This article is a continuation in series of posts that start here. The post preceeding this on is here.
Having competed the tasks in the previous posts we’re ready to get the what started all of this. Removal of the cylinder heads. Each head is secured by 9/16 bolts, 5 bolts per head, the overhead oil return line on the rear head, and a cross-over line line between the front and rear heads. Loosen both sides of the cross-over line between the heads. and both ends of the read oil return line.
It is usually not practical to get the head bolts with a ratchet. You need a GOOD, TIGHT FITTING box end wrench. For the rear head you will need either a 9/16 “brake” wrench (shaped like a U) or one bent enough to clear the starter housing area of the primary cover. This tool is for the back left head bolt on the rear jug. It’s a bitch both on and off.
For the other bolts, If you have a six point box end, use it whenever possible. It can’t hurt to loosen the bolts in a star pattern. We’ll start on the front head. Here all five bolts are pretty easy to get to and remove. Once they are all out you can carefully lift the head from the cylinder and remove it from the bike. Set the head aside for now.
The right rear head bolt cannot be removed from the cylinder without loosening the cylinder base bolts and lifting the cylinder enough to allow the bolt to drop out. Remember that when re-assembling! Take a deep breath and commence to remove the rear head. In my case this involved a rounded bolt head. I didn’t know how I was going to get the sucker out but thanks to Craftsman Bolt Extrator in 15mm and a universal joint I managed to twist things just right and got it loose! These tools are amazing! Must have.
When I got to the notorious back left head bolt I was pretty surprised to find it quite loose. It came out pretty easy and revealed that it was likely the cause of the blown gasket.
Having already removed the tank, coil and carburator it is time to remove the pushrods and covers. Before you start you might take a minute a remove your spark plugs (or one from each head in my case.) It will make it a lot easier to roll the motor and get the tappets bottomed out.
Using your fingers you should be able to press down slightly on the retaining gusset located near the top of each push rod cover tube. While slightly compressing the retaining gusset use either a pair of pliers or a regular screw driver to grip the raised nurl on the locking clip (about an inch above the retining gusset) and pull out to free the bottom of the clip. Repeat this process for each of the four push rod cover tubes.
Lift the bottom of the front exhaust push rod cover tube de-telescoping it to as short as possible. I then use a piece of coat hanger with a small hook on one end and a hanger on the other to hook the bottom of the push rod cover tube and hang the other end on the top of the rocker cover. This gets the damned tube out of your way and frees your hands for other uses.
Once you have the cover tube out of the way either use your starter or put the bike in 2nd gear and roll the motor until you see the push rod bottom-out in the lifter block. In this position you should be able to see the adjusting, locking and fixed bolt faces. Using the fixed (bottom) and locking nuts (tightly secured to the fixed piece) and two 7/16 inch wrenches break to locking nut loose and spin it all the way up the adjusting screw. Once topped out, thread the adjusting screw into the fixed nut until loose enough to pull the push rod from its tappet seat. I keep each push rod with the same cover tube and mark them so I can put each back where it came from. Maybe overkill bit can’t hurt. Notice that the front intake push rod is longer than the others? Do and remember it.
Repeat this process for each of the remaining push rods.
Sorry to say that about this time my hands were getting greasy enough that momma took the camera away. Damn woman! So, anyway, no pics from here.
Removal of the carburator and intake manifold is straight forward and pretty easy. Remove or free the fuel line so it doesn’t interfere with removal of the carburator from the engine. Remove the two bolts that attach the carburator to the manifold. This is done from the left side of the bike. I fabricated a T-handle allen wrench many years ago that makes reaching the two allen bolts a breeze to remove. Once removed there is a fiber block located between the carbuartor body and the intake. Don’t lose it. On my bike the breather backing plate is attached to the front head for stilibility with a custom bracket. I have also used a piece of aluminum that bolts from the intake to the top engine case bolt. Whatever method yours is attached with – disconnect it so that carburator is now free from the engine. Remove the small screw that brackets the throttle cables to the carburator body. This frees the cables so they can be easily rotated and removed from the carburator. Set the assembly aside in a safe place oriented as if it were still mounted to the bike. This will keep the float from being bounced around and perhaps damaged.
Once the carburator is removed the intake manifold is pretty easy as well. The stock clamps use a phillips screw to tighten and loosen the clamp. Loosen both to the point the you can easily pull the mainfold free from the heads.
This is a continuation of this post relating to removal of the gas tank.
Next in my progression is to loosen the coil from its mount in preparation for removal of the top motor mount (both shown in images 1 and 2 below.) My bike uses dual coils and plugs. I am not going to completely remove them so I can not worry about getting them wired back together right. Keeping track of which plug wire connects to which coil port will be enough for me. I documented its loosening and wire orientation in images 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 below. Finally I cut the tie wrap holding the coil pack taught and in the way.
Now remove the top motor stabelizer bolt as seen top center in image 1. Once it is loose, remove the 5/8 nuts securing the mount to each head. Note the placement of washers, one on the bottom and one on the top of the mount on each head. The mount is now loose and can be removed and set aside.
Over the winter and during my my house remodelling project I managed to pick up a few pieces and parts for the old girl. I acquired a 60602-79C inner primary new in the box (hope it interchanges as it should), a stock muffler bracket, a new set of CycleTech 37 inch slash cut drag pipes, and a HD Race Brace for the 91 circa softtail. It doesn’t fit but I figure that I’m better off starting with something that has the basic geometry from which I can alter the fit to suit the need. I also have ordered but have not yet received the stock rubber frame mount for said stock muffler bracket. All good stuff that comes with high hopes of reducing/eliminating the mystery vibration and the torquing of the inner primary and the continuous loose pipes. Could I be asking for too much?
As I noted in my last post, I noticed evidence of a blown head gasket on the rear cylinder (in the form of a hole burned through my jeans while sitting at a drive through window and touching my leg to the rear pipe – a little on the HOT side in my humble opinion.) Yesterday the temperature got up to 62 degrees here. I decided it was time to drag her out of the garage and tear off the top end. This would give me the change to replace the blown head gasket and to see what shape my cylinder walls are in. I might even pull the jugs just to shake the rods and to see if they are stock or stroked. So, I spread out a tarp and commenced.
For those who have never done this I will document the steps that I took. I like to document things as they were when I started so I take a lot of pictures during the tear down process. I have a hard time remembering where I put the wrench I was using 5 mnutes ago let alone which plug wire went where (I have dual coil, single fire, dual plug ignition.) If you undertake such a project I would recommend that you do the same. Hell, you might even jot down some notes….
First thing is to remove that precious gas tank so that it doesn’t get dinged during the top end removal process. You might not need to remove the center console to get the tank off. If you choose to attempt such removal then be sure to trace your hot and ground wires to their termination point and remove them before attemptinig to remove the tank from the frame. Since my guage isn’t working and I wanted to see what was under it, I decided to remove mine seperately from the tank.
Simple removal of the three allen head screws and the gas cap (shown in images 2 and 3 below) is all that is required to get the console loose from the tank. The fuel guage is wired to the tank sensor, a hot source and grounded to the frame via the front tank bolt so when you pull the console loose be careful not to pull against these wires.
Carefully remove the console from the tank. The rubber pads may come with or stay on the tank. Be aware of their existence and gather them up in a safe place. Free the sensor wire connected to the tank (image 4) first. Then the ground from the frame (image 5, sorry for the quality) and finally the hot wire. I removed the hot feed from the guage itself Oimage 6 below) so I didn’t have to cut any wires or into any wire harness components. The console is now free to be placed in a safe place.
I then removed the 2 bolts hidden under the seat that secure the tank to the frame (image 7.) Then the crossover line seen in image 8.) and finally remove the long through-frame bolt holding the tank in place. Now you can carefully rock the tank from front to back easing it from its perch atop the frame backbone.
Don’t forget to throw some wax under the tank before remounting it. Alot easier now than later. Now we go on to removing the coil from its mount in order to remove the top motor mount.
This thread is continued here.
Wow. Got caught up in a remodel job on my house and can’t believe how long my stuff sat…. House looks great though! Anyway, we are back together (without a race brace or, as I have learned they are also called: torque arm.) Rebuild went pretty smooth I guess. The new clutch hub wouldn’t fit the stock shaft key so we had to do a bit of grinding to fit but all is good.
Had her out on the road a bit (got pretty damned cold here.) Vibration is better but not gone. Found evidence of a blown rear head gasket. Tranny seal is leaking the full synthetic lube I put in it just sitting in the garage. Should have just took things down all the way to start with I suppose.
But, the good news is that with the help of one of our new blog members named partsfinder I now have a new 60602-79C inner primary and a stock exhaust bracket. This dude has treated me so good it’s scarey! You can reach him via email if you’re looking for something special. We welcome partsfinder to the blog and hope we can steer some business your way.
Anyway, next week I’m gonna yank the heads and have a look at the cylinders and valves. Likely a top end rebuild is in order. We’ll see where we end up. Jugs off – check the rods…. Engine out – check rear fork rubber etc…. Not feeling very well today so this is gonna be a short post.
Ride safe!
Well. My friend Kevin whom is an extraordinary welder of all things metal now has my inner primary and the images of the race brace in his possession. I hope that I adequately impressed upon him the fact that this 60202-79 inner primary casting is irreplacable. I trust him to always exceed expectations in all things that he does but one can’t help but be nervous under the circumstances.
On the 8th I ordered a new mainshaft sprocket extension from bikebandit.com. They were the only place I could find that had one specifically listed for my bike. E&M lists one for 1970-1991 softtail. Seems to me that this is a pretty bad description since there were no softtails in 1970…. No picture available so I decided not to try my luck. Now here I sit having placed the order on the 8th and there has been no progress on processing the order. Bikebandit says 8 “working days” for them to get the part in (but it’s on its way they assure me.) Here I sit with no ride.
It’s been 10 days now since I got the inner primary off. During this interval I have realized that the “complete engine” gasket set I ordered for this project contains a standard 4 speed primary gasket and no inner primary gasket at all – also couldn’t find an alternator o-ring in the package…. I located a silicone beaded primary gasket set at JP Cycles. Ordered it online and had it in 3 days.
I suppose that worse things could happen. It could snow before I get my sled put back together. Until I get everything back from friends/vendors I will fill my time with honey-do items and Texas Holdem. Some how neither of these things offers the same soothing of the soul that comes from a nice long ride. I’m waiting and bumming.
Removal of the inner primary and inspection
After getting the compensating sprocket, clutch and chain out of the way the removal of the inner primary is pretty straight forward. There are 10 bolts and two oil lines holding the inner primary to the engine and transmission. Removal of the starter motor is required since it passes through a gusset on the transmission flange before bolting into the inner primary casting. Remove the two outer bolts and then the two inner bolts at the motor end. The two bolts at the clutch end should be safety wired to special stop that are recessed into the casting. This wire has to be removed then the bolts can be removed.
The remaing bolts have to be removed from the other side of the bike. Remove the starter then lay down and look underneath the bike. You’ see two bolts near the clutch basket area about 6 inches apart. Remove them. Now pull enough oil line that you can get access to the clamps and loosen then remove the oil lines. Off it comes.
By the way, transmission sprocket does not appear to be loose…
What I found
As already mentioned in a previous post. The top inner primary casting bolt ear was cracked and broken when I got the bike. Here are the additional findings in term of condition:
- The sprocket shaft extension is stuck on the motor mainshaft. Already broke an el-cheapo gear puller trying to remove it. Not surprising as hard as the compensating bolt was to remove. Also there is a visible wear area on each spline. Needs to be replaced. Must come off. I’ve been spraying penetrating oil on it pretty steady. I’ll give it some time to act before trying another gear puller. UPDATE: got the damned thing off. Had to use HD tool BFH (bigger *^&^%@ hammer) and a pry bar but it came! Main shaft splines look fine on removal. Replace it.
- The compensating sprocket and cam show intense wear as can be seen in the images below. (I wonder if that could cause a vibration when cruising – bet it could.) The transmission sprocket is somewhat worn and will be replaced. Stock 22 tooth sprocket. I think I’ll add a tooth or two for lower rpm at cruising speeds. Replace it (if you can get it off that is – special tool required.)
- Oh yeah. The sealed transmission shaft bearing that should be a tight press fit into the inner primary casting can be pulled out with one finger (another source of potential vibration.) Also, somebody put some sort of seal on the shaft. According to the diagrams I have there should not be a seal on the transmission shaft bearing since it fills the entire casting and is sealed anyway. Seems to me that this would be a good way to misalign the inner primary and could be how the aforementioned inner primary top ear got broken. Trying to torque it down when misaligned.
- On removal of the alternator rotor three magnets stayed behind on the stator. Glad I decided to have a look while it was apart. Anybody ever reattach these babies with success? I’d think it should be possible with some of the adhesives that are around these days. I am presuming that they have been this way for a while and centrifugal force plus magnetic force was holding them in place. Prying against the center of the heavy cover shouldn’t have dislocated them I don’t think (15/32 inch thick steel.) Whatever, new rotor – not a cheap part either.
Click on any of the images in the gallery below for a larger slideshow style presentation.
I managed to get to the tool store tonight and picked up a “T” bar styled 3/4 inch breaker bar and inch and a half socket. Pulled my baby out of the garage and pushed her front wheel up against the garage wall. Got out a torch and heated the compensating sprocket nut for several minutes (until I started to smell something “h0t”.) Slid my 3 foot cheater pipe over the breaker bar and heaved on it. Mother of all nuts – the damned thing broke loose! There is a God!
After completely removing the compensator hardware there I was with a piece of steel jammed between the front and clutch basket sprockets. Solid as hell. I seem to remember that the original Harley tool was two bars that fit above and below the center line of the shafts and had a couple of long bolts between them to lock them into place. Guess I’ll have to fabricate one for future use. For now, there’s that tool wedged in the primary chain.
I was contemplating a torch to cut the damned thing out but decided to see if I could pry the thing loose wth a crowbar. Placed the crowbar tip into the clutch basket area and gently pried on the very end of the gear jam tool. Pop. Got one tooth. Pop again. Got another. One more tooth and the tool was out also.
Off comes the clutch basket, front sprocket and primary chain (without any damage I might add.) Only thing left is the clutch hub. Memory told me that the hub usually isn’t on too tight since it fits on a tapered shaft. Wrong again. This baby was on there solid. It is a stock three adjuster clutch hub and uses Harley Davidson special tool number blah blah blah to remove it from the shaft. Since I am replacing the hub and fiber plates I wasn’t too worried about what ever it took to get it off. After some thought I decided I could use a standard gear puller using a couple of the fiber plates for leverage.
I slid two plates over the hub studs and installed the three clutch adjusting nuts to hold them to the hub. Slid a deep well inch and an eight socket over the loosely installed hub nut so the gear puller wasn’t grinding against anything that could be damaged and cranked down on the gear puller. After applying considerable pressure the hub loudly “popped” off the shaft.
Finally the primary is clear to come off. However, its late and I decide to wait till the weekend to go any further. I want to examine the inner primary very carefully for cracks etc. The inner primary for the 82-83 FXR is not an easy item to find so if this one needs any repairs I want to get them done and done right. So, Labor Day weekend looks like the target for completing the front drive sprocket inspection project. I kind of hope that it is loose. If so, I think I’ll just replace/tighten it and put things back together. If not then likely it is time to dig deeper into the engine in search of the vibration source.
Good night!
Haven’t made it to the tool store to get a new breaker bar yet. Kind of want to have some help available when I try to break the damn compensator lose. So, I spent some time pondering what I might need once I get the inner primary off.
- Let’s see. Going to heat the compensator nut. Could be getting pretty hot too (I understand red locktite doesn’t melt until 271 degrees F.) Main shaft seal is made of rubber. Rubber melts. Wow, Zen in action. Better get a replacement mainshaft seal just in case…. Order one.
- Clutch hub in my bike had a lot of groves in the fingers and is original three adjustor hub. Bike has been tugging a little bit in gear at stop lights. Groves could cause such a thing. Better replace it while the thing’s apart…. Order one.
- Fiber plates in the bike are THIN! Better replace them too (Damn, my clutch wasn’t even slipping – could it have been from the grime between those plates?) One set of Barnett Kevlar plates….
- Always a good idea to check the transmission mainshaft seal…. Order one.
- As beat up as the compensator bolt is I feel better with a new one…. Order one.
The adjusting nut on the throw out assembly was kinda rusty? Gotta wonder how that happened. Order one…. - Plus, gonna needs some gaskets (sooner or later.) I’ll just get a complete engine set. I’ll get the one with oil seals and then I don’t have to order a replacement. Order one. Cancel item 1.
That’s a start. Now to get another breaker bar.