Ant132

Hi mate, thanks for replying. Ive already started since posting this, ive cleaned everything up, got rid of all carbon, old gasket pieces and checked head on a piece of glass. Seems fine, gap was constant anyway. Is there any paticular reason i should replace the liners, i was thinking of leaving them. I had no coolant in the oil so i dont think they are cracked or leaking and now the head is off i have filled the water jacket with water and left it for 48 hours now and the level has not gone down, so i dont think they are leaking at all, so am i right in thinking they are fine? New gasket kit ordered, im hoping it will be a simple case of new head gasket solves everything. I bought the bike with a leaking waterpump, i think the loss of coolant has resulted in overheating thus blown head gasket. Previous owner couldnt be arsed to do the work so sold it on cheap, which is where i come in

What do you reckon to these guys... As an amatuer - i feel the head gasket might have gone but the rest i dont have a clue http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/Photo0363.jpg http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/Photo0356.jpg http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/Photo0357.jpg http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/Photo0358.jpg http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/Photo0359.jpg http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/Photo0360.jpg http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/Photo0361.jpg http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/Photo0362.jpg

I would guess that the guideline of 20-30 miles is a minimum guide. I.e. use it for at least this time or else it may not work. So 50 miles would be fine i would have thought. Also i would say you pour the mix straight in, they usually are.

Thanks Ross, i measured the pistons on a vernier gauge ealier and they are the tiniest bit under 70.5mm so im certain they are standard. Im going to order the rings tomorrow, the barrel and pistons are real good condition actually, im not going to replace as they are all within the limits luckily enough.

Thanks Ross, I think i might have been overestimating the cost of a rebore then because a cb400n barrel from david silver is only £50 so though it would have been cheaper and easier for the new barrel. Went to halfords earlier and bought the valve grinding tool as you explained, going to attempt them all tomorrow. Also finally found a place that stocks new rings so i can crack on with ordering them now Thanks again, ant.

Thats just what i wanted to hear mate, thanks alot for your help. In an ideal world i would replace the barrell, pistons and rings, get the valve seats recut etc. but i simply cant afford it. but saying that ive gone this far so may aswell do a proper job. Im going to hope for the best and measure everything for service limits and if my luck is in she will be happy with new rings. If not it might have to wait a bit longer for a rebore and new pistons. Ive seen on the halfords website that there is a valve grinding tool, im hoping that will do the job if the seats are ok. Yeah throttle response was quite poor and felt lumpy at low revs, it wouldnt idle smootly either and i think that was the HG. When i took the head off it came off really easy, easier than i expected as from what the manual made out i would have to hit it with a hammer. I never, it came off in my hands (dont know wether thats good or bad ) the head gasket was a mess and explained the oil leakage around the fins in an instant. thanks again mate, Ant

Here are some pics of the top end of my superdream. It didnt seize or break down or anything, im just rebuilding it as i have the week off and the head gasket was leaking and it burns oil . http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/DSC000148.jpg http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/DSC000157.jpg http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/DSC000167.jpg http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/DSC000176.jpg http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/DSC000186.jpg http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/DSC000195.jpg This being the first 4-stroke ive owned/worked on i havent got a clue if the above pics tell me anything substantial. Am i missing anything obvious or does it all look fine? My plan is fit a new top-end gasket set and new piston rings all round. What should i be doing with the valves? I was planning on just cleaning everything, getting the excess carbon off and and re-assembling. Just wondering if im missing anything obvious or any recommendations on what to do or check before i re-assemble? One thing i noticed is the RH piston is slightly wet with oil whereas the LH piston was dry. Im wondering if this is linked to the fact that when the bike is really warmed up it smokes slightly from the RH exhaust when idling or pulling away. Cheers for any help, Ant

Those are great! Brill, thanks Korben Mikey - If you still have it by pay-day i will be giving you a PM

Looks great! Out of interest how do you record your route like that and transfer it to google maps and record top speed, avg. speed etc.? Ant

did anyone go in the end? I went today, it was good actually.

Ive planned to go down with a few mates and i think they will go no matter what the weather, but ill see what its like, ill not go if its terrential rain lol. Only bad thing is today ive noticed my bike is stuttery and seems a bit reluctant so will have to check that out before i commit. Hopefully the weather holds out for ya mate

Ahh! Never knew about that. I will be going along to that instead then Only 30 miles

Theres an open day at HG Dudley. Might be worth a punt

I might be able to go, i notice your sig says sutton coldfield, i will be heading there from college most probably as thats in sutton too

Thanks Ross, some good advice there. Will keep me busy this afternoon! Yes mate, the same as before. Still starts great and idles fine, the power under 5k is the same. No power loss or anything.