OIL CONTAMINATED

[gltriker]

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[redglbx]

Chuck, couple of thoughts,,, how long has this bike sat before you resurrected it ? My 76 LTD had sat for a considerable time , not sure how long.. But when I got it running and I had set the valves to .004in I kept experiencing a labored idle and would then free up,, sorta… What I found was that the valve clearances would close up, this happened several time over the first 500 or so miles before it finally settled and stayed.

I suspect that the valve seats had corrosion or something like that, that was getting beat off and allowing the valve lavish to close up, by the time I had accumulated around 500mi things stabilized with no more valve clearance loss. The kinda unexpected effect of all this was that it really affected the carb sync setup because of the varying vacuum levels from the valve clearance..

So the good thing is that once things stabilized and I reset the carbsync my LTD just turned into a really smooth running cream puff.. So, you might want to recheck your valve clearances and put your carb sync gauges back on as the carb sync sometimes varies on a fresh resurrection.. Keep the faith,,you’ll get it..

[CHUCK HAHN]

redglbx
I got the bike in 2015. Did the valve clearances and the upgraded water plugs per the forums service bulletins, Rode it from Oklahoma City to Lukenbach Texas for a rally weekend which was around 900 mikes round trip. Rode it here and there after that and got into other bike projects so the wing has sat for 9-10 years. So basically only about 1500 miles or so until being put away.
I will recheck valve clearances when i check the advancer springs. I ordered a water temp sensor last night as the fan quit coming on. Meter would not beep when touching the posts which indicated the switch wasnt closing. I put 12 volts directly to the switch plug and fan operated. So that confirmed the bad switch,

[CHUCK HAHN]

Got an electronic ignition on the way and points will go bye bye

[CYBORG]

I recall you having a problem with a fan sw. some time ago. Did you find one? I find myself needing a couple. Not fond of going the China route. Any suggestions?

[CHUCK HAHN]

I found a used one on ebay. Supposed to be here Tuesday. Many single post versions which would require modding in a ground ( I assume a ground but maybe a hot ) wire from the fan lead directly to a frame ground. I know used is a 50/50 gamble but it is the dual terminal as is on the bike now. Rethinking it probably a hot wire to a switched wire in the harness because the switch would be providing ground..
Im gonna be working on the advancer check this weekend. Spent the week helping rehab a 98 F350 Econoline travel van.

[CYBORG]

Thanks for the info. I have temp gauges, and will check everything out . Might be the gauge.....but I don't think so

[CHUCK HAHN]

Seems to me the single terminal ones complete the circuit to ground when they close. So a hot wire from a switched source ( presumably ID the hot wire at the dual terminal factory plug ) and wire that to the fan directly. And the other fan wire to the single terminal switch. Be sure the fan spins the proper direction when switch gets hot.

[redglbx]

I’ll throw out that part of why I went with the new 1800cfm pancake fan was to get away from the oe Honda fan switch . I have replaced the oe switch a couple of times over the years and it’s always a hassle . The factory fan was running very slow which I suspect is part of the overheating issue that I was having for years..

So going with the small pancake fan allowed me to also go with their switch assy that uses a temp sensor that mounts to the radiator itself and I can adjust it for when it turns on and off, I have it setup to run longer, keeps things cool. Anyway that’s what I did…..

[CYBORG]

I run the electric pancake fan on both my bikes. And have heard about the switch in the radiator. Sonds like a solution to me problem. Any info on where I can get the assy. that goes in radiator? As it is just a switch I should be able to hook it to my system

[dontwantapickle]

Be sure the fan spins the proper direction when switch gets hot.

Been there... done that!

[CYBORG]

My fans are mounted on the front of the radiator and blow toward the rear of the bike. they don't fight the normal flow of air at speed that way. Easy to reverse direction

[redglbx]

Cyborg,,it’s been a while since I bought my fans & switch’s , mine, a single mounts in the stock location and also blows rearward,,,, if I remember correctly I bought all of it from Amazon.. most of the suppliers for these hi efficiency fans offer some kind of thermal switch setup .. I’ll try to take a look tomorrow as I bought 2 setups when I did this but only required the one 9in 1800cfm setup..way more efficient than the oe fan, mores a lot more air BUT it is a bit noisier.. not obnoxious but you can hear it which tells me it’s running.

[CYBORG]

Thanks. I have found several switches on E Bay. Prices all over the place. Just thought if you could narrow down my hunt, it would help. Seems like the smart way to go. I've had problems with the Honda ones before So I think it makes good sense to try something more modern, and reliable

[redglbx]

Yepper,, same here ! The last time my Honda switch failed different supplierswereallinthe $75 range,,and like you said the aftermarket ones were; all over in pricing but they gave me the ability of when to turn on and off and being at that time I was struggling with constant over heating I went that way..

That was at least 10-15yrs ago and with the new fn and thermo switch along with the custom built 4 row radiator and getting ignition timing set correctly my bike really doesn’t over heating anymore. The ignition timing was the real culprit causing the overheating… The T2 mark was mismarked with it being about 6deg advanced to the T1 mark ,, add in the normal timing advance caused when doing static timing and getting allthe right it took the thrashing machine & overheating out of my bike..

I will add that my 76 LTD is static timed and doesn’t over heat and is just a cream-puff running and a number of other bikes I’ve done over the years all seem to work right so it’s just my red 76 apparently..I’ll look for my back-up fan & switch today and hopefully find where I stored it for safety..