I didn't know about the problems with Nikasil, only with chrome. Older Guzzies have chromed bores, and when the chrome starts peeling off at the top of the bore, the engine can be toast if one doesn't catch it in time. I've been told that the deterioration of the chrome happens if the bike is not regularly used, and many of the chromed bores lasted the life of the bike (well, more if replacement cylinders are installed.
Blown plug hole!
- Thread starter dkruitz
- Start date
wjbertrand
Ventura Highway
Yeah, I think Nicasil has probably been replaced with newer technology to form a hard bore coating. My earliest recollection of it's use (or something similar) was in the '70s on some Kawasaki two strokes.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This post had me concerned about a possible failure on my bikes. I recently purchased a new-to-me 2001 ST1100A and I found that several of the plugs were loose. I've always used a small dab of anti-seize on the threads and installed plugs without a torque wrench. I've usually check the plugs once a year and I've never had a problem.
I suspect that several of the holes on my new bike are damaged slightly, so I am buying a NAPA 3688 back tap spark plug chaser (M10x1.0) to clean out the threads. They are available for $20 on Ebay. Link to video.
I suspect that several of the holes on my new bike are damaged slightly, so I am buying a NAPA 3688 back tap spark plug chaser (M10x1.0) to clean out the threads. They are available for $20 on Ebay. Link to video.
Last edited:
Ran into the coating while souping up a VFR800 for a guy several years ago($$$$$$$$) We needed to overbore the motor, and, after much discussion with Honda, it was determined that we could indeed overbore and ignore the fact the coating was now gone. As far as I know that motor is still running fine. If I could get a cheap ST1300 motor I'd tear it down and see just how much more power could be eeked out of it by standard methods(porting, boring, remapping etc.)
FWIW. that VFR motor was well into triple digits on the horsepower range, the remapping worked wonders after the mods. Before remapping, it ran like a dog.....
Last edited:
wjbertrand
Ventura Highway
That really surprises me. Back in the early '70s Chevy tried running bare aluminum bores in it's then new Vega. They thought using an aluminum alloy with a higher silica content would work. It was a disaster. Folks were lucky to get 20,000 miles out of them before they became voracious oil burners. I saw one case where the unsupported cylinder crumbled away into the water jacket allowing the piston to tilt out of line and its skirt caught the edge of the part of the bore that was missing. That engine was totally grenaded at less than 15K miles. The car actually belonged to my girlfriend at the time. Luckily we got Chevy to replace the engine. I worked in the automobile repair area at the time, putting myself through school, and the standard rebuild approach was to bore and install steel sleeves in the cylinders. We did a couple of them at the service station I worked at. Had to ship the block somewhere out of state at first as I recall, before it became more commonly performed.
Last edited:
See : Nikasil Wikipedia and Millennium Technologies
Running a piston in a plain unplated aluminum bore is not the way to go , even in high silicon aluminum as GM found out , as mentioned above.
Also, FYI : Gilardoni replacement cylinder / piston kit for an old Guzzi
Running a piston in a plain unplated aluminum bore is not the way to go , even in high silicon aluminum as GM found out , as mentioned above.
Also, FYI : Gilardoni replacement cylinder / piston kit for an old Guzzi
Last edited:
OP
OP
I finally got the head gasket in hand yesterday. The head is back on, torqued down, PAIR and exhaust tubes back on. Tonight I mount the new timing belt, the new carb-to-intake boots, and give it a quick fire. If it sounds right, the cooling system goes back on. None of it is very hard, just lots of pieces.
Last edited:
Don't run it without coolant - you could overheat and damage the water pump seal.
I thought you were going to be the ST1100 water pump rebuild guy for the forum? Just killed a possible sale.
I have more integrity than that, Mr. Bush.
BTW, are you close to Vancouver ? A friend of mine & myself may do an IBA Trans Canada Quest ride next year - Halifax to Vancouver in < 90 hours.
I hope his '16 R1200RT can do it without a breakdown.
BTW, are you close to Vancouver ? A friend of mine & myself may do an IBA Trans Canada Quest ride next year - Halifax to Vancouver in < 90 hours.
I hope his '16 R1200RT can do it without a breakdown.
Last edited:
Hey, if someone has a talent that could earn some dollars for themselves, while helping out others who may not be able to find a new pump someday, why not? You wouldn't be alone on this forum. One feller up here repairs ABS modulators from all over the continent. Yea, I'm fairly close to Vancouver.
I'm more than willing to help out Forum members, if they need a rebuilt water pump. But I don't want anyone to damage their pump needlessly.
If we do that ride, maybe we can meet for breakfast the morning after we arrive in Vancouver. Here is our tentative route on Day 4
If we do that ride, maybe we can meet for breakfast the morning after we arrive in Vancouver. Here is our tentative route on Day 4
OP
OP
Even if just for a few seconds? There is still some coolant in the system, but can avoid doing so if you think it will hurt it very quickly.
It's slower going putting it back together for certain than it is taking it apart!
Last night I got the cams mounted, and the timing belt back on - the center cover is a bear! I followed tips I saw about trimming some of the inspection hole to clear the crank pulley bolt. Even with that it took some fiddling. Tonight I put the carbs back on and the radiator. Getting close!
John OoSTerhuis
Life Is Good!
Good luck. Any pictures to share? TIA
John :STOC: Ten Fifty-Eight
Better safe than sorry, I say ... and you won't have to hear " I told you so" , but it's your call !! Good Luck !!
Make darn sure the timing marks are aligned properly. It takes some futzing getting them correct.
Did you have to replace either the idler or tensioner pulleys ??
Where do you plan to go once you reach Vancouver? I'm thinking if you ride for 90 hours on that IB run, you won't be getting out of bed in time for breakfast!
We will need to arrive in Vancouver before 9:00 pm local time on Day 4, if we leave Halifax at 6:00 am on Day 1. So we should be well rested by breakfast the next morning after arriving. Our target arrival time will be 7:30 pm. To do that, we will need to be very disciplined at each stop over the 4 days ; To go far, stop quick !
Here is the current plan : TCQ
Hopefully, we should get to our destination each night before the time in the plan and get a bit more sleep each night.
Here is the current plan : TCQ
Hopefully, we should get to our destination each night before the time in the plan and get a bit more sleep each night.
Last edited:
OP
OP
The saga is still ongoing - had a setback and couldn't work on it much this weekend. Will be double-checking the timing and running with coolant when I do. New carb intakes rubbers are a joy to work with compared to when I refurbished my barn find 18 months ago. When you put the collars back on them, watch out for the ones on the right side as they can interfere with the carb linkage travel. Place carbs on, with all cables attached and use a flashlight to check that there are no clearance issues....
And again, I'm loving my Vessel JIS screwdrivers - if you don't have one or a couple - get some - no more stripped screw heads! You need a #2 as your primary go to driver.
And again, I'm loving my Vessel JIS screwdrivers - if you don't have one or a couple - get some - no more stripped screw heads! You need a #2 as your primary go to driver.
OP
OP
Well after entirely too long my ST is back on the road, now with new spark plug holes, a head gasket and timing belt! Runs great. I've missed it so!
Volutary mea culpa follows - no additional flaming required.
One screwup I did during reassembly - I forgot to put the buckets and shims back on! Doh! I immediately noticed it didn't sound right during a test fire and stopped. Thought on it for a day and had an "aha!" moment. I opened the valve cover to confirm my mistake, and that additionally the keepers had popped off the #2 exhaust valve... I spotted one keeper laying there, the other was not in sight, and the oil return galley was about 2 inches away...
So, off came the exhaust completely, dropped the oil pan and fished out the keeper. Oil pan was cleanest I'd ever seen. Oh, btw, there are two hidden oil pan bolts either side of the drain hole. Life got in the way and a week later I made a new pan gasket, followed by another week of life before I could get back to it.
Saturday I got the valve keepers back on using an old broken 17mm socket. I used a grinder to open a window in the side of the socket and used it to press down the spring. Before doing that I modified an old spark plug with a pneumatic fitting so I can press air into the cylinder to keep the valve up tight. I used my largest breaker bar as a lever pressing the socket onto the spring.I hooked a c-clamp over the engine mount at the rear of the head and used that as a fulcrum for the breaker bar. Pull on bar, spring goes down, drop keepers onto greased up valve stem, and voila, it's back on.
If you remove the LEFT camshafts make sure you align the LEFT side cams with the pencil thin notch in the FRONT of the cams with the cylinder head. DO NOT look at the large notch at the rear of the cams as a reference point, or you won't be able to hand crank the engine over. AND, on the LEFT SIDE only - you line up those cam shaft marks when the belt driven cam wheel is in line with the little dimple on the wheel, NOT the regular mark used for timing belt removal. (This is assuming the Timing marks are all lined up correctly.) This part caught me out as I misread the service manual initially. Note, I did not start the engine with the cams misaligned - if you do so you will damage valves.
Once I was confident the timing and cams were all aligned, STring started up in about 2 seconds. No leaks, and oil and coolant levels were good after an extended idle. 2.5 hours later the horn, exhaust shields, windshield and plastic body panels are all back on.
Whew! I could definitely do that a lot faster now if I had to - hoping I don't have to anytime soon though! Total cost was about $115 for timing belt, 2 timeserts, head gasket, gasket stock for oil pan. Big thanks to Irish for the service manuals on loan!
Volutary mea culpa follows - no additional flaming required.
One screwup I did during reassembly - I forgot to put the buckets and shims back on! Doh! I immediately noticed it didn't sound right during a test fire and stopped. Thought on it for a day and had an "aha!" moment. I opened the valve cover to confirm my mistake, and that additionally the keepers had popped off the #2 exhaust valve... I spotted one keeper laying there, the other was not in sight, and the oil return galley was about 2 inches away...
So, off came the exhaust completely, dropped the oil pan and fished out the keeper. Oil pan was cleanest I'd ever seen. Oh, btw, there are two hidden oil pan bolts either side of the drain hole. Life got in the way and a week later I made a new pan gasket, followed by another week of life before I could get back to it.
Saturday I got the valve keepers back on using an old broken 17mm socket. I used a grinder to open a window in the side of the socket and used it to press down the spring. Before doing that I modified an old spark plug with a pneumatic fitting so I can press air into the cylinder to keep the valve up tight. I used my largest breaker bar as a lever pressing the socket onto the spring.I hooked a c-clamp over the engine mount at the rear of the head and used that as a fulcrum for the breaker bar. Pull on bar, spring goes down, drop keepers onto greased up valve stem, and voila, it's back on.
If you remove the LEFT camshafts make sure you align the LEFT side cams with the pencil thin notch in the FRONT of the cams with the cylinder head. DO NOT look at the large notch at the rear of the cams as a reference point, or you won't be able to hand crank the engine over. AND, on the LEFT SIDE only - you line up those cam shaft marks when the belt driven cam wheel is in line with the little dimple on the wheel, NOT the regular mark used for timing belt removal. (This is assuming the Timing marks are all lined up correctly.) This part caught me out as I misread the service manual initially. Note, I did not start the engine with the cams misaligned - if you do so you will damage valves.
Once I was confident the timing and cams were all aligned, STring started up in about 2 seconds. No leaks, and oil and coolant levels were good after an extended idle. 2.5 hours later the horn, exhaust shields, windshield and plastic body panels are all back on.
Whew! I could definitely do that a lot faster now if I had to - hoping I don't have to anytime soon though! Total cost was about $115 for timing belt, 2 timeserts, head gasket, gasket stock for oil pan. Big thanks to Irish for the service manuals on loan!
Last edited: