02CR500Rex
09-16-2007, 07:41 PM
Alright, I've got my engine back together after a rebuild...been having some problems, but I've now got it to fire, but it won't start. I got it to *kinda* hit one time with ether, but no start.
I'm going to ask some 3 quick questions, for those who don't feel like reading a lot. For those who do, I've got an explaination for each question below.
1.) do the timing marks on the the cam gear have to be EXACTLY parallel with the head? Or can one be a hair below and one be a hair above?
2.) if the decompressor pin would happen to "fall" out of the head (onto a towel I had laying underneath the head) is it possible that the spring would stay inside the head? When I moved the head I immediately saw the pin laying there, but no spring.
3.) Hypothetically speaking, if the cam timing marks don't have to be EXACTLY parallel with the head, and the spring would have happened to stay in the head, what's the proper procedure for setting valve clearance? I have a Haynes manual and followed it pretty well, but it's not very clear.
here are some things I'm going to note, and wondering if any of these could be my problem.
1.) I put the piston to TDC with the "T" mark lined up with the lower timing mark. I installed the camshaft pulley, but the timing marks wouldn't EXACTLY line up with the head. They were pretty close, but the left mark was slightly below the head and the right mark was slightly higher. Left > _ I _ < Right. I know you guys aren't dumb, but I'm just letting you know which way I was looking at the cam gear. Anyway, rotate the above image approx. 2 degrees counterclockwise and you'll see how it looked. I tried a tooth forward and it was WAY out of time. Anyway, I figured those marks were just for a close reference as it looked like the head was actually slanted and the marks were running level.
ok 2.) I had the head upside down cleaning the carbon out of the chamber and when I flipped it over, I saw a little pin looking thing. I stuck it back down where I'd seen it before, below the decompression piece on the cam. I didn't know what it was at the time, but I do now. There was no spring laying with it...if there had been I would have known to stick it in below this pin, but I just thought it was an oil passage or something. Also, the decompressor "thing" on the cam had wore a groove into the head...it didn't turn backward or anything and I didn't see where it was going to hurt anything, so I stuck it back together. I figured that it was a decompressor, but also figured it was inoperable, like maybe Honda continued to use the same cam that the kickstart 400's and the motorcycles used. Anyway, hindsight is 20/20.
3.) I put the valve cover back on, and checked the valve clearance. the 2 intake valves seemed to be good. I used a .005 i believe, but the feeler gauges were straight...flimsy enough that I thought they could accurately measure the clearance, but I'm not sure. I had a little trouble getting the .004 into the exhaust valves...had to bend the feeler gauge to approx. a 35 degree angle...broke it twice, but finally got it to stay bent and I believe it to be able to accurately read the clearance. The left exhaust valve (looking at the engine from the back) had very little play in it. It hung up the feeler gauge. I adjusted it out and checked the right exhaust valve. It seemed to be alright in my opinion. This was the first time I had ever attempted to adjust valves.
Guess all that's left to do is remove the decompressor pin and the decompressor clutch from the cam, try to fix the timing, and adjust the valves once again. Just trying to figure out if I MIGHT possibly be able to get away with only adjusting the valves.
Thanks ahead of time for any advice or help.
Paul
I'm going to ask some 3 quick questions, for those who don't feel like reading a lot. For those who do, I've got an explaination for each question below.
1.) do the timing marks on the the cam gear have to be EXACTLY parallel with the head? Or can one be a hair below and one be a hair above?
2.) if the decompressor pin would happen to "fall" out of the head (onto a towel I had laying underneath the head) is it possible that the spring would stay inside the head? When I moved the head I immediately saw the pin laying there, but no spring.
3.) Hypothetically speaking, if the cam timing marks don't have to be EXACTLY parallel with the head, and the spring would have happened to stay in the head, what's the proper procedure for setting valve clearance? I have a Haynes manual and followed it pretty well, but it's not very clear.
here are some things I'm going to note, and wondering if any of these could be my problem.
1.) I put the piston to TDC with the "T" mark lined up with the lower timing mark. I installed the camshaft pulley, but the timing marks wouldn't EXACTLY line up with the head. They were pretty close, but the left mark was slightly below the head and the right mark was slightly higher. Left > _ I _ < Right. I know you guys aren't dumb, but I'm just letting you know which way I was looking at the cam gear. Anyway, rotate the above image approx. 2 degrees counterclockwise and you'll see how it looked. I tried a tooth forward and it was WAY out of time. Anyway, I figured those marks were just for a close reference as it looked like the head was actually slanted and the marks were running level.
ok 2.) I had the head upside down cleaning the carbon out of the chamber and when I flipped it over, I saw a little pin looking thing. I stuck it back down where I'd seen it before, below the decompression piece on the cam. I didn't know what it was at the time, but I do now. There was no spring laying with it...if there had been I would have known to stick it in below this pin, but I just thought it was an oil passage or something. Also, the decompressor "thing" on the cam had wore a groove into the head...it didn't turn backward or anything and I didn't see where it was going to hurt anything, so I stuck it back together. I figured that it was a decompressor, but also figured it was inoperable, like maybe Honda continued to use the same cam that the kickstart 400's and the motorcycles used. Anyway, hindsight is 20/20.
3.) I put the valve cover back on, and checked the valve clearance. the 2 intake valves seemed to be good. I used a .005 i believe, but the feeler gauges were straight...flimsy enough that I thought they could accurately measure the clearance, but I'm not sure. I had a little trouble getting the .004 into the exhaust valves...had to bend the feeler gauge to approx. a 35 degree angle...broke it twice, but finally got it to stay bent and I believe it to be able to accurately read the clearance. The left exhaust valve (looking at the engine from the back) had very little play in it. It hung up the feeler gauge. I adjusted it out and checked the right exhaust valve. It seemed to be alright in my opinion. This was the first time I had ever attempted to adjust valves.
Guess all that's left to do is remove the decompressor pin and the decompressor clutch from the cam, try to fix the timing, and adjust the valves once again. Just trying to figure out if I MIGHT possibly be able to get away with only adjusting the valves.
Thanks ahead of time for any advice or help.
Paul