Me thinks I may have a problem

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a circlip would have , on the O.D., a square edge on one side and a rounded edge on the other. If it isn't too beaten up perhaps you can still see it.
 
seattle##gs said:
a circlip would have , on the O.D., a square edge on one side and a rounded edge on the other. If it isn't too beaten up perhaps you can still see it.
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it looks to me, through a magnifying glass, like the ID is thicker than the outside edge of the OD and it looks like both "top and bottom" surfaces taper down from the ID to the OD edge in an equal manner.
 
I would suggest that it’s rather irrelevant to study your fragment too much more at this stage.

The fragment, and your Christmas Tree drain bung magnets, have done their job at this stage... they’ve told you that ‘you gotta go in’.

Bite the bullet and take the top end off, then let’s re group and review... with luck you won’t have to go deeper, but you’ll not know until you get that far.
 
Don't bother with the bore scope, you're wasting time - strip the top end off. Remember to check the oilway back to the return side of the pump as well, it should be clear, but have known them to block.
 
Fast Eddie said:
I would suggest that it’s rather irrelevant to study your fragment too much more at this stage.

The fragment, and your Christmas Tree drain bung magnets, have done their job at this stage... they’ve told you that ‘you gotta go in’.

Bite the bullet and take the top end off, then let’s re group and review... with luck you won’t have to go deeper, but you’ll not know until you get that far.
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Agreed. I'm glad I got through the best part of the riding season here in South Dakota before it happened, and hopefully will get it all back together again before the next season begins.
 
Please explain , how can a piece of a piston circlip or ring reach the drain plug ?
Have you taken the big plug with the mesh screen out ?
 
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I've had a circlip pop out. I caught it right away and shut the engine off and coasted to a stop. My circlips looked like this.

Me thinks I may have a problem



Mine came loose at 60mph and made a "POP" which also yielded a puff of smoke on that side of the exhaust which I saw in the mirror. I pulled the clutch, shut off the key, and coasted to a stop. No question I was pulling the cylinders off. No need for a borescope, I knew I broke something (kind of like you...) and had to take a look to see what it was.

In my case, I didn't run the engine for more than a few seconds after the circlip popped and all I had a tiny score which my machinist guy told me probably wouldn't even smoke, so I shouldn't renew the brand new bore he gave me a month earlier. He was right in my case. I'm still using that bore today 20 years later. (with the good circlips, not the crap you see above)

Open it up...
Me thinks I may have a problem
 
ludwig said:
Please explain , how can a piece of a piston circlip or ring reach the drain plug ?
Have you taken the big plug with the mesh screen out ?
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Yes, I did take both drain plugs out. the solid bit of metal was magnetically attached to the plug that is part of the larger plug that has a screen in it,,,it was a little surprising to me that the screen in the big plug was really quite clean, so, I am assuming the magnetic tip if the smaller plug caught the small and big bits
 
o0norton0o said:
I've had a circlip pop out. I caught it right away and shut the engine off and coasted to a stop. My circlips looked like this.

Me thinks I may have a problem



Mine came loose at 60mph and made a "POP" which also yielded a puff of smoke on that side of the exhaust which I saw in the mirror. I pulled the clutch, shut off the key, and coasted to a stop. No question I was pulling the cylinders off. No need for a borescope, I knew I broke something (kind of like you...) and had to take a look to see what it was.

In my case, I didn't run the engine for more than a few seconds after the circlip popped and all I had a tiny score which my machinist guy told me probably wouldn't even smoke, so I shouldn't renew the brand new bore he gave me a month earlier. He was right in my case. I'm still using that bore today 20 years later. (with the good circlips, not the crap you see above)

Open it up...
Me thinks I may have a problem
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hmmm, i didn't hear a pop or any associated sound, didn't see any smoke in the mirrors at all,, the engine just started to misfire, and it wasn't all that bad to be honest,it was behaving more like it was a case of poor gas,,,I had just filled up with about 2.6 gallons into a roadster tank,,,I had just turned on the reserve petcock, so at first I assumed bad gas,,,rode the 4 blocks back to the house with the expectation of draining that tank of gas,,,wish it had been that simple
 
I'll side with Norton Bob and say it is likely a bit of a bearing cage. Good thing you have magnetic drain plugs. Looks like a good investment that may have saved you a lot of grief. Teardown is imminent, IMO.
Best regards,
~998cc
 
998cc said:
I'll side with Norton Bob and say it is likely a bit of a bearing cage. Good thing you have magnetic drain plugs. Looks like a good investment that may have saved you a lot of grief. Teardown is imminent, IMO.
Best regards,
~998cc
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teardown starts tomorrow,,,,slowly but surely. I tend to be impatient,,i need to not be that way for this project,,I think I'll rent a boroscope from my local auto parts store just to see what I can see,,,that may sober me up a bit
 
Schilling said:
teardown starts tomorrow,,,,slowly but surely. I tend to be impatient,,i need to not be that way for this project,,I think I'll rent a boroscope from my local auto parts store just to see what I can see,,,that may sober me up a bit
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As has already been said, that’s a waste of time and money. Strip the top end and hope that’s where the problem lies.

If not, you’re gonna have to strip the bottom end too.

You can’t strip the bottom end and leave the top end intact! So, no matter what happens longer term, your first course of action is to strip the top end...
 
Schilling
best to prepare for a full rebuild to be honest, when I had different problems with piston and cams that showed up on the magnets, found bits has also gone through the main bearings etc. Rod bearings and crankshaft were fine in both cases but it also gave me a chance to improve things next build and a better bike as a result.
Next rebuild will see a set of JS BSA cam followers and JS2 cam installed but hope that,s not needed for quite some time and many happy miles.
Now accumulating parts gradually until I have a complete kit of spares for a possible rebuild.
 
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Schilling said:
teardown starts tomorrow,,,,slowly but surely. I tend to be impatient,,i need to not be that way for this project,,I think I'll rent a boroscope from my local auto parts store just to see what I can see,,,that may sober me up a bit
Click to expand...
Though likely not useful for this issue, if you want a bore scope, note these can now be had for under $15-20 with built in lighting as USB cable connected devices...you hook to a pc laptop for viewing. Not worth wasting money on pro automotive devices.
 
concours said:
Any news?
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just about got the head off,,,i needed to acquire a tool to remove the header rosettes,,,mine disappeared during a recent move apparently. I can say the top of the right hand piston is coked up beyond belief,,,more to come tomorrow when i finish the head removal task, hopefully it warms up in the garage a little during the next few days.
 
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