Starting the Timing Belt / WP today!

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Well, after MUCH delay I thought I'd better get to changing things. I have 100001 miles on my ST and have been delaying doing this for about 6 months or so. Fortunately, we are not in what I would call our riding season right now. I will however start back to school soon and need it for the commute. The ride helps me deal with others little monsters and I'm tired of filling the SUV with gas.
I'll start by getting to the plastic, radiator and covers today. We'll see how it goes :) Wish me luck!
(any last words? LOL)
 

Mark

Gotta make tracks
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Did it to 2 ST1100s a couple of months apart.

Advice... Follow the manual exactly.
When you have the belt replaced, with the spark plugs out, turn the engine by hand to see if there is any restriction... if it will not turn completely then do *NOT* use the key to turn it over... Valves will be bent followed the hair pulling and gnashing of teeth and flying tools... ;)

Good luck!

It still was scary to turn the key after finishing them...
 

ESB

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I did NOT have a Motorcycle Lift when I did mine, SO, I took my time. +1 on following the manual, double checked everything, and no problems. Belt pulled looked in very good condition at about 100K!!
 

John OoSTerhuis

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Good luck!

Just did my second timing belt R&R yesterday, along with my first water pump (including new idler and tensioner). At 180,000 on my '91 SSMST1100.
Tips:
- Use the Honda Service Manual.
- Pull the forks and do a suspension fluid change (makes for easier TB and WP access).
- Rotate the crank until the T1 and dot, and both driven pulleys all align with the marks (a look down the #1 cyl spark plug hole will confirm TDC).
- Don't follow the manual on moving/releasing the tensioner. I once had the belt slip/jump a bunch of teeth on the drive/crankshaft pulley that way. Instead, push down on the tab that the spring hooks into with a big screwdriver. When it's down all the way, slide the bearing to the left in the bolt slot, and then snug the bolt down.
- Before you pull the belt count the teeth between the driven pulley's marks (51 in both of my old belts), and duplicate that when installing the new belt. You will probably need to rotate the right driven pulley slightly CW to get the 51, but it will align when the whole belt is on and tension is applied.
- Remove the left driven pulley and reduction holder in order to get the old water pump out/new in. Instead of removing the frame parts, IMHO. I bought the bearing seal and gasket but didn't need them as mine weren't damaged during removal. Email me if you'd like them.
- edit: install the new belt in specific order, drive (crankshaft) pulley, water pump, left driven pulley, right driven pulley (count teeth), and tensioner (still fully retracted to give enough slack to get the belt on).
- Follow the very last instruction in the manual for a new belt install (2-4 crank rotations until marks align, followed by another 3 teeth CW past the mark at the right driven pulley, before final torque on the tensioner bolt).

I'm sure I'll think of more right after I hit send, but these will help a lot, truST me. :)

[took some pictures but a photo article will have to wait until after fork fluid, caliper rebuild, etc. probably after WeSTOC]

Edit: the old idler and tensioner bearings were like the new replacements. As was the old belt and water pump. Amazing.

John
via iPhone 6
 
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For whatever reason, both Dean and I had issues with the Gates timing belt when lining up the camshaft timing marks. Upon initial installation I could only get it to where it was off by 1/2 tooth in either direction, but never dead on. I played with it for 1/2 hour to an hour and never did get it to align perfectly, but finally got it a bit less than 1/2 tooth off, which is close enough. I had never done the ST before, but had done my BMW auto M20 motor several (3 or 4) times, so I'm very familiar with how timing belt replacements generally proceed and this one just didn't want to line up. I had all the slack removed and it just wouldn't align perfectly. In case that happens to you, don't sweat it, but make sure the error is 1/2 tooth or less. And I chose the lesser evil, so that if the belt does happen to stretch just a bit after breaking in, then the marks will be perfectly aligned (as opposed to being off 1/2 tooth in the other direction where the error would increase if the belt stretched). It may not actually stretch at all, but I can guarantee it won't get shorter.
 
OP
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Aladinbama
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Well, if it ever gets back together it will be a miracle! (hopefully kidding)
I'm down to trying to get he WP out. I'm not sure if I'll do the left pulley or the frame pieces - sure seems to be a pain in the butt for either. I'll see what's involved with the pulley as the bolts on that side of the frame seem a bit sticky!
It's amazing what you find when you dig this deep into a bike with a bunch of plastic. I found a nut and bolt just sitting on the front under the covers. A couple screws were apparently left out at some time or another, and well ...... just interesting!
 
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+1 on John's tip about counting the teeth between pulley marks. That really clarified things for me.

Good luck! It may seem like a daunting job but with the resources here its pretty straightforward just time consuming.
 
OP
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Aladinbama
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I love it how you start something and it gets more complicated along the way :)
I did go the frame route as I already had both sides of the exhaust unfastened - I thought it would be just as easy. Bolts were tight (understatement). The pump came right out. In taking the water pump off, the end of the breather hose connected to it basically disintegrated. For whatever reason, not sure why, but I have one. BUT, now I have to take off the carbs to route that through. I've done that before due to the cooling intake angled thingy (I know, the official term) breaking. There's also a clamp or two inside there that I want to change that I didn't before - I've been leaking just a bit of fluid and I think it's coming from there - all I get is an antifreeze smell every now and then and need to add some every 10K or so. Patience, patience, patience.
Anyway, I'm glad I did the pump as, along with the hose issue that would have come up soon, the pump looked a bit abused. I do know that at least one of the POs didn't change the coolant (my guess all of them) and the gaskets etc. looked pretty bad. The bearing feels ok, but ....
FWIW, the belt looked good, but seemed pretty hard. Definitely harder than the Gates belt I'm replacing it with. So far, I'm glad I did this - a shop would have added and added and added to the original bill. BUT, me typing this is avoidance behavior for taking the rack off :) I know, I know!
The things we do to ourselves!
 

John OoSTerhuis

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I already had both sides of the exhaust unfastened
Huh? Tom, why would you do anything to the exhaust just to do the timing belt and water pump?

Did you get a new o-ring for the water-pump-to-crankcase-breather-port connection? Or did your new stock pump come with one? At least you didn't have to mess with coolant lines to the oil cooler like on the 91-95s... dang, those little hoses and their hose clamps are a bear to get at.

John
 
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OP
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Somewhere I read it's easier if the clutch cover is off. I undid the right side and didn't give enough wiggle so I did the left too. It's not off - just hanging.
I've got the o-ring and the WP gasket. After more inspection, the WP bearing was/is close to going. It has a definite noise when turning and doesn't turn near as easily as the new pump. It has a strange feel when you spin it.
 

John OoSTerhuis

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Somewhere else you should have read to just pull the timing belt cover up*, forcing it past the drive/crankshaft pulley nut. Then trim off the offending portion of the cover on the backside to ease reinstall, and removal in future. Normally the exhaust manifold gaskets need to be replaced...

*edit: http://www.st-riders.net/index.php?topic=3523

John
via iPhone 6
 
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Somewhere I read it's easier if the clutch cover is off. I undid the right side and didn't give enough wiggle so I did the left too. It's not off - just hanging.
there's usually a copper crush washer in there that's not reusable, so just snugging them back up may not work without replacing the crush washer.

BTW, easiest of all is to grind away the interfering portion of the front cover so you can leave the clutch and exhaust headers in place. It usually comes off easy enough, but putting it back on is easier if you grind away at it a bit.
 
OP
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Aladinbama
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I guess I read in the wrong places. I thought the manual was a good place to start. I guess I should have read around here a bit before I began. It's been a while since I've been here!
Anyway, got the carbs pulled and the hoses and clamps replaced underneath. The heat shield is toast - it's even brittle in an area. It'll be Tuesday at the earliest for parts. I might even buy new boots - heck!
I decided to go ahead and start putting everything on the front together and did one of those really stupid things and broke a wp bolt off. I have no idea how, I wasn't putting that much on it. They were really tight coming out so maybe it was damaged then ????? Anyway, I've got some time to get the bolt out - I'm pretty much delayed till Tuesday. That's ok (I guess)!
 

John OoSTerhuis

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Three of the 7 water pump bolts are ~30mm. The ones at roughly 1, 5, and 8 o'clock nearest the pulley. The other 4 are ~22mm. Guess you found out the hard way... sorry.

I couldn't resist today and put in the old spark plugs, threw the front wheel on and rolled the ST out of the garage and fired it up. "It's alive, it's alive!" No coolant leaks, nor oil after the valve clearance check (all were still in spec). Now I can start putting the Tupperware back on. New NGK Iridium plugs on Tues. front calipers rebuild, carb sync, and tires to go...

John
 
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OP
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Aladinbama
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THE BROKEN BOLT IS OUT!
It's amazing what a good pair of vice grips will do for you :)
Now, to be a bit more careful!
Unfortunately, no access to parts, for the heat shield (and bolt), till Tuesday!
 
OP
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Aladinbama
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Now the VERY hard part. Waiting a week for parts.
I called locally and they could get all the parts by Saturday (maybe), but the prices were a bit high. I generally use the local stealership for parts, but just for the heat shield they wanted $20 more than what I could get it for online (and I didn't even look around much). If they address the order today, I should be able to get them by the weekend (hopefully). School starts Thursday for us and I'll have limited time after that. Oh well, my fault for putting it off.
Now if I can only remember where everything goes :)
 
OP
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Aladinbama
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Well, the wp and belt are on and everything seems to be right. I checked the valves since I have to wait on a heat shield and was pleasantly surprised that only one valve was out of spec. and it was on the long side (all were on the upper end of range as well :) ). I was worried as I never checked them in the 38K I've owned it and have no idea about the PO.
I guess it's time to modify the front cover and zip most everything back up! A good cleaning is in order before I attach too much plastic. It's pretty nasty and I need to see where "stuff" is coming from. I assumed most of it was from the cover gaskets which I changed, but ....
Time to remember lol!
 
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