'86 SE-i That Followed Me Home

[3KidsinAustin]

While the tank is still electrolysis-izing (patent-pending), I wanted to tackle the throttle cables as accessibility goes in the toilet once the tank is back in. (Same for the rear brake master cylinder, next on the list) The throttle was really slow to return to neutral position, so giving it a good clean and lube would be the first step before replacing cables. With cruise, the SE-i has three cables to play with. I removed them one by one and gave each first of healthy does of brake cleaner shot through my cable lube tool, then some dry lubricant spray. Upon disassembly, my problem child ended up being the cable that runs directly from the throttle to the intake manifold. Gave it some extra squirts and care, now all snaps open and shut like it should.

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I spent time this morning detailing the ECU connector (C56), The 13-pin that feeds some of its lines (C51) and the 21-pin right off the relay/fuse box (C1). Wanted to know each color, where it goes and what it connects to. Will help for swapping in a Speeduino or any other changes I decide to make. Not 100% complete as I couldn't find all the colors in the wiring diagrams or manuals and haven't begun tracking them all down yet on the bike.

[3KidsinAustin]

The aftermarket pump replacement arrived yesterday (Airtex E8312 knockoff), identical to the one I used on my 85 resurrection. I remembered it being way too small for the original mounting bracket and using lots of rubber sheets to make up the difference. This time I designed a sleeve to make up the difference since I had the original pump and its rubber sheath that fit inside the bracket. Took a few test runs to make sure the pump was snug in the sleeve, but eventually came up with a nice solution. As you can tell, pink is still loaded in our 3D printer. I'll be picking up some ABS black soon, maybe on a Prime Day sale.

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Other part I worked on today is the rear master cylinder. The piston is firm about its desire to remain inside the bore. After soaking for awhile in penetrant, I was able to tap it down a bit with a hammer and punch, so at least broke it free. However, my attempts to blow it out with compressed air as I've done previously on clutch and front brake MCs has been met with failure. I currently have it soaking with some penetrant sitting on the base of the piston (MC is sitting upside down) hoping it might soak through and give me a chance to blow it out. I haven't been able to 100% plug the second outlet, so going to pick up a bolt for that tomorrow and give it a shot. Otherwise, I'll resort to a grease gun and hope I can find the right zerk fitting.

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[3KidsinAustin]

Very exciting day today. I met with the Seller of the bike at a local coffee and cars and picked up a box of progressive front springs. He refused the extra money I wanted to give him, stating he would only take it once he finds the title. Not really about the money for either of us, he is just thrilled that it was getting worked on. Made his day when a few hours later I texted him the short clip that is copied below:

https://youtube.com/shorts/bBtLpyrHYOQ?feature=share[/youtube]

Found out a bit of history on it too. His friend, Daniel, had been riding the bike but heard that the computers on them could fail at anytime and leave you stranded. So, he parked it and never rode it again, then gave it to the Seller before he passed away. Will be thinking of that story while getting it all spruced up.

I really liked using the temporary tank when working on the 86 Aspencade as it allows the bike to run without getting the tank all in the way. Decided to do that again and just routed the return line to dump back into the container. First unhooked the fuel filter to check the fuel into a cup with a coffee filter. I decided to clean and reuse the original filter as the other options are too large and require modding the chrome cover and mounting bracket. Time will tell if this was a good idea, but the fuel coming out looked great.

With fuel flow good, I reattached the lines and pressurized the system. It held steady at right around 35 psi, so that was promising. Then ran the starter a bit and the old gal fired to life! The video is the second running as I forgot to hit "Record" on my phone while trying to record it. Only ran for a brief spell as the cooling system is disconnected. Regardless, signs of life and motivation to keep plugging ahead.

After the excitement, I looked down at the workbench and was greeted with a huge mess. The headers ejected everything inside straight back - about half a roll of paper towels later and everything is cleaned back up.

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Now that I know the bike runs, it will be time to put some abuse on the credit card with new tires, hydraulic lines, etc.

It was still early enough in the day, so I grabbed the rear master cylinder and trotted down to the local hardware store for a plug and zerk fitting to fill the cavity with grease. I've read about that method but never tried it myself. It took longer to clean out the grease after the piston was expelled than to actually pump it out. Super slick! If anyone needs, the best fit was the zerk fitting at 1/8-27 thread. The brass plug I used for the rear orifice was straight 1/8 pipe thread and worked but not as well.

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[theailer]

Following this thread
Well written and interesting for sure.

[3KidsinAustin]

Following this thread
Well written and interesting for sure.

Thanks! Looking back at progress helps to keep me motivated, plus it serves as a reference guide when I start a new project and ask myself "how did I do that again...?"

Played with the cooling system today, removed the water pump housing and confirmed no play in the pump. Removed the thermostat and fan switch to confirm proper functioning, but want to wait for the wife to leave so she doesn't catch me heating up coolant on her cooktop. I'll post pics of my high-tech setup later on.

With the engine running, I ordered tires this morning and spent time this afternoon was dismounting the completely shot front tire from its wheel. Tire is datecoded Week 15, 2008 and is rotting away. This is the third tire I've done on three bikes, so getting a bit of a process around it. I found it is easier if the tire is older and crusty hard as it won't flex as much and drops into the center of the wheel when I compress it with a tie down and my floor jack. Once down in the center, the battle is almost won. This one went the easiest of the three but still took me about an hour to get off. Good thing nobody is paying labor here! I'm also really happy that the rear tire had already been taken off. Putting back on is lots easier.

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Next couple days will be spent cleaning and refinishing the wheels so they will look pretty with the new shoes.

[3KidsinAustin]

Here is the setup I use to check thermostats and switches. From earlier projects, I have an Arduino Uno and a bunch of ds18b20 waterproof temperature senders. A program uploaded to the arduino measures the temperature and displays it every second. That way, I can track when the thermostat begins opening and gets fully extended. Not pictured is my voltmeter that gets clamped to the terminals of the fan switch and when set to continuity gives a loud squeal when the contacts close.

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The thermostat is right with spec. The fan switch is a bit out of range (98-102 per FSM), mine opens at 103.5. Off by about 1%, so I'll live with it for the time being.