melloyellow to live again!

[polkadot]

Spent most of the weekend in mourning for my Buckeyes. I can now forgive any of you that live in Kentucky. Anyway, I cleaned carb parts and took the wire wheel to some rusty/corroded parts. I took a few more parts off the engine. (It has not really been touched yet) Everything looks good under the valve covers.

The timing covers did not look so good. It looks mostly like some light surface rust and crud.



I want to take off the belts, tensioners, etc. and clean it all. How do I do this without messing up the timing and being able to get the belts all back on the way they were? (yes I will replace with new belts) I have a couple other things I need to start thinking about. The frame is tapped for a bolt that holds down the seat. A threaded insert is pressed into the frame. That insert has pushed into the frame. I think I can wedge the insert and get the bolt out. (the insert will be lost somewhere in the frame) What should I then do to repair it? Have any of you had this problem? I was thinking of drilling thru the other side of the frame, tapping that hole (or using a nut) and then using a longer bolt. Thanks for any suggestions.
I was also thinking about my muffler. It was off the bike when I bought it. The PO had been working on it. It looks great but is painted with a gloss black. I want a flat black. I would just paint over it if I knew it was hi temp paint. How can I tell? If its not, I figure that I need to strip it all first. I would think that the PO would have considered that, but remember the brake pads were in backwards! (have you ever seen a gloss hi temp paint?) Again, thanks for your help guys.

[Roady]

You'll find everything you need to know about the belt replacement in Octane's excellent writeup.

Just click the button in my sig below.

[Track T 2411]

As Roady says, Everything is in that write-up on doing the belts, except that you're going to be doing some other stuff first. First, remember that it doesn't matter what you do with the cams or crank with the belts off IF YOU FOLLOW A FEW SIMPLE RULES. 1) Back off the valve adjusters so that the cams will not open any valves when you rotate the cam. 2) When you re-align the cams and crank to install the belts, just follow the directions. When the marks are aligned, the crank and cams ARE where they should be, there's no half right. 3) If you have ANY doubt, post here and we'll help you out ASAP.

Good wrenchin'
Todd

[polkadot]

Todd, Thanks. That is just the info I was looking for. I was afraid if I took all the parts off, I would never get it back together again! It may be a bit before I get to that part of the project, because my carb body came today. I'm still waiting for my brake parts from Crescent. Lots to do!

[polkadot]

I have spent the last few evenings in the dungeon cleaning and assembling my carbs. I got the replacement number 1 carb body off ebay. It actually was better then my carbs.


I carefully put the pairs back together. The butterflys are designed not to come out, so I ruined the screws getting them out. I replaced them with standard metric screws with a bit of thread locker. The carb reassembly went well (I think). My last step was reinstalling the carb bowls. Of the 16 screws, 4 of them are stripped.
I can not get a nut on them. I was thinking of tapping them one size larger and using a slightly larger screw. Do any of you know of a better or easier way? Once I get that completed, I can polish the tops and intakes and the carbs will be done. I sure hope they work! I owe a huge thanks to Randakk for the video and Octane for his carb thread! They were a necessary tool in the process.

My next step will be to get the brake system rebuilt. I am trying to get these things done so that when the bike is ready to start re-assembly, I can just put on one component after another.

[STREETWING78]

Ernie, do you mean the carb body threads are stripped or the screws are are crap. I've got screws. I owe ya kick stand rubber..

[polkadot]

Tom, Carb body threads are stripped. I tried old screws and new ones, same result. If I get many more parts from you, I will have to call the bike STREETWING 76! Is our weather ever going to break? Snow flurries tonight! AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!

[Fred Camper]

Seems like that may be a good use of JB Weld. Those do not have much load on them. The other option might be an insert, but I very much doubt you have room for that. Use a tooth pick and pack that stripped hole tight, let dry, then gently drill and tap it again. Seems like it might work, yet I do not know the load on the part of which you are speaking.

[polkadot]

Never thought about JB (well maybe, but it was a different JB!) Pack the hole full, then drill and tap?

[Fred Camper]

Since there is a rough former thread surface inside the hole, the JB should grip well. You need to be sure not to get an air bubble in the hole, so just put in small dabs with a tooth pick or something.

[Sagebrush]

I've recently read a thread where someone retapped the threads with success. I think JB Weld would be too soft to work in the long term. Might work the first time but I wouldn't trust it to work with repeated removals and installations.

[Fred Camper]

I tend to agree that JB would be too soft for removal and reinstallation. If that is desired, then maybe soldering it closed would work. It would not preclude the option to tap it larger later, so JB may be worth a try provided the joint does not need service for a few years. Since the carbs were rebuild using the video, they may be good to go for 10 years.

[robin1731]

Since the carbs were rebuild using the video, they may be good to go for 10 years.

How many of us have had the carbs off multiple times though even with using the video. It can be pretty tough getting carbs clean the first time you do them.

[Track T 2411]

You may find the next larger size STANDARD thread is quite close and running a tap could be very easy. You might also get away with using a self-tapping screw, but this does not hold up under repeated removal/replacement...

Good wrenchin'
Todd

[polkadot]

I decided to give JB a try. I believe that the PO used a standard thread screw. These two screws were holding carb bowls on. I could see that the threaded hole was visibly larger.

I filled the holes with JB.

Im going to get a metric tap today and will see how it goes tonight. As you have suggested, I figured that if it does not work I can always go to a larger tap.