Allright guys, had a lot of info and feed back going on two different threads of mine that are related to one another so figured I would update both with one thread.

First I finally got the engine case split open, and the counterbalance is out of adjustment!!!!! I think that's great news, Im thinking I can re-align the counterbalance and put everything back together with a complete gasket set. however I do have a few questions.

WHY did the counterbalance slip forward a little, could it be something simple like the bike was down shifted to hard, and by me re-aligning it everything should be allright. or is it the chain being warn out and needs to be replaced. I haven't looked in the book to see how to adjust it back yet, Im dead tired so needless to say my eyes are playing tricks on me when I read. I will figure that one out in the morning.

Second, I was thinking the engine hadn't been rebuilt like the guy said witch I was fully counting on him BSing. so that's not a point, initially it looked like it hadn't been, but when I popped off the cylinders the walls where the rings touch look great, just the top of the piston and the bottum of the heads have a bunch of carbon build up in them. I noticed the cams are gear driven with S&S punched in them, and the cams, lifters, and push rods look great!! so maybe it was rebuilt,

basicly I'm thinking I can fix the counterbalance for fairly cheap, put this baby back together with hopefully not much more then a complete gasket set and a counterbalance chain. and ride her for another 30,000 miles. if once I get her back together she's not doing so great then maybe I go for that manufacture reman deal that has been recomended to me several times. either way lessons and entertainment cost money and this project has been both to me!!

I will upload some pics tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone for helping me so far, and of course I will have plenty more questions since I haven't even started putting it back together. all your help is greatly appreciated.



Thanks
Tired_Bird.

 

were you the one that posted "severe viberations"? broken tank tabs etc?

 

The sprockets are a press fit and once shifted, they will have to be repositioned and welded. Problem will be getting the assembly in balance again. There are several reasons why the CBs shifted but those don't matter now. With 108K miles, the whole assembly is probably worn past accepted tolerances and should be replaced. Short Block Charlie can trim the CBs, rebalance/weld and replace worn tensioners, etc. but you will need to send him your cases. Some guys have removed the CBs completely but most regretted it because of the resulting vibration being a hard mounted engine; I would not recommend removing them.

You need to check your crank runout. Whatever caused the CBs to shift could have also shifted the wheels. If the crank runout is within spec, you just need to deal with the CB issue.

The photos show that the engine was rebuilt fairly recently; the tops of the pistons are not completely covere with carbon.

I admire your tenacity and wish you all the best but don't think you properly address the CB issue in your garage. If you persist in your repair approach, you really need to have the CB issue addressed professionally. If you attempt a repair really not knowing what you are doing, you will be back inside before you get 100 miles on the repair. Or it could come apart and cause more severe damage. I told you in one of your other threads that trying to fix this engine could turn into a black hole for $$$; I hope you are not headed in that direction. Good luck.

 

djl- Allright I did some more checking after I got some sleep!!! and the marked links on the counterbalance chain are off by exactly the same links on every sprocket, 1.5 links. but the crank shaft looks way off, even in the manual it shows a flat part on the crank shaft being perfectly upright underneath the crankpin hole, with the mark on the sprocket being 180 degrees down from that, on my engine the crank shaft flat is about 90 degrees away from the crankpin hole. so it looks like what you said, the press fit sprockets are way out of alignment even though the timing links on the chain are only off a little bit. I was really hoping to fix this engine my self but I guess that's not going to happen. have to set aside my pride and get a remnufactured motor, and forget about it once I start smiling ear to ear when I get to ride her again.

only problem now is the motor has allready been disasembled, and is out of the bike. the qualifications for the warrenty of the moco reman deal is that they originaly remove and tear down the engine and re-install it. so I'm going to head down to the dealer now and see what my options are. I a lot so putting a good amount of miles on in the first year (warrenty year) will be no problem. I rode an uncomfertible sporty a little over 13,000 miles the year that I owned it. but I may not qualify for the warrenty since the motor has been tore down allready.


the blob- no that wasn't me. I had some vibrations but they weren't that bad. am curiouse to know what that guy found out.

Thanks
Tired_Bird.

 

If your dealer is one of the good ones, you might get lucky and they might agree to honor the warranty if they install. You will have to reassemble the engine for shipment though.

You can't tell if the crank has shifted by looking at it. You will have to put a dial indicator on it to check the "out of roudness" of the mainshaft, in other words, the amount of "wobble" off the crank shaft centerline. If the total runout is .003" or less, you are in good shape; no crank work necessary. If the crank is OK, you can have Short Block Charlie fix the CB problem and put the bottom end back together. He can/will check runout while he had it apart. Check out the link.

http://www.hotbikeweb.com/tech/0807_.../photo_09.html

I don't doubt your mechanical abilities and I am not saying you can't fix the problem. Just warning you, I just think you may be in a little over your head with this project. Good luck with the dealer.

 

O no, I know you're just trying to look out for me. I have a strong mechanical background in automotive. But I'm also young. And the main thing that makes a mechanic bad is not being able to admit when they're in over their head and I almost made that mistake.

The Dealer here said no problem. they can take care of it. I don't even need to re-assemble the motor. so I'm going to drop it off tomorrow morning and they will handle everything. Warranty is Included. probably will take 3 to 4 weeks for it to be done.

I will be sure to update everyone when I get it back.

Thanks
Tired_Bird.

 

glad your dealer is helping. keep us updated.

i was just wondering, could you keep the balancer out and balance the crank?

would that be a better thing?

 

You could leave the balancer assembly out; serveral have done it but, as I said in a previous post, most regretted it. The softail/B engine is solid mounted to the frame so without counter balancers, the vibration inherent with any vtwin engine is transmitted to the frame and will make the bike unridable for most.

 

I can tell from you posting that you have some mechanical aptitude and I understand the challenge of wanting to fix the problem on your own. However, I think you made the right decision and I am glad the dealer is working with you. Let us know how it turns out. Don't forget that for $300-$500 more (depending on color combination) you can get the reman engine as 88" or 95"; why not pop for the 95" as part of the package?

 

Yea, I'm getting the 95, the motor is supposed to allready be a 95 but I didn't messure to make sure. but it will for sure be 95CI when I get her back. I drop it off in the morning and then it's just a waiting game!!


Thanks
Tired_Bird.