are shorter than the holes: they are in the 750/500/550 in several places. I'm not sure, though, in the top of the 400?

[Redline it]

If you mean the locator dowels for the upper cam cover, yes, they are critical components. They withstand the forces of torque and heat to keep the upper cam cover located, which keeps the cam bearings in place, too.

In the 550, I have loosened the upper cover by removing most of the bolts and keeping 4 of them (in the corners, so to speak) in place while I nudged the upper cover off. it's a similar design. This would let you peek/feel in there to see if the dowels are in place. I only lifted that cover up about 1mm to do it. At the moment I can't remember WHY I was doing this, only that it worked. 

thank you, i was hoping to get by just removing1 bolt, the hole that the dowel is in, and leaving the rest of the bolts torqued to specs alone, and drag a stiff thin wire down the hole to feel  for the top and bottom of the dowel, the other bolts would have 1 seam at the head level. the dowels would have 2 before the threads. i'll wait a day and if you happen to catch this question let me know what you think about it. if anything it could cause a leak that i'd have to disassemble it and start over. i did use honda bond only lightly on the corners for the packing oring to stay in place, nothing on top of the packing oring. it was new from the guy in japan that sells the cheap 466cc piston kit. i also bought on ebay 4 new honda .25 or first over pistons, it took me long time to figure out who i got em from.

Do you have any dowels left over from your build….

not yet. trouble is as organized as i was hoping to be, didn't turn out that way. Nuts, bolts and washers at one time was put back into were they were removed from, for a while then the cleaning of these parts which was an undertaking caused them to be filed in different places, now i'm referencing the parts list because everything is detailed size wise. i'll go little more of assembling hoping to find them, before pulling a bolt. i'll try to post some pictures of the condition this bike was in. it was together like it left the showroom floor. only rusty. nothing had been mcgivered. i doubt the owner did any maintenance practically at all. rode it 10k miles and parded it, outside, by the beach. it's got good compression, and the cam/bearins show no micro scrates, no cupping that normal riding creates. it's the cleanest cam i've seen. the tensioner works very well. the bike i'm riding now, i bought it for 400.00 in early 80s. rode it since then. still riding it.i bought this new project thinkin mine was crapping out. running like crap, and loaking oil. couple weeks ago i looked for the oil was coming from, the bottom 4 screws on the clutch cover were almost falling out. tightened em up runs good now.