Help diagnose by listening to my sick 1982 Goldwing GL1100

[dan filipi]

Next up check valve timing.

So should I use "Roady's Most Excellent Valve adjustment Tutorial" at gallery/album.php?album_id=208

Shouldn't I do the timing belt thing first? If the timing is off, won't that affect valve timing?

enrique

Roady's valve adjustment tutorial is for adjusting the valve clearances, that's different than checking the valve timing.
Valve timing would be checked by making sure the cam belts are in time and did not skip a notch on the belt. That you will be checking when you remove the front belt covers.
Don't worry about the valve clearance adjustments right now. Your good compression readings tells us the valve adjustments are fine for now.

It's a VERY good idea to check that you have spark at all 4 plugs as mentioned by jdegase.

The best way to do this is remove all 4 spark plugs then put the plug wires on them.
Prop the plugs up so the plug end is against the cylinder head, the plug end must be grounded for it to spark.
Now crank it over with the kill switch to ON or RUN and look at each plug. You should see a spark.
The spark is not real big on these bikes so watch carefully.

Since I am a total newbie to working on the GL1100, I am hoping you guys can guide me with 1,2,3 steps on diagnosing my problems. If you know of any good how-to's and which ones to take in order, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thank you all for the support and tips I've received so far!

Help is why we're here and why I created this forum.

 

[joedrum]

to those who have lost a timing belt......is the title to the post that has the belt change proccess that i do ....theres no pics ....i never found it but slabghost did ..idont even know how to do anything but tell you the title and that the write up is on page two ...i hope this helps you creator dream.... :mrgreen:

 

[CreatorsDream]

UPDATE: Okay so here I am looking for a way to get access to the timing belt. I took off the 4 bolts that hold the radiator but it won't budge. So I start digging deeper and the Honda manual tells me to remove my seat and then the fake gas tank. What a pain in the butt! I did get the seat off and then started looking how to get the tank off. Geez, there seems to be at least 4 bolts inside the fake tank in hard to reach places. So I thought, God is there any other easier way to get at the timing belt cover? Seems not! I'm still not there!

Seems that I'm going to have to take the bike apart just to get at this timing belt. I think with all this work I am going to not only put on new timing belts, but also change out the belt tensioners because I do not want to go through this process again for a long while. Honda engineers did not make it easy to do repairs on this bike. At least not when it comes to changing timing belts... :head bang:

 

[joedrum]

go back to my last post and look for the thread that titled there ....the lower fairing sides has to come off but not the tank or seat tho ....dont get the grill bolts and the radiator bolts confused yo might not have them out yet

 

[AApple]

There is a link to an Excellent timing belt swap in Roadie's New 2 U Bike? Read Me. thread.
The link goes to the Nekkid Goldwings site, so you may need to join there, if you are not already a member. Once logged in, the article will come up. :mrgreen:


Timing Belts, Removal/Installation

 

[MSGT-R]

Also, consider the short little lower hose to be holding a death-grip on it.

 

[CreatorsDream]

go back to my last post and look for the thread that titled there ....the lower fairing sides has to come off but not the tank or seat tho ....dont get the grill bolts and the radiator bolts confused yo might not have them out yet

Joe, I searched for "belt change" and this is the closest I came to finding your timing belt procedure:
https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewt ... e&start=15

It really doesn't explain how to get the radiator or fake tank off, but the rest sounds good and I will print it out for reference. I did get both radiator bolts, grill bolts, and the lower fairing off.

On another note while I was reading that thread. Someone talks about putting in 4 oz of sea foam in the gas. What is sea foam? I'm wondering if I should add something to the gas to help clean the carburetors?

 

[MSGT-R]

You shouldn't have to take more than the lower fairing off to remove the radiator.
Don't remove the lower hose from the water neck, unbolt the water neck and take it together as a unit. Reach up into the cavity behind the radiator to release the top clamp and it should pull out once all the bolts have been removed.

or..
Just remove the lower hose and tilt the radiator out - there is enough room to get the belt covers out from behind it.

 

[joedrum]

im know im saying that the false tank and seat realy dont have to come off ....i cant see see any reason why i just got done not long ago changings belts on an 82 and didnt have to do it .....i could see taking the radiator out maybe for working ease but you dont even have to do that either ....the radiator bolts at the bottom are the ones that the lowere fairing clips are mounted to ...the upper ones are above the grill bolts and are rubber mounted too ...when there out you can pry the radiator forward and slip something in there to hold it out some so you can get the timing cover and inner bolts out ...thats it or you can take the radiator completly out ...but i wouldnt ......personaly for yrs ive never put the inner bolts back in ...the outside bolts hold this just fine and it makes checking belts and timing a simple thing ....when setup like this you can change the belts without evenloosening the radiator ....all you have to do is take the lower fairing peices off ....i dont know why they would say the tank has to come off.... :mrgreen:

yes what msdt-r said is right and the way to do the radiator hoses if you need the clearence :good: :mrgreen:

 

[CreatorsDream]

As to the timing... all three markings line up. Here's some photos of the challenge to get at the timing belts...

As minimum, pull radiator out for access to timming cover...

Still not a lot of room...

So where is the timing mark cap?

And the T1 mark lines up...

Right side timing mark...

Left side timing mark...

So I'm going to put on new timing belts and tensioners since all of this stuff is apart, but where do I go next? Seems this issue has to do with fuel AND gears/clutch. Listening to the random clanks at the beginning of the audio I started this topic with is strange and I'm wondering why I'm getting the random clanking. The fuel part may have been bad gas and/or gas leaking into the carbs/cylinders. How do I check this?

enrique... still dumb founded :heat:

 

[joedrum]

it looks like to me that the left cam pully is one tooth off .....it will still have compression there and run but it will be off enough to cause the primary chain to slap this is good news yor a lucky guy ...i could be wrong because of pic angle i suppose but if you look at the two cam pullies it dosnt match the webing in the back plate ...th wreckd 83 that i got didnt run right and i eventaly checked the timing and it was one tooth off ...this by itself didnt fix it and the carbs ad to fixed ,,,ididnt fix the carbs cause i didnt have the funds so i replaced them with a good set i had .....im sure you have carb issues but i go one step at a time ....i know your having clearence problems ....but if i were you id move the left cam pully one tooth leave the covers off hook the radiator back up and start it and see if the chain slap changes or stops .....

if you agree that the timing is off on the left cam pully you can turn the till that cam is in a nuetral possition meaning no pressure on the valves ....then mark the belt and the pully ...then move the belt one tooth ....its easy to do inthis possition .....then turn it by hand with the crank bolt and se if it dosnt line up better ....you just dont wat the belt to slip on the crank while your doing this .....ihope i worded this in a way you understand it ....im prety sure it onr tooth off ....that proably happen at the restraunt when the bike acted up

if it runs right after doing this you can run ATF mixed in your gas to clean the carbs and shut the gas off all the time and be good maybe with no more work ...thats 8oz of ATF per tank :mrgreen:

 

[89-300ce]

On my 83 when cold and starting on choke one cylinder occasionally misfires. When it does it makes a noise in the gearcase which I assume is the primary chain slapping. It sounds a bit like the noise in your video.

It looks like maybe just one of your floats is stuck. Probably #2 as you said it looked wet. Sounds like you had a hydraulic lock to start. Once you install your belts turn the motor by hand a few times. Listen carefully for any noise. Set your valves and turn your motor by hand a few times. Double check everything.

Try running your motor briefly with the #2 sparkplug disconnected to see if it's that cylinder. Once you isolate the cylinder look for spark at the plug, then take a look at that carb. Sometimes just tapping the bowl with the handle of a screwdriver will free the floats.

I used to not shut off my petcock, ... until I read this thread.

If it was a hydraulic lock then you dodged a bullet. I hydraulic locked a 4x4 trying to restart it at extreme angle once. Luckily the starter was the weak link in the chain and busted it's casing.

Jorg

 

[dan filipi]

Could also try running it with the fuel turned off to empty the carbs.
Once it starts to run like it's running out of gas (will take over 5 minutes) turn the fuel back on.
Sometimes this will free a stuck float valve.

 

[CreatorsDream]

On my 83 when cold and starting on choke one cylinder occasionally misfires. When it does it makes a noise in the gearcase which I assume is the primary chain slapping...

I used to not shut off my petcock, ... until I read this thread.

Jorg, I'm interested in hearing more about the "chain slapping" in the gearcase. Can someone explain exactly what the "slapping" is? The first minute of my audio file distinctly shows a random clank/slap. Note that it is random and does not have a cadence to it.

On the petcock note. I noticed when I turned off the gas with the petcock that there was a tiny amount of gas leaking right around the slot which slides when opening/closing the petcock. Note that it was not a lot, maybe a drop or two which I wiped off with my fingers. Is this an indicator that the petcock should be replaced? As I said before, I have not been turning off the petcock and the only time I have changed it has been when I have to go into reserve mode. Maybe it just needs to be worked back and forth, or could it be that it is leaking even after it is turned off. I'm a bit paranoid at this point and do not wish this occurrence to ever happen again.

 

[jdegase]

The main chain is deep inside the motor and is quite large wide chain

and they do make some noise in most goldwings.
notice to the right of the chain is a automatic tensioner, and to the left is a wear-bar or slide...


I think the reason they tell you to remove the fake tank is because they are removing the radiator... see the filler neck goes way up inside the tank skin ... and is almost impossible to get to with the skin on..
its very hard to remove the over flow hose and get the cap off with my tank in place...
and if you remove the lower hose, or neck.. you'll certainly have to refill the radiator.. this is hard with the tank skin on, much easier with the skin removed

good news is there are some great mods you can do to your new ride as you progress through this fix...

theres a tank cover mod, to make the take open farther.
you can leave the 2 front bolts out of the tank skin so its much easier to remove next time...
once you pull the lower radiator neck you can check the inpeller on the pump for play...
I'v heard mentioned about a mod to the inside timing belt cover bolts... but havent done it as yet to mine..

dont swet it you'll get very good at pulling the tank skin and seat..

 

[CreatorsDream]

The main chain is deep inside the motor and is quite large wide chain and they do make some noise in most goldwings.


I think the reason they tell you to remove the fake tank is because they are removing the radiator...

good news is there are some great mods you can do to your new ride as you progress through this fix...

theres a tank cover mod, to make the take open farther.
you can leave the 2 front bolts out of the tank skin so its much easier to remove next time...
once you pull the lower radiator neck you can check the inpeller on the pump for play...

Thank you for taking the time to show a picture of the main chain! I hope that I don't have to go into this area! What I would like to know more about is how to get this darn fake tank off! When I look at it, there are quite a few bolts on the inside of the tank which look like they need to be removed. I did see on the outside front of the tank a bolt on either side which can be removed from the outside. Are these two bolts the only ones needing to be removed, or do I have to remove a bunch of them on the inside? You mentioned a tank cover mod. Can you provide a link to the write-up?

 

[joedrum]

yes those are the bolts....to cumputer unsavy for posting a link sorry :headscratch: :mrgreen:

 

[scdmarx]

I think this might be what you're looking for.

https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=757&hilit=Tank+lid+mod

Read through the entire thread, and note the reason the lid does not open all the way. Just so you know. :whistling:

 

[CreatorsDream]

I think this might be what you're looking for.

https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=757&hilit=Tank+lid+mod

Read through the entire thread, and note the reason the lid does not open all the way. Just so you know. :whistling:

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Great link. Now I can go and take that false tank off!

 

[89-300ce]

Thank you for taking the time to show a picture of the main chain! I hope that I don't have to go into this area! What I would like to know more about is how to get this darn fake tank off! When I look at it, there are quite a few bolts on the inside of the tank which look like they need to be removed. I did see on the outside front of the tank a bolt on either side which can be removed from the outside. Are these two bolts the only ones needing to be removed, or do I have to remove a bunch of them on the inside? You mentioned a tank cover mod. Can you provide a link to the write-up?

I don't suggest you have to go into this area because there is something wrong with the chain, just that the chain "can" make noise if one of your cylinders is misfiring (spitting out the intake), and the noise is exactly where you describe it although you should also be able to hear it missfire in the airbox. Don't remove the airbox lid when it's doing this as you could have a fire, but listen with a hose at the airbox inlets.

FYI,
I just did the belts on my 83 Interstate a couple of weekends ago and didn't need to remove the radiator or shelter. I didn't even loosen the radiator. I flattened the box end of a wrench to get at the inside timing cover bolts which where a bit fiddly but took no more than three four minutes each. The tensioners I could do with offset box end wrenches.

Dan's tip on running the float bowls dry if you have a stuck needle is excellent. The float should pull the needle out of the seat. Typically a piece of crud jambs the needle almost but not quite closed.

Jorg