Alright, back to the business at hand. After cleaning the block more than I would have guessed sufficient (and drying it thoroughly), white paper towel on the bores still picked up brown, so I repeated the whole procedure a couple days later. First bit of assembly is the plugs. Big "freeze" plugs (which have nothing to do with protecting the motor from freezing, they're there for reasons to do with the casting process) in the sides, small oil galley plugs in the front and rear. I used a semi-permanent hardening sealer as opposed to RTV silicone. Sockets and a hammer work well to drive seals in.
Next up is the cam. The machinist installed the new cam bearings, they take a special driver set up & you have to make sure the oiling holes are lined up. I checked just in case, he lined 'em up fine. For flat tappet cams (the standard for most motors pre-1990) a special lube must be used to insure the cam & lifters break in correctly. This motor uses roller lifters, so oil or assembly lube is fine. Knowing my history of half-finished projects, I'm going to use assembly lube on a lot of surfaces that I'd otherwise use oil, it sticks more thoroghly. Too much assembly lube mixed with the oil is probably not good for ring seating though, so I'll be sure to drain & refill the oil after it warms up the first time. The crank can be put in first, but if you need to reach under to guide the cam into place, the crank would be in your way, not a big deal either way, do what you prefer first. But do fnd a long bolt to thread into the end of the cam to use as a handle, it makes guiding it in a lot easier. Time to replace the garage carpet, don't you think? -It's just dirt underneath.
On to the crank.
With the bearings in place, (one bearing is different, it's the thrust bearing, goes on #3) first assembly is dry with a piece of plastiguage on each main journal to check the clearance. When the main caps are torqued to spec they'll smash the plastiguage. The width it ends up corresponds to the amount of space between the bearing and the crank journal. This space is important because it's taken up by oil under pressure. too little space = not enough oil & the crank & bearing will touch each other like siblings in the back seat of a car on a long trip, causing all sorts of annoyances. Too much clearance = a drop in oil pressure, same result as above along with inferior oiling to the rest of the motor as well. This one journal was just on the edge of spec, on the loose side, but all the others were right in the middle of what the factory specifies. Once the crank and main caps are in place snug but not tightened, pry back & forth on the crank to seat the thrust bearing halves. After mains are torqued down check the crank for end-play. Dail indicator & pry back & forth, mine ended up smack dab in the middle of spec.
I could have taken more pictures of installing the pistons, but I didn't. The machinist had the rods/pins/pistons assembled already, pins are a press fit. I did not know there were such things as pre-gapped rings, I assumed I would go through filing the gaps to fit each bore. For balancing reasons the machinist needed the pistons & rings, so I just told him to get whatever he would use on a budget low compression motor, no boost no nitrous. I guess knowing this was my first assembly, he got me pre-gapped rings. To order different rings after the balancing, we would have needed to get ones that wieghed the same, plus I opened them & put a couple into bores before I realized there was no end gap filing to be done, so I'm using what I have. I'm surprised that the gaps are not much larger than I would have set anyhow (I checked them each out just in case) Rings are a bitch to put on the pistons without an expander, but do-able. My thumbs still hurt. Don't "spiral" them on, use your thumbs inside the gap to pry them open enough to go over the piston all at once. The ring compressor took a little figuring out on the exact method to employ, but after two cyinders the rest went in easily on the first try.
I'm further along than this, but it seems like a good place to break. It's almost superbowl time. Superbowl time means lots of folks indoors. Lots of folks indoors means a fast lap around the vegas freeways. I'm pulling out the Rex, and locking up the others. It's going to be the only bike I can ride until I get an eye operation, because it's the only one that allows me to sit more or less upright. I've not discussed the eye problem here before, I'll fill you in after the motor build or something. It's nothing super serious, just very annoying. I've had two operations in the past with success. I'm not actually certain that my sight will be alright sitting up on the Rex either, but it will be better than on the others that are operational. H1 would be fine too, but it's really just an around boulder bike, pretty sketchy handling & brakes. Couple that with sketchy sight... Probably shouldn't be on a bike at all, but good luck getting me to exercise prudence. I've seen the problem building for a year or so, you'd think I'd have gotten myself some insurance, wouldn't you? I've got that built in asinine male "ignore it" feature.
Next up is the cam. The machinist installed the new cam bearings, they take a special driver set up & you have to make sure the oiling holes are lined up. I checked just in case, he lined 'em up fine. For flat tappet cams (the standard for most motors pre-1990) a special lube must be used to insure the cam & lifters break in correctly. This motor uses roller lifters, so oil or assembly lube is fine. Knowing my history of half-finished projects, I'm going to use assembly lube on a lot of surfaces that I'd otherwise use oil, it sticks more thoroghly. Too much assembly lube mixed with the oil is probably not good for ring seating though, so I'll be sure to drain & refill the oil after it warms up the first time. The crank can be put in first, but if you need to reach under to guide the cam into place, the crank would be in your way, not a big deal either way, do what you prefer first. But do fnd a long bolt to thread into the end of the cam to use as a handle, it makes guiding it in a lot easier. Time to replace the garage carpet, don't you think? -It's just dirt underneath.
On to the crank.
With the bearings in place, (one bearing is different, it's the thrust bearing, goes on #3) first assembly is dry with a piece of plastiguage on each main journal to check the clearance. When the main caps are torqued to spec they'll smash the plastiguage. The width it ends up corresponds to the amount of space between the bearing and the crank journal. This space is important because it's taken up by oil under pressure. too little space = not enough oil & the crank & bearing will touch each other like siblings in the back seat of a car on a long trip, causing all sorts of annoyances. Too much clearance = a drop in oil pressure, same result as above along with inferior oiling to the rest of the motor as well. This one journal was just on the edge of spec, on the loose side, but all the others were right in the middle of what the factory specifies. Once the crank and main caps are in place snug but not tightened, pry back & forth on the crank to seat the thrust bearing halves. After mains are torqued down check the crank for end-play. Dail indicator & pry back & forth, mine ended up smack dab in the middle of spec.
I could have taken more pictures of installing the pistons, but I didn't. The machinist had the rods/pins/pistons assembled already, pins are a press fit. I did not know there were such things as pre-gapped rings, I assumed I would go through filing the gaps to fit each bore. For balancing reasons the machinist needed the pistons & rings, so I just told him to get whatever he would use on a budget low compression motor, no boost no nitrous. I guess knowing this was my first assembly, he got me pre-gapped rings. To order different rings after the balancing, we would have needed to get ones that wieghed the same, plus I opened them & put a couple into bores before I realized there was no end gap filing to be done, so I'm using what I have. I'm surprised that the gaps are not much larger than I would have set anyhow (I checked them each out just in case) Rings are a bitch to put on the pistons without an expander, but do-able. My thumbs still hurt. Don't "spiral" them on, use your thumbs inside the gap to pry them open enough to go over the piston all at once. The ring compressor took a little figuring out on the exact method to employ, but after two cyinders the rest went in easily on the first try.
I'm further along than this, but it seems like a good place to break. It's almost superbowl time. Superbowl time means lots of folks indoors. Lots of folks indoors means a fast lap around the vegas freeways. I'm pulling out the Rex, and locking up the others. It's going to be the only bike I can ride until I get an eye operation, because it's the only one that allows me to sit more or less upright. I've not discussed the eye problem here before, I'll fill you in after the motor build or something. It's nothing super serious, just very annoying. I've had two operations in the past with success. I'm not actually certain that my sight will be alright sitting up on the Rex either, but it will be better than on the others that are operational. H1 would be fine too, but it's really just an around boulder bike, pretty sketchy handling & brakes. Couple that with sketchy sight... Probably shouldn't be on a bike at all, but good luck getting me to exercise prudence. I've seen the problem building for a year or so, you'd think I'd have gotten myself some insurance, wouldn't you? I've got that built in asinine male "ignore it" feature.
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
Yes, the oil cooler is from a ZX6-R, and apparently attaches to the head on that bike. On my KZ750 there's an oil port on the right side below the ignition cover, and another port at the back of the oil pan. The one on the side uses a banjo bolt, but the one on the back takes a special fitting:
It has to plug one passage and open another one.
I'd really rather use an oil pan from a GPz750, which came stock with an oil cooler. I could lengthen these lines and it'd bolt right up.