lostinthe202

When this happens, reach down and physically pull up on the brake lever and see if it goes away or gets better, my money's on a new master as well. Will-

I've worked on a number of neglected motorcycles over the years and I used to use Chem-dip, which is still around but with a different formula since around the mid 90's. The old formula worked amazingly well while the "improved" version wasn't worth jack. Some time after it came out I started using full concentrate simple green when I want to clean motorcycle jets. A half-hour soak and a shot of compressed air usually cleans 'em right out. Think the same might work for injectors? MC jets have really small holes in them, I'm not really familiar with the geometry of a fuel injector, but I'd imagine that since it's atomizing gasoline, it's probably got a something similar in hole size. But wouldn't it be important to be able to hold the injector open no matter how you cleaned it? Will-

hehe, yeah. I didn't make an announcement about it or anything. I took a job out in Ca in the SF Bay (where I grew up.) The reasons are many, and I'm still not sure I made the best choice, but I've only been at it a couple of months so the jury's still out. Fortunately, our place in Va there is a family farm so it's not going anywhere so we can always go back. You can def. buy tanks. But the reason that many people don't is that not all gas suppliers will fill any tanks but their own. Ostensibly, this is a safety issue for the gas company since they don't know how you're treating your tanks. I always wondered if it wasn't more about money since they can make much more of it off of you renting their tanks. Someone earlier mentioned using propane. This might be a good option for you since your use will be limited. Propane is cheap and accessible enough to keep around year in and out so you don't have to drop what you're doing and run to the gas supplier in the middle of a project. Will-

The welding books I've read say not to run your acetylene at more than 5psi - 10psi from a single bottle as it can become unstable at higher flow rates. When larger flows are needed, I think a larger bottle is needed or several run in parallel. I don't know if this is the same fire hazard as a cell phone at the gas pump but why mess with it? Good luck! Will-

Sorry, my mistake. What you referred to as "raised hot spots" is what I thought "glazing" was. I assumed that my clutch shudder was caused (as you suggested in your post) by a warped flywheel or pressure plate, but when I put the flywheel on a surface plate, I got just a hair over .001 (if I avoided the "hot spots".) The PP I'm not really sure about. I could only check it by laying it on a surface plate and sticking shims under it. There were "hot spots" on the PP too and I could get a .002 under but not a .004 though I can't say if it was warped or not. There was no oil on the clutch surface as far as I could tell and no leaks in my trans or engine that would be responsible for oil getting on the disc. When I turned the flywheel, I only had to remove about .015 to get rid of the hot spots which I don't think lightened the flywheel by any appreciable amount. When it all went back together, I got close to 50k shudder-free miles out of it before I sold the car. I remember seeing in the blurb that came with the clutch kit that the flywheel needed to have no more than .002 of runout and being amazed that it had to be so flat. Our honda civic called for something like .030 which I suppose could have been a misprint.

I'm kind of arm-chair engineering here, but... the non-4wd transmissions all have the same design as far as the input shaft goes in that the first bearing (working from the engine back) is quite a distance from the pilot bearing leaving lots of unsupported input shaft. The first bearing in line is a needle bearing with some sizable needles, like 3 or 4mm in OD by like 10 or 15mm long. All the bearings for the gears are also needle bearings which all have lots of surface area. While I'm not quite sure how that compares with the contact surface area inside the large double roller bearing at the back of the shaft, I can say that when I tore mine apart, all the bearings on the input shaft were in perfect shape except for the the double roller bearing which was hurting really bad..... Perhaps a resonance gets setup that puts more strain on that bearing? As I stated before, I noticed the noise at a bit under 120k and drove it to a bit over 180k before I fixed it. During that time, the noise stayed consistent (same behavior you described) and only started to get worse near the end. When the sound did get worse, I checked the gear oil again and found that glittery paste that GD mentioned in spades. When I got the bearing out, the cages on both sides had turned to powder. All the balls were present and accounted for and really didn't look too beat up, though they are hardened. The races didn't fare so well, they were pretty hammered and I'm sure I was really close to something really bad happening. But, I never had difficulty shifting, the trans never once popped out of gear or exhibited any odd behavior beyond the funny noises and when I put it back together it still worked just as well as it did before. Not advocating this as a rule of thumb or anything, but if the noise is relatively new, I bet you could wait 'till summer at least to tackle it. Will-

If the clutch bearings were replaced, my money is on this as well. The trans in my OBW did the same thing. When I tore into it, it was the giant double roller bearing at the back of the input shaft that was bad. If it's just growling some, you probably won't see anything in the gear oil, at least I didn't. Since I didn't see anything, I drove with it growling for about 70k miles before the sound got noticeably worse at which time I took the trans apart. It's really not that difficult thanks to Gloyale's write up, http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=90182 Good luck! Will-

The three Subaru owners I know with a manual trans (myself included) had clutch shudder which is caused by glazing on the flywheel surface, pretty common (from what I understand) in the late 90's Subarus. If you have a whole week to get the job done, I would suggest having a shop resurface the flywheel. You can usually get it done for under $50 which is a big improvement over buying a new one.

6 jaw chucks are great for holding hollow stuff where there is a danger of distorting it with the clamping force of the chuck. Every 6 jaw I've encountered had jaws that moved concentrically as opposed to independent movement like most 4 jaws. 6 jaws also tend to have better repeatability, meaning they have a better chance of the work staying concentric if it has to be pulled out and put back into the chuck.

If you have and engine hoist, then I throw my lot in with the "pull engine" crowd. I've done it both ways, and pulling the engine was by far the more pleasent experience. There may be more bolts you have to put a wrench on, but everything just unbolts from the engine and swings out of the way. You don't have to disconnect the power steering system or AC system so it's really not a big deal. And as Davebugs mentioned, it's the perfect opportunity for a lot of other routine stuff since you'll have easy access. Don't forget to clean and regrease the clutch fork pivot ball. One other note, I'd recommend breaking the harmonic ballancer bolt loose before you pull it. I've been using the "starter motor method" which has been working for me, but there are lots of ways to do it. Anyway, the point is that unless you have an engine stand or some other means of holding the motor stationary once it's out of the car, it can be a real bear to get bolt loose. Good luck! Will-

I didn't even know they made something like this!! I've been using cheapo tape players and the little tape adapter thing. Works great 'cause nobody wants to steal your tape player, but they still break and are getting harder to find. This is perfect.

That's cool of them. Seems like I can never endear myself to auto or bike shops that way. I ordered some vacuum gauges from Mcmaster and some needle valves and various fittings and hoses and I'm making one. I've done the homemade one from canning jars that is described in older Clymer manuals. It actually works pretty well especially if you use a light weight oil like 10 weight instead of water to cut down on oscillations in the readings. but it's not very convenient to store so I figured to make something more shop friendly. Will-

Yeah, the 650 is in great shape for it's age. The chrome has been really well maintained, best of any bike this vintage that I've owned. The exhaust canisters both have cracks at the joint which is a bummer, but it's just cosmetic and not very noticeable so it's not too bad. It's missing on side panel and the seat is not original, in fact I don't think it's for that bike at all since there isn't any way to attach it. Since the first post I've discovered that the air filter element is missing all together (bad) and that the PO must've been religious about changing the fuel filter and only used the stone kind (good) so the carbs really didn't need a cleaning. I'm trying to decide if I want to drop the money on a carb synchronizer. I'll be working on more bikes in the future so it would probably be worth the investment, but I'm waffling. I've built manometers before and I'm tempted to just make another, but at some point you just gotta bite the bullet and throw down for the correct tool. If anyone has suggestions I'm all ears. I'm trying to decide what to do with the NightHawk. I don't like cruisers so I'm thinking of turning it into a cafe bike but there are two major problems. First is that this being a cruiser, it's really low in the middle which is good for a low center of gravity but bad for my long legs and rear-sets. Second is that it's in such good shape that it would be a shame to cafe it and ditch all the good chrome. Took the 700 for a nice long ride today. Once fully warm, It kept stalling if it had to idle for more then a few seconds, like at a stop light. I really need to synch the carbs too and eliminate them as a culprit. After that I'm going to look for some sort of aftermarket fuel pump as that might be an issue too. Seems to me it was intermittent during the initial troubleshooting phase. GD- If the airbox is still attached to the carbs, the engine is probably in good shape. Hopefully the carbs and tank were drained, but it's not that big of a deal if not. Full concentrate simple green is a fantastic carb soak solution. Submerge the carbs (only two of them right?) for a few hours and then rinse with water then carb cleaner. It doesn't a great job. Just make sure to remove the diaphragms from the carbs first as you don't want the simple green to degrade the rubber. Same with the floats too. Pull the plugs and pour a teaspoon or so of MMO in the cylinders and leave overnight. This wont' work as well with a V motor since the cylinders are at an angle, but you could turn it over by hand a few times to spread the oil around before leaving it for the night. Then a bunch of times with the starter the next day to push out excess MMO and reseat the valves. I bet it'll run fine. Will-

+whatever on the wooden blocks. I've been using the same craptastic floorjack with a miraculous 7" of lift since high schoo supplemented with endless junkyard bottle jacks and more firewoodl. Needless to say I'm not a pro auto guy so it really hasn't been important, but wood can get you far. That being said, I can totally understand the desire to not have to make sure that special piece (or pieces) of wood are within easy reach. Hi-Lifts are great, but if you pick up a used one, MAKE SURE to clean the lift/lower mechanism. These jacks work by stepping pins up or down, one pin goes in to hold while the other lowers or raises to the next step. If the mechanism is dirty, the lowering or raising pin can jam and when you lift the handle the rig goes crashing to the ground. Maybe they've fixed this since the early 90's when I bought the last one I owned new, but just in case check it out. I'm not saying this is true of Hi-Lifts jacks across the board of makes, just those that I've encountered. Will-

A few months back I was gifted a couple of late 80's Yamaha sports bikes. These models encompass a lot of design changes that would be adapted by the industry as a whole for sports bikes. One was deemed a "runner" and was was a parts bike (bent subframe from a crash and rusty valves from being stored with no airbox.) As you can see it needed A LOT of work, Here it is today, not much to look at still, but man is it fun to ride. Comfortable too for my 6' body. Rebuilt brakes (all three) with new pads and stainless lines New battery Cleaned the tank (vinegar + rocks) New fork seals New float jets and bowl gaskets New o-ring chain New plugs New throttle cable New petcock Took some figuring to get it to run. The electrical system looked like it had spent a few months at the bottom of a lake so I replaced it with the one from the parts bike which was pristine (given the year.) Got another set of clusters off of feebay. The stock brake setup sucks serious mule so I got a set of 4 pot Sumi's off the bay and I'll make adapters for the calipers. I got the rotors too (all for $30!) but it doesn't look like there is enough clearance between the fork tubes for an adapter. I might pickup an FZR front wheel (where the brakes come from) or look into replacing the entire front end. I'm still trying to decide what to do about paint. None of the body work (what little I have) is in any kind of shape so I'll probably just complete the rattle can treatment and leave it alone. It won't ever be a show bike unless I can find a set of fairings for it and even then I probably won't put the effort into it. I don't really feel any attachment to sports bikes so I don't think I'd have the motivation to go full out on it. I really just want something to ride around as I've been away from bikes for too long as it is. Some pics of the stand I made to enable me to change the chain, After I've driven it awhile I'll probably sell it and this other bike to buy something newer like a VFR or maybe a KLR650, This is an '81 Honda 650 Nighthawk that I was also gifted. The PO (a friend of a friend of a friend) said it wouldn't ever run right unless he had the choke on halfway and sometimes not even then. He was fed up and going to haul it off to the scrape yard. They said they would only give him 30 bucks for it so he called me and said if I came and got it I could have it. I was at his door 20 minutes later. Got it home and discovered within 10 minutes that the band-clamps around the intake boots were all stretched past the point of being able to tighten down. I threw on some spares from the 700 and it fired up and purred like a kitten choke off and all. Took it up through the gears and it runs great. Still to do, 700 - synch carbs, new tires, ride like hell. 650 - synch carbs, clean tank (pretty rusty), clean carbs, tension or perhaps replace the chain, ride like hell. Not my bag and I'd have sold it already, but the wife has been wanting to learn to ride and she likes these older cruiser style bikes. If she takes to it then she keeps it. But if her interests wains which it's almost certainly going to (sorry honey but I know you too well) then it'll get sold to finance something newer. Anyway, that's where my energy has been going lately. Enjoy! Will-

There are certainly more experienced welders on here then I, but I don't think you want a gap but rather to chamfer the ends of both plates to create a nice thick "V" shape that you fill with weld. I would think that matching thickness would be the ticket. You're only as strong as your largest cross section of steel so having one thicker won't do you any good. Hopefully you've got good access to clean up the area in question really well, like all paint removed, all oil and grease gone, bright metal showing. Good luck! Will-

Buy a repair manual from the auto parts store. It will not only help you identify what's what, it will also make it possible to ask and understand your questions/responses and aid in cleaning things up. Remember, if you can read English you can work on cars. Will-

I don't think you need the date on the card, just check out those sexy shorts!!

Nice score for $200. Bikes of that era weren't the most fuel efficient, but man did they run forever. Should be pretty easy to find parts too. A few minutes with a hairdryer makes this task A LOT easier. Will-

Thanks for the reply John, The butterflys are operating properly. I'm going to pull the intakes off and see about changing the o-rings and see if that helps. The intake boots are still nice and soft so I don't imagine it's those, but at this point I'm pretty clueless. Will-

Hiya, I've got this winter project in the form of a 1987 Yamaha FZ700. I've got it running but I'm having some carb trouble that I just can't lick. There's a few riders here so maybe someone has some suggestions. Here's the particulars, The first time I got it started, it started easily enough (after 5 years of sitting) but it wouldn't idle down and it sounded even but rough like it wasn't running on all four. If I touched the throttle it would rev way up and take for ever to come back down. The throttle cable is free moving so no stuck throttle as is the throttle plate for each carb. I chased down the ignition issue and fixed that and restarted. This time the revs shot up to to about 7k and stayed there. I shut it down after a few minutes. I restarted and it "idled" at about 4k and wouldn't drop below that. Verified that it was running on all four. I pulled off the airbox and restarted and it idled at a more normal 800-1000k rpm. If I goosed the throttle a hair it would behave as expected, but if I twisted any more then a smidge it would shoot up to 7k or so and take a long time idling back down. So work I've done, I cleaned the carbs. Actually they were pretty clean, no clogged jets, I replaced the needle valves and checked all of the diaphragms for general condition and holes (as best as I could see). When I put them back together the first time I did pinch one of the diaphragm gaskets which I thought was my problem, but while I was diddling with the electrical I fixed that issue as well but clearly I still have a problem. Do I still have an air leak in the carbs someplace? Could there be pinprick holes in the diaphragm? I'm pretty sure the intake boots are fine. I'm wondering if I could check the diaphragm tops somehow maybe? Any suggestions?????? Thanks!! Will-

Not sure of the spec for roundness on a hub, you might want to start another post for that info as it will need to come from a factory service manual. Many people on The Board have that info but they might not be looking at this thread. You won't be able to check the hub with an outside mic as it's the inner surface you're concerned with. If you have some telescope gauges to go along with that outside mic you might be able to get away with it, but again it will depend on the tolerance given in the FSM since telescope gauges aren't all that accurate for that kind of measuring. Taking the hubs to a machine shop is really the ticket, but you could probably get a set of hubs from a JY for less then a minimum setup fee at a shop. Will-

If I can get the Fozzie swap (d/r RX trans) done in time I might hit the show on the way to Maine. It would be fun to put some faces to names. Will-

If anything, the increased torquing from the motor due to bad mounts would damage the inner axle shaft joint, but I doubt the slight amount of extra twist will do them any harm since they are designed to flex in 360* while transmitting the power to the wheels. The hubs can get out of round if the wheel bearings have been bad for awhile they distort the seat in the hub. If the hubs get distorted (out of round) then even if you put new bearings in, they will fail prematurely just like yours are doing because they aren't running true in their race. Try some junkyard hubs or ask on here, somebody may have a pair for sale. Will-

If it's a manual, then you remove the 8 flywheel bolts once the trans has been removed (or at least backed far enough up for access). If it's an auto, then as twitch said, there is a black rubber cover (often missing) on top on the passenger's side bellhousing on the engine side. You have to go through this hole instead of the starter hole because the heads face the front of the car. I recently had a rounded head on one of the flexplate bolts to deal with. I posted about it and got lots of good responses on the different techniques of removing these bolts. I can't tell you about the turbo. Here, http://ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=107238