GS550L Minor Rebuild

[Dogma]

Late entry to the thread:

One weekend for the first time doing the top end? That's pretty aggressive. I know now I could do it in a long day, but I've been in there before. You haven't even broken off any exhaust screws yet on this job. Or one of the three little screws in the head. I hope you can get it in one, but two weekends with a trip to a machine shop is how I would schedule a top end I've never been into, just in case.

Make sure you have something like a green Roloc wheel for removing old gasket, plus a few hours' worth of patience for the stuff you can't do with the wheel. You might get lucky though. Judicious use of a tiny wire wheel on a Dremel may be necessary in spots.

Read through the procedure in the manual, study the parts and part names in the fiche. Have the head in your head to give yourself a running start.

Resist the temptation to pry on any cooling fin, no matter how sturdy it looks. In reality, they break to spite you. Nothing to do with how strong they are. If you think you can get a wood chisel into the gasket instead of aluminum, do that. Or, IIRC, the 550 head has room to get a block of wood under the end to bang on.

When lifting the cylinders, make sure the pistons aren't tilted and jamming in the bottom of the sleeve. Piston skirts are fragile and may be sharp. Tap gently to make sure they're free. Make sure you didn't forget a cam chain guide. Then pull harder on the cylinders. The threads on the studs like to hang up on the accumulated road grime they must pass through.

I may have missed an answer to the question of whether to leave it in the frame. Yes, do leave it in the frame.

Have fun.

[TheCafeKid]

I've never used either a Roloc wheel or a wire wheel for gasket cleaning. But if ou do, for the love of god be gentle and realize that gouging the seating surface of any gasket will cause weeps seeps and leaks a d maybe gushers. The alu is soft

[cowboyup3371]

I've never used either a Roloc wheel or a wire wheel for gasket cleaning. But if ou do, for the love of god be gentle and realize that gouging the seating surface of any gasket will cause weeps seeps and leaks a d maybe gushers. The alu is soft

I can attest to that as last year I scraped a little too hard with my scraper and created a small lip next to the half moon area causing a leak on the valve cover gasket. After filing it down recently, I hope I cured that problem. I'll find out soon.

[GS1100GK]

All great advice, thanks! Especially the part about the pistons- that's where we have the least experience. Thanks, Dale.

1. Any tips for the cam and chain removal?

2. Tips for separating the head and also the cylinders from the base? No prying at the fins, check. I was thinking wd40 on the gasket and rubber mallet.

3. Looking for gasket remover spray. Advance Auto didn't have anything like that. I've used some in the past, but can't remember much about it. suggestions/brand name to search/source?


We already have the exhaust off, so that helps.

We're only replacing base, head, breather, and valve cover gaskets, along with the orings in the base (oil passage, I believe), then reassemble and valve adjustments.

Carbs are off, recently dipped and cleaned, just have to re-rack, airbox, gas tanks, and battery box are off.

My biggest concerns? Not having all the parts or finding something (rings, valves, etc) once inside that needs to be replaced.

- John

[Dogma]

Josh is right, the aluminum castings are very easy to damage. Myself, I do more damage with razor blades and other scraping tools. The Roloc wheel (green, I know no other way to classify them) was awesome. It would eat any gasket or sealant (even 1207B), but not touch aluminum. You know the drill, test someplace that doesn't matter first.

The wire wheels with a Dremel are another matter. They will move aluminum if you let them, but they are forgiving enough that you can get some work done in tight places. They do fling a lot of wire chunks though. I can't remember if the stainless or brass lasts longer.

1. Cams and chain are pretty straightforward. Just do what the book says.

2. Pretty sure you can get a long board under the end of the 550's head. Hammer on the end of the board. The end away from the head, wise guy.

3. I tried gasket remover spray once, though I don't remember which brand. The result was a slightly darker base gasket that still wouldn't move. This is where I ended up using the Dremel.

[GS1100GK]

Josh is right, the aluminum castings are very easy to damage. Myself, I do more damage with razor blades and other scraping tools. The Roloc wheel (green, I know no other way to classify them) was awesome. It would eat any gasket or sealant (even 1207B), but not touch aluminum. You know the drill, test someplace that doesn't matter first.

The wire wheels with a Dremel are another matter. They will move aluminum if you let them, but they are forgiving enough that you can get some work done in tight places. They do fling a lot of wire chunks though. I can't remember if the stainless or brass lasts longer.

1. Cams and chain are pretty straightforward. Just do what the book says.

2. Pretty sure you can get a long board under the end of the 550's head. Hammer on the end of the board. The end away from the head, wise guy.

3. I tried gasket remover spray once, though I don't remember which brand. The result was a slightly darker base gasket that still wouldn't move. This is where I ended up using the Dremel.

Thanks again, Dale.

Which end of the board? LOL

3. Gasket remover. The head and valve cover will be off, can use aircraft stripper or white 3M roloc (according to 3M's website brochure this is the color for aluminum, eq to 120 grit) bristle brush. Good suggestion.

For the base that will remain in the bike, I am now concerned about abrasive/dust with the roloc or seals if we use a stripper. I've heard strippers are pretty hard on rubbers and viton seals. Imagine it's a bit like putting your orings in Berryman's.

Don't want to get into crank seals or transmission issues

Who knows...at least the price of scrap aluminum is up!

- JC

[MrZufall]

They are small round gaskets that sit inside of each hole where the header connects. Shouldn't be terribly expensive to replace...here's what my local shop would charge you to replace them:

GASKET, EXHAUST PIPE
14181-37D00 (replaces 14181-03310) 4$3.51

Still a little unclear- are you saying there should (or should have) been a gasket between the engine block and my exhaust header?

[mike_of_bbg]

Still a little unclear- are you saying there should (or should have) been a gasket between the engine block and my exhaust header?

Yes, there are little compression rings in there (or should be). They get stuck after a little while in use and you may need to fish them out. To be honest I've re-used mine with no apparent leaks.

[MrZufall]

Got it.
Thanks Mike!

[GS1100GK]

Some ongoing pics of the project

Here are some pics of Matt's rebuild. Enjoy!

Step 1: Lubrication.



Step 2: Cams removed. Don't lose the chain!



Keep track of your parts and where they go. Styrofoam allows us to poke holes for bolts and label/draw references



Step 3: Head removed. One guy on each side, even upward pressure and tapping with rubber mallet- after tapping on all 4 corners to break lose. Don't lose the chain!



Pic of cylinders



More to follow...(sorry for quality, cell phone and trying not to get it greasy)

[GS1100GK]

More pics

Cleaning, using vacuum to keep junk out of crank. Wife doesn't know I took this old vac- it's "GS property" now



More cleaning. Be gentle using picks or other tools. Do NOT scratch machined mating surfaces.



Engine parts, carb parts, stuff



GS1100GK valve cover, GS550L carbs, GSR printouts



More...

[GS1100GK]

orking

GS1100GK temporary "redneck valve cover." I was adjusting the valves with the shims from Ray of "Shim Club" fame while Matt played housewife with the vacuum

[GS1100GK]

Working by "Candlelight"

Power was out today for 12 hours! Headlamps, flashlights, LED worklights and elbow grease!



Some of the work will have to wait for daylight and electricity/air tools

Notice the square o-ring on the middle of the heads (top part of pic). We didn't order this piece, so no assembly is possible yet

See the valves? Not sure how to clean them up? The dished surfaces look almost like they had a coating that is partially flaked off. Is that so, or is this just deposits that need cleaned off?

We used carb cleaner and stainless steel mini wire brushes in a "mini" 12v rotary tool from HF. Not real fast, not much torque, fits in the palm of your hand. $6.99 onsale, perfect size and power. Not too aggressive and no big deal if (when) it catches and winds up in a rag.

Oh yeah, the blue generator in the background of the first pic was a diversion today as we had to tear it apart and work out a plugged fuel filter and bad sparkplug (intermittent spark).

Used our "GS skills" to troubleshoot and fix so we could run the freezers and heat lamps for the chicks. (Separately, the chicks are not IN the freezers )

Hope you enjoy watching our project as much as we enjoy seeing and learning from everyone else's.

- John

[MrZufall]

Thanks again, Dale.

Who knows...at least the price of scrap aluminum is up!

- JC

Thanks for the confidence...

[MrZufall]

Dale,
You were absolutely right about the road grime on the studs. The head did hang up a bit on those, but with a little finesse, so far so good!



I'm uber irked about the lack of parts / lack of electrical power, but I'm hoping I can the missing parts ordered this week. I'm also trying to troubleshoot a speedometer and do some paining this week. All in all, progress has been very good, just slow due to the bike being so far away (I hate not having a garage of my own).

Thank you guys SOOOOO much for all the help and support!!!