The project continues

[chewy999]

Hi there again and I have got the engine in half and steadily cleaning all the old gasket compound off the mating surfaces that a previous owner must have got in bulk! As I have said before, it has been interesting so far, but I have found bolts missing as well as o-rings, and rubber goo running along the bottom joint of the engine! I was told that the bike had had an oil leak, but it 'had been fixed'! Sure most of you will have a similar story.
As I have said before, when I got the bike, I had big dreams for it, but after seeing the price and availability of parts, I had to have a rethink. My plan now is to do things in stages, (years), and this year I want to get the engine back together, with maybe the front/rear covers powder coated. The actual engine halves aren't to bad, so may leave them. I also want to get the tank cleaned out and recoated as I got the carbs working before the engine strip. All that will cost quite a bit as I want to use genuine o rings and oil seals as well as Honda head gaskets,

I do have a couple of questions;

1. As the engine is stripped down, I was thinking of changing the primary drive chain, but they are hard to find, and about £150! Has anyone known them to fail, and is changing one a 'nice to do', or a 'need to do'?

2. When you join the engine block back together, the manual says apply gasket compound, but it is not clear where to. That may sound strange, but do you put it on EVERY mating surface, or just the outer ones?

Hear from you soon,

Jon

 

[chewy999]

Sorry, forgot to say my bike is a 1980 GL1100,
Cheers,
Jon

 

[dan filipi]

In all my years reading this and other forums I've read of just one primary chain breaking. They are pretty tough though they do stretch some but even that is minor. For the cost I would run the old one.

Sealing compound only needed on the outer mating surface.

 

[chewy999]

Thanks for that Dan, now I've got to wait for Mr Postman.
Jon

 

[mcgovern61]

They can stretch, but there is a tensioner in there. As much as I have heard Wingers try to attribute engine noise to primary chain issues, that is almost always because the carbs are out of sync. And most of the time, what is identified as "primary chain" noise almost always turns out to be other things.

 

[dan filipi]

They can stretch, but there is a tensioner in there. As much as I have heard Wingers try to attribute engine noise to primary chain issues, that is almost always because the carbs are out of sync. And most of the time, what is identified as "primary chain" noise almost always turns out to be other things.

Very true. Carbs not synced up real good or otherwise uneven burning in cylinders for whatever reason will make more noise in these engine.

 

[Sidewinder]

They can stretch, but there is a tensioner in there. As much as I have heard Wingers try to attribute engine noise to primary chain issues, that is almost always because the carbs are out of sync. And most of the time, what is identified as "primary chain" noise almost always turns out to be other things.

I'll second that.

 

[joedrum]

only once have i seen a new primary chain and a old one together ..they were 1100 chain ...and th chain was stretched some but not bad ...the 1100 primary chain is a lot wider than the 1000 chain was ....75-77 were the worst yrs of chain slap noise the motors did not have tensioners ...78-79 did and 1100 got wider ...1200 wider yet ...i doutb very seriously you need a new chain

 

[chewy999]

As usual, thanks to you all for your time taken to help,
Jon

 

[dan filipi]

In all my years reading this and other forums I've read of just one primary chain breaking. They are pretty tough though they do stretch some but even that is minor. For the cost I would run the old one.

Sealing compound only needed on the outer mating surface.

Just to clarify about the sealing compound,

I use the red high temp gasket adhesive/maker. 4 cases assembled so far and no leaks.
This stuff bonds well and is strong and stays together well. It is harder to cut and pull apart which is a good thing here because you don't want the extra that squeezes out to break away then run around in the engine, though it would likely settle into the sump eventually anyway.

Apply a thin film on the entire outer sealing surface to one side only.
The idea here is to keep oil from leaking out.
From what I remember there are a couple "landings" that extend some into the engine space, coat those also.
There is no need to coat any inside mating surfaces, only those needed where oil might leak through and out.
Make sure both surfaces are completely clean for a good bond and only a THIN film is needed because the case halves are a tight fit.

 

[chewy999]

Thanks Dan.