Alrighty - I got a bunch done today! Broke a few things, but the important thing is how many things I
didn't break, right? Right?!?
I got pretty far along tearing down the engine today. The only thing that stopped me was that I didn't have a puller bolt for the alternator rotor. That's on it's way, so I'll be back in business when it shows up!
So here's what I started the day with:
Yep, it's got moss growing on it. This would have been a great time to take it outside and hit it with a bunch of engine brite, but that didn't occur to me at the time. Lesson learned - clean your engine before you take it apart!
A few more beauty shots:
You get the idea.
Started taking things apart, and discovered a few interesting things:
-I'm guessing this engine spent some time sliding down the road. The cooling fins on one side of the head are broken, and then there's this:
and this:
-The guy who put the cam cover on was maybe not paying full attention. There was a bolt missing, and one of them is stripped in the head - time for some helicoil action! The threads from the head are still on the long bolt. Speaking of which, is that bolt supposed to be longer than the others?
Moving along, I got the cam cover off:
Looks pretty good to me. What do you guys think?
Some detail shots:
I don't seem to have any pictures of the rockers, but they look okay to me. They'll get checked per the manual though, just like everything else...
Next up, taking off the head! Lookit that - another missing bolt! Maybe that's why the head gasket leaked...
I don't plan to use this head because of the broken cooling fins. Pistons look oversize to anyone?
Cylinder bores look pretty damn good.
Pistons off:
Stock 550 bore is 58.5mm, so we're aiming for bigger than that to validate the 562cc claims...
Neat!
Here are some detail shots of the pistons:
Anyone know what the story is with them?
Taking a step back, I learned a valuable lesson while taking the pistons off. When the manual tells you to stuff a rag somewhere so you don't drop things into it, you should stuff a rag in there! I covered up the holes while removing the first three pistons, but I figured I was so good at it by the fourth that I skipped the rag. Tink! One wrist pin circlip into the cases! I guess I'm really splitting them, now... A bunch of crap got in there that should have been washed off before starting the process, anyway.
So, I have a few questions...
I'm assuming I should replace the cam chain guide & tensioner? The guide showed some wear, the tensioner almost none... How about the cam chain itself?
Should I replace the wrist pin circlips?
How about the piston rings? The manual has a check to see if they're still good, but it seems like most people are replacing them.
In case it's not totally obvious, I have no idea what I'm doing here, so any suggestions or comments would be much appreciated.
Next up, the rest of this engine, split the cases, pull apart my spare motor for the head. I'm gonna need to locate a machine shop to check the cylinder bores for me. I'm hoping to get away with a cylinder hone.
