Replacing base o-rings, Do I need anything else?
#21
05-25-2015, 11:43 AM
Not a good idea to use a wire wheel ( of any type ) on a piston ... Scraping the carbon off is a better option ... Next time try an old trick ... Without stalling the engine spray water into the intake ... it acts as a "blaster" removing all the carbon very effectively. Good luck with the repair and "happy motoring"
#22
05-25-2015, 11:47 AM
IMHO, if it has that much carbon, I would remove the pistons and clean them outside of the cylinders. I wouldn't want to worry where all that carbon is going.
Of course new rings would be in order. But don't just have a hone run through it. these rings require a specific hone job, cross hatch and stone grit are important. Along with torque plate.
And by no means would you reuse a cir clip. no a gamble worth taking!
Of course new rings would be in order. But don't just have a hone run through it. these rings require a specific hone job, cross hatch and stone grit are important. Along with torque plate.
And by no means would you reuse a cir clip. no a gamble worth taking!
Good idea.
#24
05-25-2015, 11:55 AM
Oh, and I had the wrong ring kit number. I checked the part number on the top of the pistons and I was off. The real ring kit is 3875VM and Amazon shows them for less than $6 per set with Prime (which I have) but even though they show 2 available they are not. I chatted with a guy from Amazon and was going to even do next day for a total of less than $20. Damnit!!!
#25
05-25-2015, 11:58 AM
You know, I guess I'm just going off of what they do for my sled cylinders to get that nice crosshatch when I have them honed. I'm sure they have done thousands of these and know what to use. I'm certainly not an expert on HD cylinders as you can plainly see. 
Appreciate the input.
Appreciate the input.
#26
05-25-2015, 03:06 PM
Thought that a re-ring was not part of the plan based on earlier posts, but can't hurt if there is enough material left in the cylinders' bores for a proper hone (plateau hone is best) without exceeding clearance specs. Have a machine shop measure the piston skirt diameter .5" up from the bottom, add the piston mfr's clearance spec, measure the current cylinder bores' diameter, and decide if there is enough there for a hone. All this can be done with the pistons and rings still in the bores. If any doubt leave everything together and reassemble as is after a thorough cleaning and relube. Re-ring should really not be necessary with only 15k on the motor unless the cylinder walls show scratching or abnormal wear.
#27
05-25-2015, 06:01 PM
Thought that a re-ring was not part of the plan based on earlier posts, but can't hurt if there is enough material left in the cylinders' bores for a proper hone (plateau hone is best) without exceeding clearance specs. Have a machine shop measure the piston skirt diameter .5" up from the bottom, add the piston mfr's clearance spec, measure the current cylinder bores' diameter, and decide if there is enough there for a hone. All this can be done with the pistons and rings still in the bores. If any doubt leave everything together and reassemble as is after a thorough cleaning and relube. Re-ring should really not be necessary with only 15k on the motor unless the cylinder walls show scratching or abnormal wear.
BTW, how the hell am I going to torque anything in the back rear cylinder??? I had to cut off the end of a 7/16 little 1/4 driver and grind down part of the socket well itself then use a 1/4 to break the bolts loose and get them out. The 6 bolts in the rocker base plate was a bitch!
#28
05-25-2015, 06:26 PM
Just got the other side off and both bores look fantastic. No scratches and still see cross hatching. Was a bitch to clean piston and heads again too but oh well. Brought piston to the top, cleaned off, blew stuff away with leaf blower, brought piston down a little, scraped inside cylinder edge, blew out again and wiped clean, dropped down a little further cleaned, again, then pulled the piston and cylinder together. I'm torn on whether to do the rings or not. If I don't all I need is 2 circlips and I'm ready to go.
BTW, how the hell am I going to torque anything in the back rear cylinder??? I had to cut off the end of a 7/16 little 1/4 driver and grind down part of the socket well itself then use a 1/4 to break the bolts loose and get them out. The 6 bolts in the rocker base plate was a bitch!
BTW, how the hell am I going to torque anything in the back rear cylinder??? I had to cut off the end of a 7/16 little 1/4 driver and grind down part of the socket well itself then use a 1/4 to break the bolts loose and get them out. The 6 bolts in the rocker base plate was a bitch!
Regarding reassembly, the head bolts should torque up fine with no interference problems. Pay close attention to the rocker support bolts - front and rear are slightly different. You may need dog bones to torque some of the rocker support bolts and rocker cover bolts. There is a recent thread here about where to get the dogbones as well as advice on how to complete the job without them by our friend djl.
You are installing new headgaskets, correct?
#29
05-25-2015, 06:57 PM
I bought the full top end Cometic kit with 0.30 head gasket so I'm good to go. Just need to make sure I don't miss and gaskets or o-rings on reassembly. I've got the book on pdf but believe the Cometic takes different torque specs. It hasn't been hard up to this point, just takes a lot of time. I'm making sure I go slow and do it right. The only thing I'm worried about are the pushrods and adjusting them but will watch the S&S video again. I pulled them out and marked them and could reinstall like solid rods but the builder told me 3.5 turns on them. I watched the video a few times for disassembly so didn't even need the book or anything else when actually doing it. Thanks!
#30
05-25-2015, 08:38 PM