Paul I don't know if you already know this but apologies if you do. Anyway, "Arndt" Allen keys (made in Germany, properly old-school tempered steel) are the best of the best. Never any rounding off, and you can put a huge lever on them and go for it when undoing stubborn Allen bolts. I highly recommend them.
Bloody interesting this. Would never have spotted that. Been in a similar situation with a mix of worn and new parts. Great work but if I were the owner i would be back to the restorer with the bill and then small claims. Too much of this about. Great work! You are a master sir.
G'day from Australia Paul, a total rebuild of the motor, if l was the owner l would want nothing less if faced with the evidence you have presented, your like a Terrier down a Rabbit hole you don't give up, cheers mate, Neil 🤠.
Either the crankshaft end is oval or thr bush has worn oval. I'm inclined to think that a new bush was fitted to a worn crank journal for speed's sake. won't cost just pence. Then there is the question of an undersize bush which may be a custom job. With the loss of pressure to the big ends, it a good job you didn't wring the engine's neck. Looking forward to more exploration.
I suppose since it’s got to be split for welding anyway it’s sort of good that there’s multiple reasons for such an invasive task. The owner may wish to have a chat with the seller for at least informative purposes.
Jeepers Paul, this is a labour of love! Looking forward to the weld repair on the bridge piece (if you go ahead with it). Has a sort of Allen Millyard feel to it.
the bush on my Lightning Clubman used to work its self out and get worn away by the timing gears, no amount or loctite would keep it in place, replacement crank shells bush and bearings... a thousand miles and it did it again. last time it did it i didn't bother fixing it. it was quite a nice bike and quite quick but when you use it for transport
It could be possible that the play in the main bush bearing might even be greater if the idle gear wasnt being used as a stopper. Enjoying these vids and always learning from you.
I was thinking about the possible failure modes of this engine. It could be very dangerous if you hadn't investigated. It makes me wonder whether somebody has blown it up in the past.
All that wear adds up and compounds the problem. It would be best to rebuild that bottom end / motor. You are bound to find further problems when none of these issues have been addressed. Rebuilt?
I was thinking about a large soldering iron with a hex key or Phillips head to heat up the lock tite and not melt the cases. I’m going to try it on t6 and t8 screws in my pocket knives. And fishing reels.
This is EXACTLY what I have experienced when working on this type of motorcycle. Restored - my butt! Also 2 thou movement in a journal bearing has always felt more than it actually is
Thrown together cheaply to sell it to some unsuspecting punter is what it looks like to me Paul. You know the horrors you'll find as you go deeper, sludge trap dirty, crank not shimmed right, big ends out of spec, drive side bearing turning in case housing, all add up to a rough running rattling & knocking A65!
Oh dear - another issue added to the list. Did you manage to get a bore gauge in the cylinders to work out how much piston slap there is? Looked like you could drive a horse and cart through the gap. What a nightmare!
Before long,there will be very few that have the skills to work on petrol motors.Updating facebook and playing video games just won't suffice as training.Maybe there will be a week long course in how to plug in an EV??
How about engine rebuild then because primary chain tightening it knackers the main bearing and timing side bush this is what's happened to my a10 it's devastating I feel for the owner good video 👍
I feel quite disgusted that someone (probably a biker themselves..) has actually deemed it acceptable to con another this badly with this atrocious lash-up.. I find it almost impossible to understand how there could be this much wear and damage and this many stripped threads in just one engine.. Is ANYBODY that INCOMPETENT and HAMFISTED or was this engine a deliberately thrown together bodge of loose parts just to enable the seller to flog the bike?.. I feel really sorry for the owner.. Whether it was done knowingly or not, dumping this level of mechanical devastation on an unwitting buyer is exactly the kind of despicable act that could well put this person off classic bikes for good..
Have you got an impact driver (not a gun, but a heavy screwdriver that you hit with a hammer)? I had to use one to separate cases like that, when the screws were super-tight.
To get that crank bush play measured, do you have to take that intermediate timing gear off? Teeth could be contacting before the crank has moved its maximum.
Watching the oil squishing in the edge of the bush, I would say that we are seeing the total movement, I have seen more in other engines in this area, so there is plenty of free space between the gear teeth, and most of the wear will be in the lower part of the bush, away from the timing gear.
One thousandth of an inch is nothing in the Harley Davidson world, they measure run out in feet. I reckon this engine needs to be fully stripped and overhauled. Thanks Paul.
I've always said people would attempt "repairs" on a M/C they would never try on a car. I think those pistons are a higher compression than corect for stock,which will not improve smoothness. Worked on more than a few Triumph 650's that people tried to improve with 12.5 comp pistons . Even back in the early 70's when good gas was still around saw more than one engine with holes in the piston tops.
I was thinking about a large soldering iron with a hex key or Phillips head to heat up the lock tite and not melt the cases. I’m going to try it on t6 and t8 screws in my pocket knives. And fishing reels.
I was thinking about a large soldering iron with a hex key or Phillips head to heat up the lock tite and not melt the cases. I’m going to try it on t6 and t8 screws in my pocket knives. And fishing reels.
