How do my compression numbers look?

[rustybronco]

Well, I just checked and my charging system is shot too.

Also the big red wire coming out of the fuse box behind the battery gets pretty hot while running.

Seriously, with the charging system shot, the engine needs to be rebuilt, likely with a bit of head work, the carbs need to be rebiult and resynchronized, the body is trashed, turn signals don't work, etc etc . . . I'm not happy about this.

Honestly I'm thinking about just selling this thing

Don't put the cart before the horse, you need to acess all the things it needs first before you go on a buying spree, find out why it has no compression, head gasket, rings, piston to bore diameter, head and jug flatness, do the valves need work, did the ring(s) stick because it was left outside for a year and the valve was open on no. 3 cylinder, varnish, did it over heat, burned piston, ect.????, one thing at a time, it doesn't cost but time to tear down and inspect it and go from there.

[Tofuball]

Don't put the cart before the horse, you need to acess all the things it needs first before you go on a buying spree, find out why it has no compression, head gasket, rings, piston to bore diameter, head and jug flatness, do the valves need work, did the ring(s) stick because it was left outside for a year and the valve was open on no. 3 cylinder, varnish, did it over heat, burned piston, ect.????, one thing at a time, it doesn't cost but time to tear down and inspect it and go from there.

I agree, but it does cost to put it back together, and I'd rather commute on 3 cylinders then have another project in a billion pieces in my garage.

I'm hoping I don't have to pull the engine apart.

[salty_monk]

Is it possible to free up the rings by putting some oil in the bore & leaving it for a few days?? Just an idea, I've known it work with seized car engines....

Dan

[rustybronco]

penetrating oil, leave it soak for a few days, repeat it as necessary and then change the oil before starting it, or a top end cleaner (g.m. used to make a good spray type one).

[Tofuball]

penetrating oil, leave it soak for a few days, repeat it as necessary and then change the oil before starting it, or a top end cleaner (g.m. used to make a good spray type one).

I've been using seafoam in the #3 cyl. I also added it to the gas and to the oil.

I'll check it again once I drove it a bit, but now it doesnt really drive :P

[Dave8338]

When you did the compression check, did you use the exact same amount of oil in each cylinder...if so, how much? After re-reading all the posts on this, aside for the dramatic jump in the #3 numbers, this sounds like a valve adjustment issue...to have one cylinder that much out of wack, just doesn't make sense as far as rings go. Which carb feeds the vacuume port on the petcock on your bike? :?

[tfb]

Tofuball,

Yes, that kit seems to have all that you will basically need by way of gaskets. There's also a set of valve-stem seals in there, which is great. Bear in mind, though, that that head gasket doesn't have built-in O-rings for the studs where the oil goes up to the head. So when installing that gasket, I would put a smudge of silicone sealant (high-temp. engine stuff, of course) around each of the oil-way holes, before installing the cylinder head.

By all means give the suggestions above a go first, for that low-comp. cylinder. But trust the figures: you have a problem with rings/bores not sealing, and not valves!! If it was valves you wouldn't have had the huge jump in compression that you observed.

Mike.

[Dave8338]

Tofuball,

Yes, that kit seems to have all that you will basically need by way of gaskets. There's also a set of valve-stem seals in there, which is great. Bear in mind, though, that that head gasket doesn't have built-in O-rings for the studs where the oil goes up to the head. So when installing that gasket, I would put a smudge of silicone sealant (high-temp. engine stuff, of course) around each of the oil-way holes, before installing the cylinder head.

By all means give the suggestions above a go first, for that low-comp. cylinder. But trust the figures: you have a problem with rings/bores not sealing, and not valves!! If it was valves you wouldn't have had the huge jump in compression that you observed.

Mike.

Agreed...just want to ensure that the "dump er in" method of oiling the cylinders was not used. If they were all treated exactly the same, it is no doubt, the rings!

[Tofuball]

Which carb feeds the vacuume port on the petcock on your bike? :?

The same, #3. Do you think it's related?

Tofuball,

Yes, that kit seems to have all that you will basically need by way of gaskets. There's also a set of valve-stem seals in there, which is great. Bear in mind, though, that that head gasket doesn't have built-in O-rings for the studs where the oil goes up to the head. So when installing that gasket, I would put a smudge of silicone sealant (high-temp. engine stuff, of course) around each of the oil-way holes, before installing the cylinder head.

By all means give the suggestions above a go first, for that low-comp. cylinder. But trust the figures: you have a problem with rings/bores not sealing, and not valves!! If it was valves you wouldn't have had the huge jump in compression that you observed.

Mike.

Awesome, thanks! I'll bet the valves are out of whack too though. So I think it's a combination of things.

I'll definitely do the silicone, but I also have a pile of O-rings, if I can find one that fits . . .

Agreed...just want to ensure that the "dump er in" method of oiling the cylinders was not used. If they were all treated exactly the same, it is no doubt, the rings!

I have an oiling can that squirts basically the same amount of oil each time, and each cyl gets two squirts.

[tfb]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave8338
Which carb feeds the vacuume port on the petcock on your bike?

The same, #3. Do you think it's related?

Three things can happen with the hose that comes off the vacuum port:
1. It will work. :shock:
2. It will leak air, causing #3 cylinder to run lean.
3. It will suck fuel from a pinhole in the fuel-tap diaphragm, causing #3 to run rich.

So is it related? Not likely. You would have to run it lean for an extended period to do damage, and then it would be burning valves that would result -- which is evidently not your problem with cylinder #3.

I'll definitely do the silicone, but I also have a pile of O-rings, if I can find one that fits . . .

Be sure to use heat-resistant O-rings. If you use more run-o-the-mill ones, they'll just go hard with the heat and then leak.

[Dave8338]

3. It will suck fuel from a pinhole in the fuel-tap diaphragm, causing #3 to run rich.

So is it related? Not likely. You would have to run it lean for an extended period to do damage, and then it would be burning valves that would result -- which is evidently not your problem with cylinder #3.

Or...it has been leaking long enough that the extra fuel causing it to run rich, has been "washing" the cylinder and over time, has taken the rings out, which is why I asked... :?

[Tofuball]

Well, the plug on #3 DID say RICH, but we'll see once I have driven it a bit and soaked it in enough chems :P

[tfb]

Or...it has been leaking long enough that the extra fuel causing it to run rich, has been "washing" the cylinder and over time, has taken the rings out, which is why I asked...

Hmm, you've got a good point there, Dave. So there's another thing for Tofuball to check out...

[Tofuball]

Allright, parts should be in today, should I post pictures, or are there enough of those floating around already? :P

[Tofuball]

Allright, It was actually an electrical issue, when I bump the wiring harness spark gets intermittent. I fixed a bit of that. Then my start button exploded, so I got a new one of those.

Now for some reason the left (sitting on the bike) side two cylinders aren't running, they're getting spark and compression . . .

So I MUST have messed something up on the carbs.

Any ideas what could cause the left two cylinders to not fire?