Top End Noob

That's kinda what I had in mind by my 'angle iron' suggestion - somehow transmitting piston movement to the cylinders, letting the pistons try to lift the cylinder.

I can try that, but the pistons move pretty freely in the jugs. Nothing there is even close to seized.

You could try (dont all shout at me at once) holding the cam chain up and tight then turn the engine over slowly to see if the pistons lift the cylinder block. (Holding the chain tight be allowing it to move keeps the chain on the crankshaft sprocket.) The chain tensioner that sticking out will also hold the barrels up from coming fully off the studs too.

Good call. Put it in 5th and try rocking it back and forth (holding the chain of course).

[hampshirehog]

I've seen guys take an angle grinder and rip in to cylinders - cheaper than a new engine but still costly getting a new top end. Some of these can be grade A b*ggers to shift with 30 years of road crud and salt etc welding them down. Soaking everything in diesel and shooting proper penetrating oil down the studs helps. And you can remove the studs - try the 2 nut trick and see which ones are loosest and pull them out.

Hard to tell. I have been wrestling with it for so long, that the jugs picked up some light surface rust spots. :-( I can give them a good scrub and take some photos, check the honing, etc.

The piston tops show a healthy carbon build-up but nothing horrid AFAICT. Indeed, when I first opened it up, I was surprised to see that the No. 3 cylinder looked a bit cleaner than the others in terms of carbon build-up.

Question 1, where the cam chain gone?

You could try (dont all shout at me at once) holding the cam chain up and tight then turn the engine over slowly to see if the pistons lift the cylinder block. (Holding the chain tight be allowing it to move keeps the chain on the crankshaft sprocket.) The chain tensioner that sticking out will also hold the barrels up from coming fully off the studs too.

Its likely that the cylinder is stuck down with rust and years of crud in the stud holes. Its possible to remove the studs with a stud extractor but that's a final resort. (Restorer's cut the studs to get a head off on GT750's!)

Can you see damage in No3 bore hence the need for new rings? What's the condition of the other bore's, can you still see the honing marks?

Pictures please.

There's a tool made for this job. It's scissor looking contraption that wedges in between the block and head at the front of the engine. It has a nut that is adjusted to pop them apart. Now....where do get one ? I don't know, perhaps a local bike shop has one that you could leave your first-born with and borrow it.....Other than that, be careful not to break the fins and keep banging on it in strategic places. I suppose, if you're very careful, you could try tapping a thin blade of some sort in between to help begin to break it loose. Be very careful to to mar up the mating surfaces.

I tried to get a razor in there to break the seal. Not happening.

Are you shooting anything (like PB Blaster or ATF/Acetone) down the inner 8 head studs? There are basically three things you're fighting - the base gasket seal, the piston ring drag, and all the gunk that's settled in between those studs and the cylinder.

A jack and a 2x2 under the front of the cam chain tunnel? Get a constant upward force then take your rubber/plastic mallet around the top and try to shake it loose. Give the studs a tap, too.

I hadn't tried this. Will add it to the arsenal.

[Larry D]

There's a tool made for this job. It's scissor looking contraption that wedges in between the block and head at the front of the engine. It has a nut that is adjusted to pop them apart. Now....where do get one ? I don't know, perhaps a local bike shop has one that you could leave your first-born with and borrow it.....Other than that, be careful not to break the fins and keep banging on it in strategic places. I suppose, if you're very careful, you could try tapping a thin blade of some sort in between to help begin to break it loose. Be very careful to to mar up the mating surfaces.

Are you shooting anything (like PB Blaster or ATF/Acetone) down the inner 8 head studs? There are basically three things you're fighting - the base gasket seal, the piston ring drag, and all the gunk that's settled in between those studs and the cylinder.

A jack and a 2x2 under the front of the cam chain tunnel? Get a constant upward force then take your rubber/plastic mallet around the top and try to shake it loose. Give the studs a tap, too.

No, not using the timing chain, but it might damage the pistons or the bolt on the end of the crank...

Maybe a blunt chisel, tapping (banging) upwards somewhere down at the bottom fin.

Or, aggressively hammering at the cylinder-to-block joint, and repair the damage later...

sigh.

Ok, how 'bout this: lay a piece of angle iron across the top of the cylinders. Somehow figure a way to clamp the iron to the top of the cylinder. Cut a wood block to fit between the tops of 1 & 4 pistons and the bottom of the iron. Rotate the crankshaft using the 19mm bolt at the ignition end. Crank moves pistons up against the blocks / iron which 'lifts' the cylinders up...

I dunno, I'm just kickin' it around...

This is just a quick picture of my own GS700E at that stage...

As much flex as I saw in my prying attempts, I suspect that approach would snap the timing chain.

Is there a shelf just below or above the cam chain tensioner where you can get a little fin-risk-free leverage?

That is one of the few places that tried to pry, flexing anything I used for a lever.

Ok, how 'bout this: lay a piece of angle iron across the top of the cylinders. Somehow figure a way to clamp the iron to the top of the cylinder. Cut a wood block to fit between the tops of 1 & 4 pistons and the bottom of the iron. Rotate the crankshaft using the 19mm bolt at the ignition end. Crank moves pistons up against the blocks / iron which 'lifts' the cylinders up...

I dunno, I'm just kickin' it around...

This is just a quick picture of my own GS700E at that stage...

Is there a shelf just below or above the cam chain tensioner where you can get a little fin-risk-free leverage?