1978 gs 750e cafe racer rebuild

[drivera84]

hi,

Well I started taking her appart to clean parts and see what needs replacing...after two broken skrew drivers (low quality tools) I decided to get myself an impact driver and maybe??? ($) some snap-on tools...

Im in the process of taking all the electricals appart, I have no expirience so Im working very slow, basically just cleaning everything and trying to figure out which wire is for what and where does it go. The two white relays?? under the tank, what are they?

Ive been reading in cliffs page and Im going to buy a multimeter to test if the stator and r/r needs replacing.

I am going to replace the engine so Im still looking for one...

[Hoosier Daddy]

Hello again, I posted in your introduction a while back. I'm glad I found your build thread. If I am thinking right, what you are calling the "The two white relays?? under the tank" are the coils. If they have the spark plug wires coming out of them.
I think with those cylinders and pistons looking that bad, you are going to need something pretty strong to get them apart. WD-40 wont do it. A good Penetrating oil might with a lot of patience as Pete stated. Being in Honduras I do not know what you have available. Try removing as much rust as you can, fill the cylinders with a 50/50 mixture of acetone a car automatic trans fluid and let it soak for a week. Heck even kerosene or diesel fuel will help, but I am afraind you may need to try something more acid, toilet bowl cleaner or even muratic acid (NASTY STUFF!) to get them loose. Then you will have to get the cylinders bored by a machine shop and buy oversized pistons. Might be cheaper to buy used parts but you still need to get it apart.
Good luck to you!

[Billy Ricks]

If you use acid then use diluted phosphoric acid. It will destroy the rust without damaging solid metal. And do whatever you have to do to keep it from seeping into the crankcase.

[Hoosier Daddy]

That brings up a good point... Keep ANY cleaners / debris especially acids out of the bottm end. If the top looks that bad, what condition is the crankcase internals looking in from the top? What was the oil drained out, partial water?
That will tell a lot as to if you would be best to just find a replacement.
Do not be discouraged, it happened to me as well on the '81 Goldwing. I wound up buying a parts bike that had a spare engine.

[drivera84]

Hi guys.

Im a fan of leaving her most like she came from factory (expect the cafe conversion part) I would like to keep the stock engine. I am looking for a replacement to get her running but will probabbly wind up rebuilding this one down the road. Oversized pistons have a nice ring to em...but that will be done later with more time. Im not sure if i will in fact find a replacement so I am working on this one.

Looking in from the top the crankase doenst look very rusty...but putting her on the side water seeped out and some milky looking substance (oily water?).

Also the rear wheel is stuck....even in neutral gear. I tried lightly pulling back on the kick start and it moved, just a tiny bit, but it moved so Im being a little optimistic on the crankcase. Ive been trying to remove the drain plug skrew (the one in the bottom used to remove the oil) but its stuck hard. Been spraying it to see if it loosens up.

The gas tank doesnt look so bad, the cap is very tight too...are there any tricks to get it off. Im a little worried because if I shake it it sound like some loose stuff in there...it could be just dirt but I think it might be rust

I would post some pics but ive been working at night, so they dont really show up nice.

[drivera84]

I forgot to mention...the carbs are pretty clean. I removed, cleaned them and stored them a long time ago so they havnt been exposed to gasoline or water in a long time, I think I might just get away with o-rings.

[240punk]

I use diesel to unstuck the stuck.
That looks pretty rough, expect to take it completely apart.

[drivera84]

I use diesel to unstuck the stuck.
That looks pretty rough, expect to take it completely apart.

would it be ok to pour some diesel down the crankcase too? just to loosen some stuff up a bit?

[240punk]

would it be ok to pour some diesel down the crankcase too? just to loosen some stuff up a bit?

I have haha
Ive dipped entire (smaller) engines into diesel without ill effect.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Yep... will be much better than draining it and letting air rust everything into one solid mass. Water and milky oil is BAAAAD!
I worry you are going to have your hands full with this one my friend. But I look at it as Fun times... so have at it!

[drivera84]

Thanks for the support, im having fun with this.

I have no rush so ill work slow and have fun...i will try to post some pics!!!

Hoosier daddy, i checked the links to your other bikes....nice work!

[Hoosier Daddy]

Thanks for the compliments! Since you saw my Goldwing finished, here is a little something I did a while back I think you can relate to...

[drivera84]

Thanks H.D.

Spit, polish...and alot of patience

:-)

those goldwings really have wicked looking engines!!!!

[drivera84]

a friend and car mechanic gave me some "tips". I wanted to ask you guys to see what you think.

He took a good look at it and said that the pistons might be saved but that I had to work with patience not to ruin them.

Keep on spraying wd40 and diesel and pull one of the engine covers to expose the crankshaft "bolt?" To be able to turn it....he told me not to use too much force so as not to scratch or break anything just to play with it some every day and it will slowly start loosening up.

I have two questions for you guys...wich of the engine coves should I remove?

Is this a good Idea or you have a better method to unstick this engine?

thanks!

[pete]

That's as good an idea as any. WD40 isn't going to be a huge help, but maybe combined with diesel it'll be ok.

Remove the timing cover which is on the right side case cover. That should give you access to the end of the crankshaft which is where you should attempt to turn it from.

At least that's how it is for my 450 but I'm pretty sure the bigger ones are the same...