Still slow progress,
I finally got the cases back from the powder coater. They came out decent, I paid $250 for the media blast with 2 base coats of Bengal Silver and a clear coat, the finish was pretty good (and you can see it's not too thick as the vin and bearing codes are still visible) my only complaint is the masking job. Some areas were pretty well taped off and others were just half assed. It's fine with me because it seems like this is the execution of every powder coater in CT and that you won't get a perfect finish, but at the same time it almost makes me wonder if I would be better off in the long run investing in a cheaper powder coating kit myself. Seems like no one puts in the prep work that you would want. But it's okay since this isn't going to be a show bike! I just have to spend more time cleaning it up for the gasket areas. And I'll likely have to chase most of the threads.
Once I picked the cases up on my lunch break, I showed my coworker (the fabricator at the shop) my dilemma with the seized stud. He looked at it, and instantly he was able to weld a nut perfectly to what was left of the stud. I definitely need to brush up on my welding skills and likely invest in different tips/cups. I'm jealous of his skill!
So now the next part is a 3 step process to cleaning the cases. I started with Q tips and nail polish remover (convenient for me haha (just kidding, I haven't painted my nails in forever) ) to start. It's a bit more time consuming especially when covering the larger areas, but I want to make sure I'm not getting any alcohol near any area I don't want to. Precision > laziness here because this is a critically important step for the longevity of this engine. This step is not done until I scrub over every crevice of the engine internals and it does not stain the Q tip. Warning, you will feel like you are wasting a lot of Q tips, but I think it's probably worth it. Buy a box of 300 or so. Essentially this means the cases are free of any particles left over from the blasting and baking process. This is crucial because even though this dust is incredibly small, if left in the cases, oil will grab onto it and could carry it throughout the engine for multiple cycles. I am not risking "sanding" down the internals of the engine after doing this rebuild. Quite frankly I really hope I don't have to do this again for a very long time.
The next step is to chase all the threads to ensure no threads have left over blasting material or powder in them. Technically, most powder coaters should do a well enough job in this area, but in my case I have found some left over stuff already. It's good practice to never assume and just take either a tap or a bolt with vertical slots cut into it (use a dremel bit to it) and blast them out, then go into the threads with alcohol on a Q tip. Here is where I will install the ARP studs with blue loctite, you want to ensure no liquid is left on the threads anywhere because liquid can't really be compressed, and so if you torque anything down with fluid at the bottom, it could back out on you over time. Hence why if you blast them out, you want to chase them with alcohol (in case you don't have an air/oil separator on your air hose like me
) After all of this, I'll likely go over everything with a light coat of WD40 on a microfiber towel, mostly because I would feel weird assembling the case completely dry. This is just a plan I've come up with based on information I've found, so there could easily be some errors or better techniques so feel free to chime in!
Also, I've been told to never touch the bearing surfaces with your bare fingers as the oil in your hands could mess with the surfaces. I have no idea if it's really that drastic but I guess play it safe rather than sorry.
Buchanan spokes came in, I really love the subtle touch of the "B" on the face of the spoke. I started lacing them out of excitement and realized I shouldn't go further as I need to finish polishing the hub. (Not actually pictured because I forgot
)
Also, sad but true, when I was installing the rear wheel bearings (All Balls kit) I used the old bearing trick and somehow, the double seal faces got damaged even though everything was clean, likely I wasn't holding them stable enough if I had to guess. So this time around I went on Amazon and got the cheapest 11 piece bearing driver set ($15) which has drivers that fit perfectly with our bearings. I was quite upset to ruin brand new bearings and take them back out again, but another trick I did was take 2 of those plastic ice packs (the bag kind that are flexible) and once I had to pull the bearings out of the freezer to bring them in the garage, I stored them in the 2 frozen ice packs (like a sandwich) to keep them cool while I was heating up the hub. I don't know how much this helped but I know I certainly heated up the hub longer this time around because I knew the bearings were staying cool. Might be useful for anyone who is too cheap to buy dry ice or doesn't know where to get it.
Also, question for those who polish their aluminum pieces. What is the tried and true way to protect the surface here on SOHC? Has anyone here had experience in ceramic coating these pieces, if so what ceramic coating do you use?
I might be traveling to Italy this summer to study abroad. So I'm cutting off buying any other parts for now. Luckily, I have a horde of parts (and everything needed to reassemble the engine) so I'll be good for a while. But I still need to buy tires, a rebuild kit for the front end, likely a new repro wiring harness, and probably some more tools, also likely an exhaust now since I only have the Kooks X 4-2 system which was on the 500 engine.
