Topic: I need options. (camshaft stuff) (more pics)

[Honda?]

So I took the top of my engine off to fix a simple oil leak....turns out my camshaft was probably about 10k miles away from siezing up.

The whole left bank cylinder #1-2 of rocker arms, camshaft, and camshaft holder/cradle(whats it called?) were worn and seemingly oil starved.

Here are the pics.






Now here is where all of you come in. I really need your help.

I NEED options. What should I do? What parts do I need to buy? Do you think other parts(lower parts) of my engine may be oil starved too? Please include estimated prices/sources if you can.



This is all really depressing. The bike only has 20k miles on it and it's my first bike. At this rate I wont be back on the road by spring. 

-Tyson

[754]

Lucky you caught it now, I doubt it would have gone another K!

The cam looks like it may be ok...it looks bad but may be under200 bux in parts.

NOW THE IMPORTANT PART,
find what blocked the oil hole..

[Honda?]

I agree I have to find that oil leak. The top of the camshaft bearing where oil drains down into it is perfectly clean.

I'm also pretty happy to hear it wont cost me a fortune for replacement parts.

[Spikeybike]

is the oil leak in the head gasket,  if so the blockage could be there , in the oil passage.

assumeing by your avatar you have a cb750.

guys does the 750 have the o-rings in the head gasket like the 550

[Honda?]

I have found the oil leak(pretty sure it is) and it isn't the HG.

Thread to my oil leak source.
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=29185.0

So I am wondering if I will have to tear my engine down anymore to find the oil blockage or is there any way to find it w/o taking the head off?

[bwaller]

Pull the oil restrictors (under the cam towers in the oil passage) and see if the one on the damaged side may be partially blocked.

[Terry in Australia]

Man, I've seen that before! I had a Triumph mechanic do some work on my first CB750K1 26 years ago, and he skimped on new gaskets by using a tube of silicon sealant instead. Anyway, some of that crap blocked off both oilways in my head, and fried the top end. I had to buy new cam, cam towers, rockers, 1st oversize pistons, rings, and rebore it.

You might not need the pistons etc, but my bike actually seized, and if I hadn't pulled the clutch in, it would have spat me down the highway!

All up, it cost me close to 1000 bucks just for the parts, (I did all the work myself with a very knowledgeable mate) using all new OEM parts, except for a mild Andrews cam which was much cheaper than OEM. Of course, that was before EBay, so now I could do it for less than half of that money.

Make sure you pull the oil pump and screen out and clean it right out, and flush some gas or diesel through the cases to ensure there are no metal particles hiding in the bottom end or gearbox. once you've pulled the oil jets out of the head, blow out all the oilways with compressed air, and flush them if possible just to be sure. Cheers, Terry.

[Big Jay]

Pull the oil restrictors (under the cam towers in the oil passage) and see if the one on the damaged side may be partially blocked.

When it wipes out one side only, that's what it is.

Jay

[Honda?]

D:

WELL

The thing is when I was taking the top end off I saw signs of a PO doing a teardown too. I took a closer look and there is a lot of (squish out) of the edges of the HG and parts of it were falling off. I pulled the oil jet...low and behold there was a nice flat rubbery piece of that gasket crap in there along with metal shards from the camshaft. 

Also when I pulled the oil pump and there were little bitty pieces of metal shards stuck in the screen from where it has been wearing away up top.

SO

Terry in Australia,

Would you recommend I tear down the whole engine just to be safe?.. since now I most likely not only have gasket crap in there but also metal shards. Are there anymore oil jets down below that feed oil to the pistons and crank that could be clogged too?

[Terry in Australia]

G'Day Mate, yeah, I'd always recommend to completely strip the engine, it's only gonna cost you a complete gasket and oil seal kit, so for under 100 bucks, (Cycle X do a really good gasket set for $59.00) you really can't go wrong, and you can enjoy a peaceful night's sleep knowing that all that crap has gone.

There are no more oil jets per se, but with it apart it'll be much easier to clean out the oil passages to ensure it's all gone. The "up" side, is that you'll be able to paint your cases while you're at it, so it'll look as good as the engine is gonna be. Cheers, Terry.