From: wardman@gandalf.ca (Russel Wardman)
Subject: Re: engine rebuild
Organization: Gandalf Data Ltd.
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 18:59:36 GMT

In <1992Sep28.162952.20836@rchland.ibm.com> essbaum@rchland.vnet.ibm.com (Alexander Essbaum) writes:

>yesterday i took the oil pan off the FZR and found pretty gold flakes/shavings
>in the bottom.  it seems i have a spun/toasted bearing.  the conditions
>leading up to this were: race at brainerd for ~1 hour, bike loses power and
>overheats, bike overheats big time and overflows lots of coolant, bike engine
>starts to go *clunk* *clunk* *clunk* inside.

>my guess is the oil (yamalube 20w40 - yes, i know this is shit.  i was going
>to switch to mobil 1 or motul but didn't decide until a week before the race
>and didn't want to "test" my decision during an endurance race.  guess i made
>the wrong choice maybe) failed/broke down.  the oil smells kinda burned.  it
>looks ok (black, just like fresh yamalube) but definitely smells different.
>can i have the oil checked by a lab (i seem to recall hearing about this...)?

>given a bearing is damaged, what should i do?  if the oil failed, then i assume
>the one bearing is not all that's damaged.  it was just the first thing to
>go, right?  so maybe all the bearing/sliding surfaces are damaged.  considering
>i've never had an engine apart and i'd like to race this bike next season, can
>i rebuild it myself with nothing more than the service manual and hope to have
>an engine that will handle a season of racing?  i was thinking maybe i should
>just spend the money and try to have someone with more of a clue rebuild it.
>like maybe vance & hines :).

>basically, i don't trust myself to look at the inside of the engine and
>decide what to replace and what is still ok.  i don't really trust myself
>to assemble an engine with all new parts and have it run through a race
>season.  i would really like to learn how, but i'm not sure a 750FZR with
>(supposedly) lots of non-stock internals (cams, pistons, porting, ignition,
>carbs, ...) is a good test case.

>ANY input is welcome.

Hi Axel,

Three or four years ago, I had the same problem with my KAW 750 turbo;
fried big-end-con-rod-bearing. I hadn't repaired anything this serious
before, but I took my time and everything turned out O.K.. Put about 30000
kms since without a problem.

If you have the following 4 items, I see no reason you can't do this.

1) basic understanding of four stroke theory - If you already know how to
time your cams-crank-ignition your already most of the way there, if you
don't , its not hard to learn

2) good tool set including torque wrench capable of accurate measurement 
at low torques   

3) shop manual

4) a place you can spread things out in an orderly fashion without fear of 
disruption.

I don't know if the FZR uses bushings (like mine did) or roller bearings, but
either way , I would replace all big-end-con-rod-bearings and crank bearings
plastigage them to make sure there right.

I'm not sure what you mean by non-stock parts, they weren't hand machined
for your bike were they? I suspect they can be ordered if necessary like
parts for any other bike.

You'll also want to change the cam chain while your in there - too much work
to get at it and not change it.

The basic steps sre something like this

- before removing the motor - remove the parts from the engine which are
difficult to remove without stopping the engine from turning -  at this point you can still use the back break for this purpose - ie flywheel, clutch,
front sprocket - in that order

- pull the motor

- remove the everything down to and including the cylinder head - inspecting
as you go
   - order -  chain tensioner - cam cover - cams - head

-turn the motor over and remove the bottom case - tap lightly with rubber
mallet as required

- remove whatever is between you and the crank - ie oil pickup assembly

- can't remember why now, but I think the starter has to come out

- remove con-rod nuts and pull away bottom part of con-rod

REMEMBER #4 ABOVE

- remove accessible bearings/bushings

- remove the crank

- check shop manual to see if different bushings are available and if they
are colour coded - check the ones your removing for colour code

- order new bushings and reassemble dry with plastigage (this means putting
the bottom case back on since you want to check the crank supports as well as
the big-end-con-rod-bearings) - dissamble and read the plastgage

- assemble with light film of molybdinum dysulfide on eanh bearing surface

- use good quality case gasket goop where metal meets metal without a gasket, 
  some of the three-bond products are recommended for this application

- replace all O-rings no matter whether they look good or not

-turn the motor right side up and replace the top end components

- time the cam - On machines I'm aware of, you don't have to worry about
ignition timing because it sparks at the top of exhaust as well as 
compression, so you can't be 360 degrees out

- put it back in the frame and replace those things that need the rear brake

miscellaneous - when removing a torqued piece - observe the recommended 
torque pattern - but reverse it

you may have noticed that the piston,s never left the cylinders, if they
require attention , modify the procedure as required.

 I 'm sure I've forgotten a few things , but that is the main idea.

There is a satisfaction to taking on such a job and completing it, I
hope you choose to do this.

You can email me or post to .racing, as I rarely read this group if you 
need help 
>email to ae0s@andrew.cmu.edu, though.

>thanx!

>axel
-- 
**         Russell Wardman         ** 78 TT-500 (for sale)             **
**          613-723-6500           ** 84 Turbo 750 KAWASAKI (for sale) ** 
**                                 ** 90 KX 500 KAWASAKI               **
**      (rwardman@gandalf.ca)      **                                  **
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