87 flhtc (
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87 flhtc (
Did a topend (rings, honed cylinders, gaskets, carb, oil lines,) last year after getitng back from my deployment. Now I got black smoke. I know it runs a little rich but it started to knock and last week on the way home the knocking and ticking got worse. A couple of weeks ago I did a compression check and the rear had 106, and the front had 105. I left it there over night and had 96 in the front in the morning (about 9 hours later). Yesterday when I decided to come out of my non riding depression and not shoot the bike I started it up and put my hand a few inches behind the exhaust. Smelled my hand and yep, smelled like oil. If I have compression, or maybe not, how is the oil getting out the exhaust? Could it be the oil seals? Would that make that much difference? I replaced them too when I freshened it up. I have to take it all apart again because the rear base gasket is leaking like a sieve also. With a limited budget and the bike paid for a long time ago, I'm looking on keeping her going until I can retire in a year and get a good used cop bike. Any help would be better than me smacking my self on the head with a ball peen hammer (again). Thanks
Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Here
Are the rings upside down? I really don't know jack about evo motors, but I'd assume that the ring design is similar for all pistons where if one is upside down it wouldn't make great compression and would let oil blow by and through the combustion chamber. Only other thing off the top of my head would be poor piston fitment or bad ring gaps since you mention honing but no new piston. I realize honing doesn't remove much material at all, but still....
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I couldn't find where the proper compression in the FSM was. It has been using to much oil since. I guess I'll find out since I have to change the base gasket again and I'll have to tear it all back down. I'll either get to be a better wrencher or I really suck depending on which way you look at it.
Last edited by tc_radar; Aug 9, 2010 at 03:43 PM.
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From: Dirty Jersey
Did you set the gap on the rings? Did you mic the cylinders? Are they still within spec for stock parts, or did it need a re-bore? Have a reputable machine shop mic the cylinders @ the top, middle and bottom. Cant just throw the rings in, either. Chances are they need end-gap filing. And a dingle-berry hone is not a glaze breaker. You may need to go .020 on an overbore and start over. Good luck.
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Crap! No. How do you set the gaps on the rings? I used a honer, the one with the three stones on it. .020 over, would I need to get biger pistons? With 106 in rear piston and 105 in front, is that bad compression? Thanks for the quick responses. I'm going to start the tear down tonight. Got a 3 and a 5 year old so got limited time until they get to sleep. Usually get about a good 1 1/2 hours to work on it a night.
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From: Dirty Jersey
Well if it were my evo [I had 2 of them] I would be looking for 120 each cylinder or more. Yes, .020 means bigger pistons and rings. However, you could have a ring backwards, or the oil rings could be in wrong. The oil rings need to have the top and bottom gaps opposite of each other. What mileage does this engine have? And has it been re-ringed before? Those cylinders need to be honed with a torque plate at a reputable shop. The cylinder liner could be egg shaped at several points, and I'm talking like 3-5 thousandths of an inch. Are the pistons scuffed at all?
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I got the gas drained and the tank off last night so tonight I'll start takin' everything else apart. Short on funds and time but I gotta be savin' somethin' doing it myself. I learn a little each time and from everyone else. I have to find a shop that that can do that work. Down to a Dodge that I had to replace powersteering lines, a u-joint, center support bearing, and diff. gasket in. The Ford is down from a leak in the head and what i think is a freeze plug leak. The one in the back between the tranny and the block. Gettin' really tired os stuff breakin down. Now the dishwasher is broke. So the bike is not only therapy but a nessecity. Thanks for all of the help. I will keep this updated.
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From: Central Illinois, Between I-80 and I-74
106 and 105 sound a little low but they are almost equal (that is a good thing). How many miles since the work was done? Could it be that the rings haven't seated yet?
Did you do anything with the valves?
Did you do anything with the valves?