| Author | Message | ||
     Redefine420 |
Sort of a long story...So I have this neighbor who is a retired motorcycle mechanic. He's a cool guy, we BBQ together, ride together and swap tools. He's got a nice knuckle head he restored himself He's been an awesome neighbor for the last 5 years. He's bored at home and needed something to do so I told him I'd pay him to do some work on my bike while I was at work. Most of the work is the suspension, X1 front end and swingarm on my M2. I came home today to find him nervously pacing in my driveway...uh oh. He decided to pull the cam cover...WHAT!? I never mentioned any kind of engine work in the conversations we had. The engine is still in the frame, he just took the cam cover off and the cam gears out! He rushed home before I could absorb the situation. His wife just left. She came over to tell me he's at home sobbing in the bathroom & that he was diagnosed with progressive alzheimer's a few months ago. I don't know what to feel here. I'm pretty upset, but I feel bad for him. I don't really know what to do, I've never been in a situation like this before. How screwed am I with the bike? What do I need to do to fix this? This is crazy...  | ||
| X1_rider |
If you think it may help you, I can dig out a picture of my camchest with the cams in position. I remember reading the service manual and they had a good description of how to put the cams back in, I'm sure you're not screwed as bad as you think you are. | ||
| Fullauto |
I did it when I replaced my oil pump drive gear. I looked at the factory manual and it was very straightforward. you'll be fine. | ||
| Guell |
Bust out the fsm, have him over and the two of you put it back together over a few brews. You'll both feel better after it. | ||
| Preybird1 |
WOW all i can say is WOW!!! You are not screwed but what a dope. I hope he didn't remove it to get to the shock? Did you ask him why???? | ||
| Fasted |
ahlzies............... | ||
| Redefine420 |
Thanks for the insight guys. I went over to try to talk to him. I think he's more upset about the situation than I am. He couldn't really give me any answers or even look me in the eye. He says he can fix it, but I'm concerned. It's clear I can't leave him alone while working on my bike anymore, so I need to educate myself on the repairs first. It's scary, he's always been very sharp. He knows his sh*t. This is the first glimpse I've had that his mind is failing him. I'm sure I'll have some questions soon. I'll read through the manual tonight. X1 Rider, if its not too much hassle those pictures will help. Thanks again guys... | ||
| Court |
Give it no thought ....... Go tell him it'll all be okay. I'm old and am willing to share something. Fixing the cams is easy compared to finding a good friend who is willing to step up and help. We, here at Badweb, have some of the world's keenest "cam heads" ...... Any one of which I'd bet would jump at the chance to help. If you need to borrow a manual as they talk you through it I have every manual for every Buell since 1987. Now go ask him if he wants to BBQ and light farts together. Life's short. Court | ||
| Brinnutz |
Not hard at all. Just connect the dots. Oh, and they cams have numbers on em. Largest one is 2nd from the rear (2nd from left as you look at it), figure out the order from there : if big one is number 2, then 1 goes to left of two; if big one is 3, 4 goes to left. And yes, don't forget to connect all the dots. Pinion to cam, and cam to cam dots. Easy peasy. La La La, Connect the Dots. Need to rotate pinion? Put tranny in drive and rotate wheel. Should only take like 15 min. Install new gasket. I played with cams a lot in last year lol. | ||
| Jramsey |
+1000 on Court's advice!!! | ||
| X1_rider |
Here is the pic of my open camchest. As you can see the dots are not aligned but it gives you an idea as to which one goes where. I also included a pic of the alignment from the service manual. It's basically as Brinnutz said, you just connect the dots. You can also remove the plugs to make it easier to turn the rear wheel while in gear to align the cam connected to the pinion. Hope this helps.   | ||
| Reepicheep |
He probably did you a favor. Get the new "race" oil pump pinion gear (the pretty gold one) and put it in. You have to pop off the rocker box covers to get the cams back in (lots of bolts, but not rocket science). You will want the new metal style gaskets for those (if you have metal ones in there already, you can probably reuse them fine, but get new ones if it will bug you to tear it down again). You will need a new oil pump gasket and cam cover gasket as well. Honor who the guy is, and be a blessing to him. He's a hero for making it through every next day. (Message edited by reepicheep on September 07, 2010) | ||
| Court |
You don't have the updated oil pump? Wow...... This guy did you a favor. What a wonderful opportunity. You are one lucky guy. | ||
| Redefine420 |
You guys are awesome! My neighbors coming over tomorrow night to split a case and figure out what's next. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Chris, Court nailed it above, he is a wise man... No damage was done other than a seriously embarrassed and confused man that is going to be facing tough times ahead. I'm very glad to hear you took the high road on this one... it was the absolute right thing to do. Putting it back together is real straight forward. As Bill mentioned above, you will have to tear it down a bit more before you can start putting it back together. The rocker boxes have to come off,nothing hard just a bunch more steps. Get a copy of the service manual as mentioned above. It is your bible and friend. Next, ask questions here. MANY have done this repair MANY times. Personally, I've lost count... If you have immediate questions, give me a call. Shoot me a PM and I'll send you my phone #. Brad | ||
| Redefine420 |
I really appreciate the support here. I'm not too worried about the bike anymore, we can fix it. You guys helped me understand that nothing that was done is irreversible. It was the shock of the whole thing that freaked me out. My neighbors a good guy, a good friend. I'll help him. He's a Vietnam vet too, no way I can turn my back on him. I bring him a sixer of heineken every veterans day. That's a touchy subject for him though. X1Rider, Brad, Court, everyone...thank you. Looks like I'm going to get another chapter of my owners manual a greasy mess. (Message edited by Redefine420 on September 07, 2010) | ||
| Ratbuell |
Take care of your neighbor, and make sure he understands (and his WIFE understands) that it is OK. The bike ain't the Space Shuttle. Pull your spark plugs so you can rotate the engine easier (no plugs = no compression). Put the transmission in gear with the rear tire off the ground, and use it as the "lever" to rotate the engine to TDC. There is a plug in the bottom of the cylinder V - pull the plug (it's an allen head, you can see it in X1's picture) and you will see the timing marks on the flywheel. A single dot means TDC-front; a pair of dots is TDC-rear. You want TDC-F. Remove rockerboxes, and rocker arm plates (fuel tank has to come off for this one - TURN OFF THE PETCOCK FIRST. DAMHIK). Remove pushrods. KEEP THEM IN ORDER, AND PUT THEM BACK WHERE THEY CAME FROM. Trust me. Install the new oil pump drive gear as noted above. IIRC it comes with an instruction sheet (this has all been from memory so far) Now, for the cams themselves. Check the cam bushings in the case (brass inserts), make sure there aren't any huge divots or scars in the surface. When that cover came off, the cams were side-loaded by the pressure of the valvesprings through the pushrods. If they're bad, you'll need to drag the carcass to someone who can pull and install new bushings. If the bushings are OK... Push a lifter up into the lifterblock with a finger, and slide that cam into place. Make sure the roller (little wheel) on the bottom of the lifter is pointed the right way (i.e. it can spin with the cam). Rotate the cam to match the diagram above. Repeat for each cam. Double, triple, and quadruple check your cam alignment - not only cam to cam, but also cams to flywheel. Gear 5 will be in place the whole time (manual diagram shown above in the thread). I'd start with putting in 4; then 3; then 1 and 2 kinda together-ish...2 sits above 1 and 3 so it has to go in last, but it times the whole set to each other, and to 5. It'll take some juggling and adjustments, but again - not the Space Shuttle. Check the cam bushings in the cover. If they're OK...scrape the gasket surface and install the cover. Reinstall the timing cup to cam #2, and the pickup plate to the standoffs in the cover. LEAVE THE OUTER COVER OFF - you're going to need to adjust ignition timing unless you can "read" the dents where the screws were before it was disassembled. Put the pushrods back where they belong. Reinstall the rocker plates and rockerboxes. Reinstall your spark plugs. Hook the wires up correctly (again...DAMHIK). Gas tank on; petcock open. Put the bike in neutral (!) and fire 'er up. The lifters will make a HUGE racket for a few minutes. Rev it - gently - and oil pressure will build and the noise will stop. I'm sure there's more to it than that, but again - all that was from memory. Someone will fill in the blanks, I'm sure. Oh - and final step? Have a cold one with the neighbor and laugh about it all. And again - make sure his wife knows. | ||
| Kilroy |
try this  | ||
| Court |
Hell . . you didn't say he was a Viet Nam Vet. PM me your address and his shirt size. As long as he's training to be a Buell mechanic he may as well be properly dressed. And thank him for his service to our country. Damn good thing this guy removed your cams or you'd have missed some important things you need to do . . . we'll walk you through it. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
THIS PLACE ROCKS!!! | ||
| Redefine420 |
You can say that again!! |
