Been working on getting my recently acquired '77 F on the road. Serial number checks indicate the engine has been replaced with one from a '78. I decided to remove the oil pan to check things out and investigate a wet-sumping problem. When I pulled the pan to access the pump, I found a pile of fiber flakes. They are kinda diamond-shaped, dark brown, aproximately 3/4" long, 1/2" wide , and about .025 - .030" thick. Total number of flakes was around 30-40. At first I thought they were friction material delaminating from the clutch plates, but a subsequent disassembly and inspection of the clutch revealed it wasn't the source. Now I'm wondering if the flakes could have come from the cam chain guide opposite the tensioner (never seen one in the flesh). The flakes seem to be somewhat uniform in shape and thickness, so I suspect they came from something that is made up of many layers or serrated. They kinda look like left-over pieces from a poorly executed cover gasket replacement that were left inside the engine, but too uniform to be that. One last thing - I believe the clutch fiber plates in my clutch are not original. The factory shop manual identifies radial grooves spirialing out from the center, whereas the ones in my bike have square friction pads. Dimpled steel plates are still present. Perhaps there was a previous clutch failure and these flakes were never cleaned out. Any ideas?
Thanks for your time,
Joe in St Louis
