| Author | Message | ||
     Doncasto |
Stubster: Here is where the mechanical fasteners are, carefully hidden in the primary case.  Rowd Thang possesses more mechanical skill and has deeper pockets than I. I have been known to re-use the primary gasket, primary fluid and try to save the seal by using electrical tape over the splines in the shifter shaft during dissassembly/reassembly. I have also found that the other side of the project, where all the wires attach to the starter, to challenge my limited eye-hand coordination and motor skills (pun intended) every bit as much as the primary side. "SZZZZZZZZTTTTT . . . Wow, I just arc welded the lead from the starter onto the case. Major sparks! Note to self: Next time remove battery cables first. Do you smell something burning? Yow, its me! Note to self: Wait until exhaust manifold has cooled before placing ham fists near starter." Later . . ."Damn, were all these wires sitting under the starter when I took it out? How come they won't let the starter fit back into the hole? Did I read somewhere that someone has a kit to convert to a kick starter . . . ? FYI here is what you will be looking for when you follow the Thang's excellent suggestion on the primary chain adjuster . . .  It was a two beer, 1 second degree burn, 6 oz. Jose Quervo, come back tomorrow when the wounds heal job for me. Your mileage may, and very probably will, be closer to Thang's. Don | ||
| Al_Lighton |
Here's a silly litle piece of trivia.. I was cleaning my 98S1W today, and noticed the ignition switch was mounted a little loose. As I was trying to tighten it (without a small spanner wrench.. DOH!) I noticed that the switch has a little marker plate for Lock-Off-Ign. And on that litle marking plate is a tiny pegasus logo..the OLD ONE (a la Team Elves)!!! In two years of bike cleaning/maintenance, I've never noticed it before. No where else on my bike has the old logo, and by 98 I'm sure they were supposed to be gone. But it's REAL tiny. Like I said, trivia, but I thought it was kinda cool. Wonder if it made it onto any 99's. Al | ||
| Firemanjim |
Top speed 165.683,color called candy tangerine with red fade/highlights from House of Color,totally unable to ever be matched.Thanks for invite ,but ECTA events are a little far from CA.Though I am getting ready for Bonneville in september,again. | ||
| S320002 |
Rick, "Doesn't billet have poorer cooling properties than cast due to the increased density/added mass a billet piece would have?" No. The reduced mass of castings is due to minute voids throughout the casting which actually results in reduced heat flow. Also cast heads may have to have material added with a welder in order to achieve the desired profiles prior to grinding to custom specs. This adds more voids and as a result reduces heat flow even more. Machining a head from billet allows you to change things like valve angle without extensive welding. Billet also tends to be less prone to cracking than castings. Castings are cheaper to produce if production numbers are large enough to overcome tooling costs. Machining heads from billet allows you to make changes without expensive tooling changes but material costs are higher. Overall CNC machining makes sense if production numbers are going to be relatively low, especially in performance apllications where changes are likely. Greg | ||
| Whatever |
FMJ, Sweet photo, not even a blur !!! Charlotte | ||
| Rick_A |
On the other hand...the irregularities on the surface increase the surface area...helping to dissipate heat, does it not? I've seen a few billet heads and the cooling fins typically look a good 4 times thicker. Sure, more can be done with custom billet heads...but I'd sure never need it. On a serious note a few of my neighbors let me know that some guys in a flat bed truck swung in and were taking a hard look at my bike. It's now chained to the stairs...I thought keepin' her real grungy was gonna discourage that  . Dirty bastards. If I catch 'em puttin' their hands on her they'll be talkin' to me and my little friend Colt.  | ||
| S320002 |
Rick, Surface irregularities due to casting would have little or no effect on cooling. I could go into Reynolds numbers but I'll leave that up to Blake. Changes in thermal emissivity due to surface color would have more effect. Most of the billet heads I've seen, Patrick for example, have fins very similar to cast heads. Incidentally an air cooling fin with a height to thickness ratio of greater than about 5:1 does nothing to increase cooling efficiency. However more fins will increase efficiency. The reference to CNC machining heads was to point out that it is likely the best way to make a small number of "from scratch" heads such as Aaron and Brain probably intend. Greg | ||
| Rick_A |
That's the obvious point. Thanks  | ||
| Road_Thing |
Mr Casto, you do me honor but you give me way too much credit regarding the depth of my mechanical skills! I'm cheap, therefore I'm generally way too willing to take on a repair job, and I have lots of days when I ask myself why I think I should be allowed to own tools! My little wrestling match with a Norton transmission a couple of nights ago comes to mind...Have you ever noticed yourself, after re-doing a certain job several times, getting it ALMOST right each time, getting just a little  frustrated? Of course by now I could write the manual on the re-assembly of Norton transmissions, but I suspect there's a limited market for that volume! And regarding pocket depth, if I were Really Wealthy, I'd be retired like you! r-t  | ||
| Hootowl |
RT, Let me tell you about transmissions. So there I was...laying under my truck with a 400 turbo tranny on my chest trying to bench press it up to the engine, when I realize that I'm just not going to make it. And no one else was home. I lay there for a few minutes, trying to wrap my noodle around the situation I had put myself in, wondering if they would find my flattened body days later only after the neighbors complained of the stench. With one last mighty heave, and a whole lot of luck, I got the tranny to slide into the torque converter. Triumphant in my endeavor, and reveling in my mechanical prowess, I slid out from under my truck, and cracked my head open on the transmission jack (that had fallen over while maneuvering the transmission, which is how it ended up on my chest). It was not a good day. | ||
| Road_Thing |
Ouch! Maybe we should start a new thread entitled "Stupid Amateur Mechanic Tricks!" But, if you can bench-press a T400, I guess I'll not be calling you any names other than "Sir!" r-t | ||
| Doncasto |
ARTY (R-T): Rumors of my retirement were always based in situation circumstances having absolutely nothing to do with available assets! There have been some modifications in these circumstances lately that have made me less of a threat to Kona's kibble ration when the Social Security check doesn't last to the end of the month.  As you can see, the kibble must have some nutritional value as neither of us appear to have missed many meals. The beard on the "retired" guy went away a few weeks ago after he was asked to be "Santa Claus" at the neighborhood school's holiday party . . . something about being gray enough, fat enough and having plenty of available time on my hands. The dog categorically refused to put on the red clown nose and antler appliance, thus killing the deal. Another potential career nipped in the bud.;-{) Don | ||
| Buelliedan |
Don, Please update the RAN board so that no-one thinks I still live in El Paso. I would hate to have somebody get stranded there and try calling me only to find out I moved months ago. Thanks Dan | ||
| Road_Thing |
Don, you look plenty jolly in that picture! So the dog's got no Christmas spirit? Maybe he needs some eggnog in his bowl! Recently trimmed off my own facial hair,too , but it had something to do with a trip to NYC to visit the family that owns the company I work for. Best foot forward and all that... Court has promised me a night of fine dining and debauchery to help me get my strength back! r-t | ||
| Dynarider |
Hootowl....LOL, I thought I was the only one stupid enough to attempt that.  Had the exact same thing happen to me with a torqueflite 727 tranny. Got it in there finally, but it took a lot of bitching to do so. | ||
| Henrik |
Road Thing; when are you going to be in town? If I'm around, I'll hook up with you and Court for dinner and such. Henrik (you can shoot me a mail off the list if you want) | ||
| Road_Thing |
Henrik, you've got mail. Think "Tuesday night." r-t | ||
| Snowdave |
I am happy to see that I am not the only one who thought he could bench press a transmission into place. The really sad thing is that I know for a fact I did it twice when I was a teenager, but now it requires a lot of swearing, a floor jack, and a whole bunch of luck. At least I can still lift the tranny on my bike  | ||
| Hootowl |
Tom, Greg, Dave, I'm glad I'm not the only one too. 'Course, my opinion of humanity just fell a notch... | ||
| Jst |
Chevy 4 speed in '79 myself. JT | ||
| Buelliedan |
A 4 speed weighs half that of a Turbo 400. | ||
| Bomber |
slightly off-topic . . .has anyone else tried to strech exhaust parts to get them to fit? almost always on an old, rusty car . . . . at 1 AM, in a gravel parking lot, to fix the sucker so's you can go to work the next day? | ||
| Firemanjim |
Not so my friends,if you have never hefted a cast iron case new process 4 speed from a 1969 GTX,or a granny 4 speed from a 3/4 ford p/u you have never truly bench pressed.And this was before discovering alignment tools for ease of insertion.Ah, the follies of youth. | ||
| Sarodude |
Mine is not a tale of Herculean strength but I thought I'd share anyway... '85 CRX Si. (don't get me started on the first gen CRX - a car that was truly greater than the sum of its crappy parts) Rebuilding transmission. I'd just finished sliding it back into position and bolting it in. I rolled over and got really irritated by some tool or something that was poking me in the back. Well, it turns out that THING poking me in the back was my reverse idler gear... -Saro | ||
| Mikej |
Not if the 4-speed is with a granny-low and out of a Ford F250. Had to do it a couple of times in my 1984 Ford. Then there was the transmission/transfer case assembly in the old Willys Jeep. Learned on that one that it was easier to just remove the fenders and hood and pull out the tranny/xfer with the engine. Then there were the old Powerglides in various 1956, 1957, 1966 Chevys over the years. Hmmm, you'd think a guy would learn eventually. I do have a trannyjack attachment, but sometimes things don't align as they should and you just have to use the old wiggle-alignment-pulled-muscle approach. Bomber, Hacksaw or dremel tool a slot or four a few inches down the sides of the larger diameter pipe, expand as needed, clamp to secure. The minimal exhaust leaks can be fixed on a weekend with a torch. Or just wrap an old Campbells soup can around the pipe once assembled and forget about welding it later. You'll probably sell the car before the soup can rusts through. | ||
| Phillyblast |
>>And this was before discovering alignment tools for ease of insertion.Ah, the follies of youth. I discovered them at an early age, they were listed in the classifieds in the back of my dad's porno mags. hehe Not as herculean in terms of sheer weight, but dumbell-pressing the starter from a big-block Pontiac with one hand, while trying to balance both the bolts and the shims in the other, while lying on your back in the street, is a particularly fond memory. I've bench pressed the Turbo 400 before, too. Got really p.o.-ed at my buddy after a few minutes of him fumbling around, started questioning his inablility to find the hole to get the bolts started | ||
| Reepicheep |
Hey Saro! I had an 85 CRX Si also. You nailed it... it really was better then the sum of its parts. Replaced it with a Saturn SC2. The Saturn has (for me anyway) been more reliable, faster, handles better, and gets about the same average fuel milage when I drive. Has that same kinda loud buzzy feel every last bit of road beneath you visceral go ahead and powerslide through the turns feeling the CRX had. Heck... just changing the oil in the CRX was a major PITA, can't imagine pulling a tranny! | ||
| Captpete |
Not to be out-done by you young whippersnappers... Kansas in the winter. Cold & windy. Frozen ground. Fingers good for about three minutes between trips to the hot water faucet in the kitchen. R & R'd the tranny in my '46 Ford 11 times during my junior year in H.S. Got to where the 2nd gear transaction at the local junkyard was completed without the need for any verbal exchange, just a big grin each time he took my money. The good news was, the tranny could be rebuilt inside where it was sooo, nice, & warm. | ||
| Rick_A |
Bomber...what MikeJ said but you can just use those wide SS strap clamps to eliminate the leaks. I did that for a temporary fitting on my Camaro...but it's worked so well I think I'll be leavin' it for a while. | ||
| Fogcity |
Don't know how it compares to the weight of trannies, but I did bench press the gas tank of a '68 Chevy Nova I dropped on my chest. Oh, and it was 2/3rds full of gas at the time. Image running through the house yelling "Don't light a cigarette; turn off the stove" as I'm stripping my clothes and heading for the shower while trying not to spark across the carpet! |
