NGWClub®, Inc.

Been working on the engine so i can get it back in the frame, was going through the heads. wanted to get some input on best methods for cleaning the carbon out of the intake and exhaust ports. I have glass beads in my cabinet, but i have been reading that may be a bad idea.

Any suggestions??

I use my soda blaster now but used to use the bead blaster. Never had any issues. Just use a little caution around the seats and valve guides. It would be hard to do damage but be careful anyway.

Biggest thing then is getting the head clean. You "must" get all the grit out. I use compressed air first. Then dip the head in hot water with some dish soap in it. Dip it in a slosh it around. Then immediately blow it dry. Pay special attention to all bolt holes and threaded holes. Do the wash twice.

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Thanks for help, i went ahead and bead blasted the head and valves. Sure glad i did found #3 cylinder exhaust valve was in pretty bad shape. Had some noticeable pitting, not sure but looked at the #3 dome on the head and it shows signs of pitting. Wonder if something was wrong with the #3 carb causing miss fires. All the other valves looks to be in decent shape, should i just replace the one or is it better to replace all of them at once?

Thanks for the help

Do you have a picture of the pitting? No real point to replace other valves if they look ok. Just be sure to lap them before you put it back together.

Here are the shots of the bad valve compared to the good valves in the other 3 cylinders.

Here are the shots of the Heads, notice the pitting in Cylinder #3 whereas #1 does not have this.

Included a shot of the left head pre-glass bead cleaning so give idea of how these are starting out.

Figure i will throw them in the ultrasonic cleaner to get the beads out and so a more intense cleaning before putting them back together.

Any tricks to getting the placement dowels out of the heads and case?

Thanks everyone

Now you have to show us a few photos of the #3 cylinder piston top and its cylinder wall, too.

Ok so the cylinders are not the prettiest i have ever seen but they are what i have to work with at this point. I noticed the line down the middle of the bore i did not notice that in person will have to investigate a little hoping that is just a photo bug...

My plan at this point is to split the case and take a look at the internals of the bike, I was having some significant resistance to turning over the engine with the kick starter. I have looked over the kick starter mechanism and nothing looks to be wrong there, so deeper i go... wish me luck.

Once i can figure out how to clear off a bench top i will take some pic of the spiting process...

Turn the engine over with either the crank bolt at the front or the alternator bolt on the back. You could be feeling resistance from the kick start mechanism itself. Having to tear in to one of these isn't the best. Although Wingovations is getting more bearings than we used to be able to find.

Take the heads to a machine shop. Have them cut the seats and surface the heads. Replace the worst valve/valves and then lap them to the new seats.
While there you also have them check the valve guides for wear. Have them check the valve stems too. Do not let them grind the valves.

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So once i was able to get the engine out of the frame with the heads removed i could not reproduce the resistance, i can rotate the engine by hand, easy enough without any signs of problems. After thinking about it could have been a hydrolock situation caused by the oil i had put in the cylinders to release the pistons since they were stuck initially. At this point i am just worried that there is a problem internally that i cannot see, this could be me just overthinking things too.

So what are the main detractors around splitting the engine? I understand that bearings are hard to find, but thankfully Wingovations has come to our rescue on that front even if it is a chunk of cash.

Thanks a bunch for everyone's input on this, it is very helpful.

I would add at least a couple hundred bucks to the cost of the bearings for gaskets, rings, oil pump, chain, etc. Expensive to do right

A wee bit of oil would not cause hydrolock. Even a modicum.

As far as splitting the case, cost of replacing wearables is the only limiting thing I can think of. Lord knows, I've been itching to do it myself.

So,
Any progress?

Unfortunately there has been no progress since the last post, the bike is still in the garage mocking me every time i venture out there. Hopefully i will be able to devote some time to it this winter, we will see.

Jason