Well, I finally got some garage space and started to tear down my GS yesterday in search what is causing noise in my engine.  I'm also tearing the bike apart so that I can do a general cleaning and derusting of the frame and components.  Let me first say that, although expensive, an impact wrench and air tools are the best thing to happen to wrenching.  I do have a few questions though:

1.  I tightened the two nuts by the clutch cable to give maximum slack as reccomended by the clymer manual to remove the cable, but did not have any luck getting the cable off

2.  Who decided to use hex bolts on the exhaust!!  I soaked the bolts through with WD-40 but I'm having a heck of a time getting the two interior bolts off of the exhaust, any suggestions??

3.  By the alternator, I reached my finger into one of the cracks by the crank and found a brass shaving that was fairly sizeable, I guess I'm getting closer to the source of the problem...

4. The frame is pretty rusted...what would my best option to get rid of the rust.  Some sort of rust remover then paint it myself or get it dipped and powdercoated...I mean for the price of paint, rust remover, a paint gun, and all that time, how much am I really saving by doing the frame myself??

Thanks for the help guys!

As far as the frame goes i would dip have it sandblasted to remove the rust and then powder or enamal coated. It would only be worth getting the paint and gun if you were doing painting in the long run, if you planned on painting alot of pieces otherwise its expensive and your only going to use it once. Plus its not that easy when it comes to mixing paint and getting it looking good.

1 the best way to remove the clutch cable is undo the side cover you'll see where the cable goes into a little metal thing, it has a little tab on it to stop it coming out, bend back that tab and pull the cable out from there, then undo the adjuster on the top and leaveit all connected to the clutch lever
2 to get off those 2 all nuts, heat up the area with a blow torch and use a t bar allan socket, if you dont have a blow torch try running the enging for a while, (letting the wd40 sit over night and reapplying for a few days can help as well)
3 hmm the only thing that is brass in that sort of area is the alternator ring, pass really
4 i would get a wire bush attachment for a grinder or drill and get it back to bare metal, the prime with rust proof primer do a few coats then paint, powder coating is expensive and you still have to go back to bare metal.

good luck hope it all works out

Be very carefull if you use any sort of extension on the header pipe socket-cap bolts, you are more likely to shear the head off than loosen them and that means a visit  to sh**-street.   As suggested heat is the best option but be aware that too much directed onto the heads will soften them.

well it sounds like the best thing to do would be to get the grinder and then use a rattle can(??).  I've seen some pretty good finishes on the forum forum, unless there is a better option.  It seems like it would be difficult to get all the little corners and angles but I'm sure it can be done.

As far as the metal flake goes, that could have easily migrated there through the oil from somewhere else though right?  Has anyone run a magnet over their dipstick to give it a charge and try to collect particles from their oil??

I'll try the blowtorch when I get home...If i heat the bolts directly they soften so I should just direct the heat in that general area but not on the tip of the head then right

general area, the engine is alluminium and the bolts are steel so the alli should expand more than the steel under the heat,
good luck

Quote from: vsboxerboy on August 12, 2006, 03:31:35 PM
well it sounds like the best thing to do would be to get the grinder and then use a rattle can(??). 

Hit the frame with paint remover then have it powdercoated in some pretty metallic silver or charcoal color.  A stripped frame is a rare opportunity; this is not the time to get cheap.  Rattle can will scratch right off.

And applying a blowtorch to the engine is such a bad idea.    It'll burn the finish off the engine.  Definitely a last resort.  I take it the engine is in teardown mode and can't be run to reach operating temp?  Because that would be the best way.     

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And applying a blowtorch to the engine is such a bad idea.    It'll burn the finish off the engine.  Definitely a last resort.  I take it the engine is in teardown mode and can't be run to reach operating temp?  Because that would be the best way.     

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im not talking about trying to melt the engine here, just getting it so its warm so the metal expands
but thats what i did and i didnt melt any paint, and didnt damage the engine, up to you don't get too over zelous

Quote from: sledge on August 12, 2006, 03:18:50 PM
Be very carefull if you use any sort of extension on the header pipe socket-cap bolts, you are more likely to shear the head off than loosen them and that means a visit  to sh**-street.   As suggested heat is the best option but be aware that too much directed onto the heads will soften them.

I only have 3 exhaust bolts that work. One snapped off and is stuck in the hole. I don't have room to take the front wheel off and ez out it so it will be in there for a while 

I doubt very much you will remove a broken header bolt out with an Ez-out. Ok its worth a try but think about it, if its that tight in the cylinder that the tool rounds the socket edges off the bolt whats it going to do to the ez-out? Answer, it wont bite in the pilot hole or you may even shear off in the bolt itself if it does bite. Ez-outs are handy things to have but they do have limits and successfuly removing broken bolts/studs without damaging the parent thread or surrounding component often nowhere near as easy as you may think. This link gives some good basic info on removal techniques.
http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/may2003/techtotech.cfm

Rise and shine for work at 6:45    So I got some more work done, and have a few more questions:

I was able to get the clutch cable off quite easily actually once the cover that the clutch cable is routed to was disconnected from the left of the engine there was a butt load of slack.

When removing the camshafts, I found that on both the intake and exhaust shafts, only the left side had a washer on them which doesnt seem right to me...Also that whole putting a rag in the gap thing is a good idea, I dropped a washer down there and if I wasn't rebuliding the engine, I would be PISSED.

I was able to remove one of the two stuck exhaust bolts after the blowtorch, but the second I sheared the head off  .  At least that means I was able to remove the exhaust still, but dealing with that later will not be fun.

I learned that when you're trying to take off the valve head, be sure that you've seperated the valve head from the rest, because theres only enough clearance to get the head off by itself (and not much at that!) and once the pistons come free, the rings expand causing more problems.  Anyway, got that all off and I'm down to the pistons.  Questions is, how do I remove the circlips that are holding the wrist pins in place?  Clymer is a bit vague.

Second is, when removing the engine as a whole, do I need a jack to hold up the engine while I remove the last bolts and do I need a second person if I have everything else off (ie head -> pistons etc.)??

Under the cover where the shifter peg routes to, there is some THICK grease that looks pretty dirty.  It seems, to me at least, to be a bit excessive but is this normal?

There was a good amount of oil pooled on top of the cam buckets, especially on the exhaust side, this is normal though right?

As far as cleaning goes, Clymer said that I should clean the head and stuff in a solvent.  Just wondering what I should use as I could probably snag a good number of chemicals from my school's chem lab.

Everything looks pretty square so far, it amazes me how precise the engineering can be that the cylinder walls are so smooth even for a 15 year old motorcycle!  I don't have all of the tools to measure the bore and everything but there are no scratches or obvious deformities and the pistons look to have SOME carbon on them, but not an excessive amount by any means (less than WildBlue's) and don't look to have been run lean either.

Why bother removing the circlips?  If the pistons, rods, and cylinder bore look OK, why not just leave the wrist pins in there and reuse everything?  I don't see any sense in taking them apart, but I could be wrong.

For a cleaning solvent, you could go to a auto parts store and get some parts cleaner.  Otherwise, I'm sure any good petroleum based solvent will work fine, such as kerosene or naphtha

If I'm replacing the rod bearings I don't need to get the pistons off?

Also, is it really worth it to soak the head in solvent?

The washer on the left side of the cams is correct.  It's to prevent the side-to-side lash that caused excessive noise on the old models. 

I used a small flathead screwdriver and needle nose pliers to get the circlips out.  There is a small indentation in the piston near the bottom of the clip that allows you to pry out the clip.  I went ahead and replaced them with new ones as per the Haynes manual.

Yes, you need a jack or some other kind of support under the engine when you remove the mounting bolts.  Even with the top end removed it's heavy and difficult to get a grip on.  Don't risk the shock to your back or damage to the block by trying to grab it unsupported.  I was able to carry the block short distances when I had to, it's definitely easier with two people though. 

The grease under the shifter cover is probably road grime and lube that was flung off the chain.  Clean out that whole compartment thoroughly and then re-grease the shifter rod.

The oil near the buckets/shims is normal. 

I found that spray-on gasket remover did a good job of breaking up the carbon deposits in the combustion chamber.  If I were you I would leave the valves in the head and not try to submerge it in solvent.  If you think that the valve seats / heads need to be serviced I would recommend lettting a machine shop do the whole thing for you.  My local place charge me $40 to disassemble, clean, re-cut valve seats and install a replacement guide.  If you don't have a reason to think the valves need work then don't worry about them.

Thanks!  Can't wait to get off of work and back to wrenching

about that frame....

I used aircraft stripper to remover the paint. It works wonders. It exposed all the rusted areas on the frame.

I then used a small sandblaster I bought at walmart for $14 and regular playground sand ($2/50lbs) from lowes, to blast away the rust.
of course I already own a compressor. If you have one this is the cheapest route to go.

you can prep the frame yourself and then take it to a powder coater, it may save you some change.  I went ahead and rattle canned it. Spray paint is weak at first but after a few weeks its cures enough to protect your metal as good as any other paint.
Not as good as powder coating but unless your planning a show bike, a rattle can will suffice.

I sprayed 3-4 coats of clear coat on it as well.  you can see pics of my work here -->http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=24409.0

wow, nice work!  I wish I had a nicer air compressor, mine is probably way too wak for sandblasting, but I should be able to get something done just with more elbow work...thats probably the route I'll go instead of powdercoating, it seems like its 1/50th the cost.  Where'd you get that aircraft stripper from anyhow??

Thanks 

The aircraft stripper I got from walmart.  you can see a pic of it in my thread, where I am stripping the rims.  its about $5/can but you can get a gallon for about $25 at most auto part stores. I know for sure advanced auto has it.

below is the pic of the stripper (~chuckle~)  its called TAL-STRIP.  This shaZam! is amazing. It starts to eat the paint (and your skin) on contact.

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that ugly front rim will get this treatment soon.
Thats the rear white rim.  here she is all scrubbed up.

okay so I managed to get the engine completely out of the frame, which is amlost bare now.  Is there an wasy way to get the front end disconnected from the frame (ie just remove that 22mm bolt in the middle)??  I'm just being lazy is all haha.

Onto the alternator...Clymers says you need this special tool or you can use the rear axel to pull out the alternator (not using the correct part name here but its the guy with all the magnets on it).  I tried the rear axel thing but it doesnt really come close to fitting...how do you go about getting that out??  Oh and on one of the magnets along the edge there is the slightest ding, I'll have to take a picture though, wonder how much of a problem that is though...