How to part the cylinder head from the cylinders - stuck gasket - 1980 gs550e

[Grimly]

Anyway the reason it didnt come off was that I left some boilts
in.
The only rreason for doing this insane , stupid, idiotic thing is doing too much at the samre
time. A lesson learnt !
I got it off withj a sledge hammer in the end ! until I realaised about the bolts.
Clearly I am not doing well today.

That takes some sort of biscuit.
Well done. I think you've won this month's prize for idiocy.

[Sandy]

That takes some sort of biscuit.
Well done. I think you've won this month's prize for idiocy.

Don't feel bad, the month is but young. There are people here including myself that have done much dumber shlt than that.

[Cyrano]

I know how you feel Jules. Long long ago I had a Bonneville 750 and the head wouldn't come off. Did all the gentle tap, tap, tapping and used a wooden mallet with bits of wood and nothing moved.

The hammers got bigger and the force increased and still nothing. Then the red mist descended and when I came around I had a cylinder head in my lap. Then I got on the phone and ordered a new one.

NOTE: The cause was the head had deformed around the 2 middle studs and wouldn't pass the wider threaded part of the stud.

I have also destroyed a spoked wheel in similar circumstances.

[ukjules]

You are right it was the "red mist" that came onto me.
The mistake is terrible but I wont make that again - i hope.

Anyway - I have found parts !
1 - Head and Cylinder will be arriving before this weekend.
I am now cleanign up the old gasket on base and removing parts from my old cylinder head and
intend to clean up the components. oh and ordering up gaskets.

What is the best way to clan up valves ? (out of the bike)
they are hard coated ? do i use a brass brush or can i use steel on them ?
ideas appreciated

J

[tkent02]

Thoroughly enjoying this thread. Made my evening

+1, I was going to suggest throwing on 650 cylinders and head "while you're in there", but after realizing the cases need to be hogged out to do the 650 swap, I'm thinking he probably doesn't have a big enough hammer for that.

[ukjules]

Ho ho-
It is almost good this happened as valves now out and they were well crudded up.
Cleaning them now ready for new head.

Question:
Valve seal are well stuck in ! Not that i need the old ones how the hell do i get them out
to replace when they wont come off yanking with pliers ?
The new head is going to be revamped

[DimitriT]

You are right it was the "red mist" that came onto me.
The mistake is terrible but I wont make that again - i hope.

Anyway - I have found parts !
1 - Head and Cylinder will be arriving before this weekend.
I am now cleanign up the old gasket on base and removing parts from my old cylinder head and
intend to clean up the components. oh and ordering up gaskets.

What is the best way to clan up valves ? (out of the bike)
they are hard coated ? do i use a brass brush or can i use steel on them ?
ideas appreciated

J

Valves clean up with a brass wire brush wheel.

Note: Your new head should come with came shaft caps. You cannot swap those with other heads. And take care not to mix them up in reassembly.

[ukjules]

Head now stripped out.
Valves cleaned and managed to pry out the old valve seals (i have never gone this far down before)
just to see how they fit.
Not so hard at all so far !

Valves were terrible (pic below)

The method i used to clean my valves (the other head is coming with its own) was a
elec drill clamped to bench - valve inserted and very mild sandpaper used to
get crud off.


Question:
Are we saying that you should only use "brass" wire wheel/brush ?
Can you use sandpaper ? Can you use a steel wire brush ?
What is "the" way to do it and not damage them ?
Brass would not have got the stuff off on mine for sure. How my bike even went ?

By the way - my bike smoked when cold and lacked power a bit I think and would not tick over.
Valvle clearances were perfect, Carbs balanced, mixture set and played about with but plugs
1,2,3 were black ..... just some general info as to why I started this.

[ukjules]

valve not cleaned up - is this bad - what effect does this have on performance ?

[tkent02]

valve not cleaned up - is this bad - what effect does this have on performance ?

No effect whatsoever, this is how valves look after a while. On newer super lean fuel injected heads they stay cleaner, but it doesn't hurt anything. Every old engine from carburetor days had at least some this carbon on the valves, they run just fine.

[ukjules]

And for others who didnt know how to do valve compressing - i didnt.
I got one offf ebay for £20 ($12.80 for those acorss the pond)

A magnet on a rod was useful to collect the collets ..
simple enough and didnt need thre sledge.

thanks for info on valves !

[mikerophone]

Enjoying this thread - not to poke fun, but to learn from. We've nearly all been there, those last damned bolts will get you from time to time. Live and learn, have a nice cold one and laugh about it. Looks like you've nearly there now.

Love how you include the aforementioned trusty hammer in most of the shots! Also, if you get a photo bucket account and learn to post them, you can post higher rez pics, and more a time that people won't need to click on to see detail.

[ukjules]

Cheers for support guys. I will never sell my bike and it will go and soon.

Question:
Not since I was 19 have I put a block back onto pistons on the bike. That was with a GSX 250E and I
didnt use spring compressors. (didnt know they existed)

Do I need ring comprressors to do this ?
These are thre ones I was gonna get (56mm for my bike)
I want and now need to keep costs and time down !

[DimitriT]

I have done a few strip downs like this. My most memorable was when I reassembled everything and was standing there admiring my work when I noticed one of the alignment pins which line up the head to the cylinders sitting on my workbench.

[DimitriT]

Cheers for support guys. I will never sell my bike and it will go and soon.

Question:
Not since I was 19 have I put a block back onto pistons on the bike. That was with a GSX 250E and I
didnt use spring compressors. (didnt know they existed)

Do I need ring comprressors to do this ?
These are thre ones I was gonna get (56mm for my bike)
I want and now need to keep costs and time down !

At least on the 550 I do not use ring compressors. But a spare set of strong hands is useful. And patience.

The procedure is to put down the base gasket and o-rings. I use some black sealer on the base gasket around the
outer corner studs. This is where the oil flows up to the motor. I use just a light coating. Don't forget guide pins.

Then you bring the cylinders over and pass the chain up and secure with some wire to the frame.

You then raise the two middle pistons as high as they go. I stick a piece of wood under one of them to keep
them raise high.

You then lower the cylinders down and have your friend pinch the piston rings (which you have already clocked) so
they will slip into the cylinders.

Once the inner pistons are inserted you lower them a bit so you can raise the outer pistons. This is the hardest
part.

The outer pistons need to rise up a bit so you can line them up and pinch their rings. But be careful not to lower
the middle pistons too much or they will slip out.

Go slow at this point. Take breaks.

Have your friend pinch one of the outer pistons while you gently tap the block and it should go in. Repeat
for the other side.

If it doesn't go with gentle taps STOP. Something is wrong. Don't force it.

And use a torque wrench once you have the head on. Don't over-torque it as you will damage the gasket and it will leak.