The seals are press fit so they can be pried out and replaced and it it might save you a lot of work if you're successful. You will ruin the original seals but I wouldn't think you'd want to reuse them anyway.
Keep in mind that there's a chance that the bike could still leak after doing this, you've already learned that old bikes can be heart breakers. So, if you want to give it a try and assuming that everything else is right and tight and you've verified the oil is leaking from the cam and drive (counter shaft) seals then;
- get your parts; you'll need the seals you'll be replacing and a right side cam cover gasket. If you're ordering the parts, get the 4 - 6mm cam cover screws too (they might get mangled removing them) and some non-hardening gasket sealer (the Hondabond and Yamabond products have been recommended here in the Forum).
- drain the oil and if you don't have a bike stand, tip the bike over a bit on it's left side, secure it and get comfy.
- the cam seal is relatively easy; remove the points cover and points plate (scribe the points plate so you can put it back close before retiming the engine). Remove the 4 - 6mm screws holding the cam cover (you'll probably need an impact driver) and gently remove the cover from the engine and slide it off the camshaft. Remove the seal from the cover, clean the cam cover land where the seal sits really good and wipe it down with alcohol, put a thin coat of your gasket sealer on the outer rim of the seal and work it into the cam cover (facing the right way) using a small putty knife (warming up the seal with a hair dryer will make it more pliable) or something similar without a sharp edge. Put a thin coat of assembly lube on the camshaft and gently install the cover with the new gasket and then the other parts.
- the counter shaft seal can be a bear; remove the engine side case, break the chain at the master link (you might have to loosen the chain adjusters at the end of the swing arm), remove the 2 - 6mm bolts holding on the countershaft sprocket and remove it to expose the offending seal. Next, clean the seal, the engine cases around the counter shaft and the counter shaft really good. Here's where it gets tricky.... you do not want to damage the engine cases or the engine case land where the seal sits or the bearing under the seal so work slowly. Carefully using a punch or flat blade screw driver and hammer, tap on the seal and try to get it to move, either in and out or rotationally or both, then gouge or cut a small hole in the seal and using something as a fulcrum, stick your screw driver in the hole and pry it out. If it won't come out, try drilling or cutting a small hole (don't touch the bearing underneath) in the body of the seal near the outer edge and insert a hook of some sort to grab the seal and pull it out. If both of these ideas don't work, get a razor knife and start whittling. It's no fun and you don't want to contaminate the bearing behind the seal but it'll come out sooner or later. Once it's out, clean everything and install the new seal like you did the cam seal and reassemble.
I'd let it sit 24 hours before refilling with oil and starting it up with fingers crossed.
It's pretty straight forward but ask if you have questions.
Time for some Christmas Eve activities... good luck, Chuck
5 minutes of bliss...On those seals, especially the countershaft, kicker, and crank it helps to break the sharp corner on the engine cases before trying to press the new seals in. If you don't you'll likely lose some of the rubber coating on the outside circumference. I usually use an x-acto knife and just scrape it around a couple of times then maybe a little emery cloth. Be sure to keep the chips out of the bearings! You may still lose some rubber on installation, but they should be okay. You can try a little Hondabond on the outer circumference of the seal also. That gives you a little lubrication for installation and will seal up imperfections. Don't put the Hondabond on the aluminum case surface, you'll just push it into the bearing when you press the seal in. I put seals in the freezer prior to installation to harden and shrink them a little.
Good Luck! Thank you both for the excellent advice – you’ve both given me a wealth of information on performing this procedure and I can tell that there is a lot of experience behind it. Hopefully I won’t gain any more wisdom the hard way, at least in the short term :). I have hope for fun without a full breakdown (the bike or myself). I’ll buy two sets of seals just in case and the cam cover screws too. I have some Hondabond-like sealer that NAPA sells which I used on the lower crank case assembly. It seems to have worked but I will buy some Hondabond as well and use that instead. Now I just have to wait ‘til Monday to place the order and then wait for them to show up at my door. Ah, patience, Brian…
With all the spare parts I bought to rebuild the transmission, I should be able to build a second bike (ended up buying two non-running engines and a really ugly bike with running engine). It will be nice to have one to ride and then relax and work on the second. The second is going to be a real job but I won’t be in any rush. Thanks again, everyone. I appreciate this community and the advice/information very much. I have attached a picture of my '64 CA77. I'll post one of the other ('66) CA77 soon. There is probably a better place top post these so I'll look and post there -Brian
You're welcome, glad to help.
I'm sort of doing the same thing.... I used a CL that flooded during Katrina as a donor bike for my rider CL that I finished last fall and have been riding every chance I get since then. Now I'm in the planning stage to build a street/tracker with a full-house engine using everything that's salvagable and new stuff where necessary. Good luck and Merry Christmas.
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