Top end rebuild

[Nessism]

I'd check the cam chain before just changing it. Salty Monk's GS1000G has 80,000 miles on it and the cam chain measured fine.

[doctorgonzo]

I'd check the cam chain before just changing it. Salty Monk's GS1000G has 80,000 miles on it and the cam chain measured fine.

Nobody ever answered. Do I use some kind of master link or pop out and replace a rivet? Been years since I messed with any kind of chain on any level. I did go through the service manual procedures pretty well ast night. Head still hasn't arrived. Shipped Monday.

[Nessism]

Get a cam chain breaker from mikesXS.com or z1 maybe. Pin needs to be peened over is my understanding. Again, measure your old chain before changing; most likely it's fine. To measure is to know.

[doctorgonzo]

Get a cam chain breaker from mikesXS.com or z1 maybe. Pin needs to be peened over is my understanding. Again, measure your old chain before changing; most likely it's fine. To measure is to know.

I will. Got a digital caliper and everything, cams, valves, chain, etc... will all get compared to spec. I am going to go ahead and replace the guides as well as the seals. I know it's probably ok, but service specs says don't reuse guides.

[Nessism]

GS guides are pretty durable since the engine uses shim type valve train; far more durable than rocker type. Again, I'd check them before changing - get a hole gauge and micrometer to check. You can also check lateral clearance between the valve and guide with a dial indicator. If you change the guide the valve seats will have to be machined since the new guide will index slightly differently than the old one. Not worth it if the old guides are still serviceable.

Good luck.

[doctorgonzo]

GS guides are pretty durable since the engine uses shim type valve train; far more durable than rocker type. Again, I'd check them before changing - get a hole gauge and micrometer to check. You can also check lateral clearance between the valve and guide with a dial indicator. If you change the guide the valve seats will have to be machined since the new guide will index slightly differently than the old one. Not worth it if the old guides are still serviceable.

Good luck.

ooooohhhhh.... didn't think about that. Alright... hole gauge. Some have said I should go ahead and pull the block because I'm likely to damage the gasket by knocking it around while replacing the head. What do you think? I'm going to compression test before I tear the current head off, and let that decide whether I take the pistons out and hone or not.

[Nessism]

Yes, pull the cylinder. The base gasket often leaks after pulling the head because the clamp load was released.

Regarding the cylinders, again, measure if you want to be sure. If the cylinders measure within the service limit, a quick hone job with new rings will bring things up to spec and you can rest easy. The rings can be reused but my opinion is to change them since you are doing all that work in the first place.

[doctorgonzo]

Yes, pull the cylinder. The base gasket often leaks after pulling the head because the clamp load was released.

Regarding the cylinders, again, measure if you want to be sure. If the cylinders measure within the service limit, a quick hone job with new rings will bring things up to spec and you can rest easy. The rings can be reused but my opinion is to change them since you are doing all that work in the first place.

I'd saiy I'm 99.99999% sure the cylinders have never been honed before, so imagine within limit. A light honing would be replace with the stock size rings correct? I appreciate the help Ed. I'm forging new territory for myself here.

[Suzuki mad]

Cam chain what.....

Nobody ever answered. Do I use some kind of master link or pop out and replace a rivet? Been years since I messed with any kind of chain on any level. I did go through the service manual procedures pretty well ast night. Head still hasn't arrived. Shipped Monday.

Suzuki cam chains are continous so you'd have to split the case to get the chain over the crank.

There's a guy who sells cam chains with soft links which would be the way to go. I used a dremmell and ground the pin down and pushed it out before (on a Hon** 900.)

I changed my GS(X)1100E's cam chain when I had it all apart. That had done 47,000 from new (on the clock??) and that was the same size as the new chain I was fitting. Probabley was a waste of money.....

Suzuki mad

[doctorgonzo]

Suzuki cam chains are continous so you'd have to split the case to get the chain over the crank.

There's a guy who sells cam chains with soft links which would be the way to go. I used a dremmell and ground the pin down and pushed it out before (on a Hon** 900.)

I changed my GS(X)1100E's cam chain when I had it all apart. That had done 47,000 from new (on the clock??) and that was the same size as the new chain I was fitting. Probabley was a waste of money.....

Suzuki mad

I can't when removing the original head do some fancy footwork to stop it dropping all the way into the bottom end so I could attach a new chain to it and thread it through that way? Think I've decided to try and reuse the original unless out of spec (as the money on this rolls up).

[Suzuki mad]

I normally use a socket extension bar to hold the cam chain up while I pull the head off. Then once its up slide another extension across the barrels and remove the upper extension bar.

Yes. You can split the link and spin the engine to get it back up.

Really, give the old a measure. You should be within the specs unless its been a drag bike.

Suzuki mad

[terry]

Suzuki workshop manual states:-

Cam Chain 20-pitch Length 157.80 (6.213)

Cam chain size DID219FTS

No of Links 120

Suzuki mad

Yeah mate, I understand all that, but how do you accurately measure it when the chain is still wrapped around the crankshaft?

What I'm saying really, is that by the time you've removed the chain to confirm whether it's still "within spec" or not, you may as well just throw in a new one, eh? Cheers, Terry.

[Suzuki mad]

You know how you count 20 links from the exhaust cam shaft to the inlet cam shaft for the engine timing. Thats the distance you measure.

Suzuki mad

[rapidray]

I can't when removing the original head do some fancy footwork to stop it dropping all the way into the bottom end so I could attach a new chain to it and thread it through that way? Think I've decided to try and reuse the original unless out of spec (as the money on this rolls up).

PLEASE do NOT split the cam chain & try to put it back together! PLEASE also, do NOT use a cam chain with a master link! You will be risking your entire engine if you do. Why do you think Suzuki uses 1 piece, unbroken chains?! Chances are, you probably don't even need to change it. If you need answers to questions & can't wait for site responses, call me at 714-356-7845 & I will help you out. Ray.

[doctorgonzo]

PLEASE do NOT split the cam chain & try to put it back together! PLEASE also, do NOT use a cam chain with a master link! You will be risking your entire engine if you do. Why do you think Suzuki uses 1 piece, unbroken chains?! Chances are, you probably don't even need to change it. If you need answers to questions & can't wait for site responses, call me at 714-356-7845 & I will help you out. Ray.

Thanks for the offer Ray, and I may well take you up on it, but I'm confused. How will I get the chain off and back on it I don't break it and rivet it back together. I'd have to split the cases to do that right? Wouldn't that mean removing the engine entirely?

Edit:
Ok, looked at the engine cutaway again. The cam chain is free all the way to the bottom end once the camshafts are off? So I can remove the head with the chain intact.... If so, whew, I was just confused. I though the chain HAD to be broken to remove the head.