What a concept - A Girl Bringing Back Her 1966 Super Hawk

[cknight]

Bummer. After cylinder head removal (and cam chain tensioner removal), place the head back on the cylinders without the head gasket and O-rings, making sure the 10mm knock pins at the left and right front studs are not somehow bottoming out, preventing the head from properly seating against the gasket and barrel assembly. Also, check that the cylinder studs are not too long, causing the cylinder head nuts to bottom out in the studs, giving you a false torque reading, without properly compressing the gaskets. Take a metal straightedge to the head and cylinder deck surfaces, making certain there aren't any low areas. Strange, leakage at the back side. Godo luck, Chase

[sarals]

Okay. Let me catch my breath.

I dropped the engine off of the frame. When I removed the right side cover, I discovered a LOT of oil behind the alternator. I pulled that all apart, and the crankshaft seal was leaking. I checked the starter clutch gear, and it seemed fine. It's seal was dry, not leaking. I called LM, and we brainstormed that a bit, and then I put it back together after first making sure that crank seal was seated all the way. The seal itself looked fine - no wear, no tears, all good. The seal surface on the starter gear was clean, smooth, and in perfect condition. I don't know that something wasn't seated quite right, but I have a feeling I'll be revisiting that seal.

The head. I pulled the head, got on the phone with Ed, and we went through a drill to try to decide what was going on. The head gasket was SOAKED with oil, all of the way around it. The air/oil separator below the breather was assembled correctly; the holes in the plate and arrow facing forward. The gaskets were correct. Chase talked to Ed, while I was going through all of this, and a consensus was reached, as you said Chase, that I needed to put the head on the barrel without the gasket to check how proud the head was of the barrel. I did it, and it's apparently not seating properly - it's not compressing the head gasket. The knock pins seem too long. The head and barrel have been milled. There is the likely culprit. The stock knock pins are not allowing the head and barrel to compress the head gasket when the cap nuts are torqued down. I'm going to turn down the knock pins - tomorrow - and then go at this again. I hope, I'm confident, that this will solve the problem.

[sarals]

And this is for Ed, and for Chase! So, na zdraví, and do dheagh shlàinte!

[Tim Miller]

Sara,

The Knock pins should be 16mm long. Try putting the head on the cylinder without the gasket but have the 16mm knock pins installed. With the head just resting on the cyl. shine a bright light while looking on the opposing side for light. Should not see any.
Make sure your sleeve are flush with top of deck. If they are even .001 to .002 below or above it will leak.

Good luck,
Tim

[LOUD MOUSE]

We worked on that and found they are high before her last message.
She will file them to fit and check again. ......lm

Sara,

The Knock pins should be 16mm long. Try putting the head on the cylinder without the gasket but have the 16mm knock pins installed. With the head just resting on the cyl. shine a bright light while looking on the opposing side for light. Should not see any.
Make sure your sleeve are flush with top of deck. If they are even .001 to .002 below or above it will leak.

Good luck,
Tim

[Tim Miller]

Ok?? So, Sara how long are your 11mm knock pins that are keeping your head gasket from sealing?

Tim

[sarals]

Ok?? So, Sara how long are your 11mm knock pins that are keeping your head gasket from sealing?

Tim

Hi, Tim. I don't know yet, they'll come out later today. I did assemble the head onto the barrel without the gasket, and that's how Ed and I determined that the knock pins were keeping it from seating. You can see way more than light between the two surfaces. The liners are fine, they're seated. It's the knock pins, and I'll file them down and try this again.

The crank is 180 degrees out (number two is at TDC), so I have to realign it and the cam and get that cam chain reoriented without loosing it down inside the engine. It's going to be a fun day.

But first, I'm off to spin class!