Parts for an Engine rebuild and ideas

[whoride76]

I am a new owner of a 1980 XS 1100. It has just about 60,000 miles. I have read many of the forums and have learned tons. But i have had trouble in locating the info i need.

The Problem:

I just brought the bike and only drove it about 5 miles. I went to change the oil and only about 1 1/2 cups of oil come out. I put in new oil and a filter. Then tried to start it. It was kind of hard starting, just turned over a lot. I was able to get it going but it started to smoke out of the left exhaust. At one point it seemed liked a smoke screen from the video game Spy Hunter.

Doing some research on this site i have come down to 2 things.
1-I did not put oil into the oil filter cap. (i did turn it over a lot before starting) SO maybe the oil pump did not pick up any oil.

2- or It sounds like a blew a piston ring- it is not really making any catastrophic sounds, that would make me believe that i blew a piston, just the idea of oil getting past the rings.
__________________________________________________ _______________
I have talked to some friends and they say the white smoke was caused by the carbs needing to be worked on. Not the right fuel/air mixture. Which could be, It was sitting for a long while.

I am going to pull out the engine. My goal is not really to upgrade anything, but i if it is not hard and too advanced i would not mind making some upgrades that are cheap and improve the engine power and reliability in some way.

MY QUESTION
What items do i need to buy to have ready to replace when i pull off the engine? I do not want to have have to wait for any parts from the mail.
On my list so far: I know there is more.
A gasket set and ring set

While the heads are off do i have them machined or not bother?

Is there anything i should be aware of that you might of had problems with or a certain tool that made your life easier in this process?

I am also going to rebuild the carbs. I would like to find out that member's info that he did the work on the carbs (re-jet) and then ran them on his bike. I have seen is ad on ebay and on this site, however i have been unable to find it again.

I have not really done any internal work on bikes before. I did buy the manual on Ebay that they send to your computer. I am thinking it is not the same as the manual in book form. But i am not stupid. A little slooooow at time but not dumb.

Just a side note, I plan to use individual air pods on the carbs and Thinking about straight pipes.

IF you guys are still with me after this long post i would really appreciate any feed back you could give. If you tell me of any more parts please also make sure you tell me where to get them.

I know many have answered questions like this in the past, however please take some time and give me some ideas, even if you cut and paste them. I will read them all.

PS I have had a real problem with my blinkers and brake light.I bought all new after market lights with 2 LCD brake lights. (that i cant get to work) I think it was the wire that came loose from inside left hand side controls. SO i am going to replace it after two soldering blisters, However When i look on Ebay even with some of the 1980 controls they do not have the hazard light switch on the bottom. I do not know if they list the control wrong in the description or if i really do not have to worry about it that switch. The plug-ins look the same, just no switch located on the bottom of the controls.
---Ideas for this would also be very helpful.

If you guys respond and ever drive through Fresno CA, I will buy you a beer. First come-first serve..( i am not loaded you know)

Thank you -Will

[latexeses]

Congrats and welcome.
I'm new here as well but the first thing I learned is to eat the elephant one bite at a time. I think the very first thing you would want to do is make sure the carbs are cleaned and sync them up before jumping into pulling a motor. From what I have learned, badly adjusted Carbs can make the cylinders try to run at different speeds and can make the motor sound like all hell has broken loose. I am almost to that point in my restoration but it is the FIRST place to start, especially if the bike has been setting full of fuel for an extended period of time. A good cleaning should extend to the rest of the fuel system as well. Tank, petcocks, especially the screens on the petcocks. Mine looked fine but they had a light coat of laquer from old fuel and it made a perfect barrier to the gas. If you have half of the carbs being starved for fuel.....
The Gurus here will have much more insite into your problem than I.
I have a good friend who is a old time retired veternarian and he always used to tell tthe young vets, "If someone comes to you and tells you that you have a bird in the tree in your front yard, it is probably a sparrow, not an eagle".
Moral of the story. Look for the most likely and most common problem first.
Good luck and be patient.
Rodger

[oseaghdha]

First, make certain you didn't drain the middle drive instead of the engine oil.
Make certain you put the correct amount back in.
Make certain there is not gas in the oil.

Second check the compression.

If you are going to scatter the engine, read eveything three times before doing anything. Search is your friend.

[prometheus578]

Too much oil

And if so, you wouldn't be the first.
Curious about only 1 1/2 cups of oil coming out.
Draining the oil:
That big cup-like thing on the front... the one mit der oil filter in it... that might hold a cup and a half. But behind it a little, is the real oil drain plug. Think it's an 17 or 19mm bolt.
The oil filler cap is hard to mistake. It's on the right side... there's also a little window there to check the oil level.
The common mistake is to fill and check the oil with the bike on the side stand(Bike leaning) This would, by checking the oil level window, make you want to overfill the engine by a quart or so.
Oil level is checked with the bike upright, on the center stand.
Too much oil.. yeah, it'll smoke like that.
Also, a bike that hasn't run for quite a while will smoke. Oft times, the rings will get stuck and not seal properly until they "Get their groove back", so to speak.
Back to the overfill.
If that was the case... the bike will smoke for a while until it burns off the excess oil that was sort of sprayed into the exhaust system.

White smoke... gray smoke... sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.
Black smoke means too much fuel.
Gray/blue smoke means burning oil.
White smoke means burning water/ anti-freeze... which we don't have.


I see no reason at this point to pull the engine. (Actually, almost all repairs can be done with the engine in the bike.)

LCD lights: Do you mean LED lights?
LED lights draw very little power and the stock "Turn Signal Blinkie" will not operate them. Blinkies work 'cause the current draw from the stock bulbs heats up a bi-metal strip... which bends and makes(and breaks) the "blinkie" connection, causing the lights to flash. LEDs will not draw enough power. You need to run (or drive) to an auto parts store and buy an electronic flasher unit. This will flash your little lights... but you'll loss the "auto-cancelling" feature of the turn signals.
Do a search here for "LEDs"... for info on electronic flasher units.

So... double check on the oil issue... throw in a fresh set of spark plugs and report back.

[trbig]

I agree with the others here in that you probably drained the middle drive, and now have more than two quarts too much in the crankcase. It is probably pumping oil into your air filter box out of the vent tube and the engine is getting a fuel/oil/air mix through the carbs, making it hard to start.

The drain plug for the engine is on the front left of the oil pan facing forward... not straight down in the back of the pan like the middle drive plug. Also, according to the manual, there isn't a need to fill the oil filter cup up unless a total engine rebuild is done. The oil pump has oil in it and is primed when simply changing the oil.

Don't forget to refill your middle drive back up to the proper level with hypoid gear oil.


Tod

[fredintoon]

Another vote for an over-fill

Hi Whoride & welcome,
I betcha that you either just pulled the filter cover and didn't pull the actual engine oil drain plug or that if you did pull a drain plug that you drained the middle drive unit instead. And you wouldn't be the first to do that, either. The engine oil drain plug is behind the engine oil filter cover and it points forwards, not down. And it's a tiny little thing too, not a horkin' big magnet-plug like most bikes have so it's easy to mistake it for a normal fastener.

[planedick]

Filter housing

First, you should edit your profile so we can see where you are as there is probably someone close that could help you and second, you should get a manual so you can see how to do things right as these bikes are VERY different than most and most shops won't touch them and if they do they will almost always screw it up. I figure you probably took out the bolt that holds the filter housing on and didn't remove the drain plug to drain the oil.

[latexeses]

See what I mean about the gurus.

[whoride76]

Thank you

Thank you for all of your help. I think i did have a senior moment and just drop the oil filter cap and not the drain plug. I have a feeling when i let out the oil i might have more then a 1 1/2 cups. Thanks again. Great information.

I am sure i will be on this site a lot.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there WhoRide76,

My goal is not really to upgrade anything, but i if it is not hard and too advanced i would not mind making some upgrades that are cheap and improve the engine power and reliability in some way.

The missing/extra oil problem has been solved above. Also, doing a thorough cleaning of the fuel system is also in order and will go a long way in improving the power and fuel economy of your bike. Doing a good cleaning of ALL of the electrical connectors, especially the big white plugs BEHIND the right hand fuse panel that are for the ALT will help eliminate most of the electrical gremlins! Prom already covered the LED signals problem.

I and many others are in favor of Indy Pods, but see the TECH TIPS, for MODs for mounting them and possible problems depending on what style/brand you get!

If the bike has a decent set of OEM pipes that are NOT rusted out, they will actually provide you with the most ALL AROUND power you can get out of the bike, they are tuned to get the most out of the low rpm grunt these machines can deliver, and still give decent hi rpm/topend response. The engine doesn't do well with straight pipes compared to autos! I like to run in the higher rpm range and rev mine often and hi, and so I enjoy my 4-1 pipes which are tuned for better mid/hi rpm response, but at a slight loss of the lower rpm grunt! Will depend on where you want to run the bike/engine, cruising lugging rpms or mid ~5K + sport style riding!?

IF you do Indy filters and aftermarket pipes, then you may need to rejet because both mods lean the fuel air ratios a bit, and could cause throttle response problems, both low and hi rpm!

Check the valve clearances, and adjust appropriately, you'll need to know the gap, the size of the shims already in place..printed/etched on the bottom of them, before you can know what sizes you'll need to get.

Be VERY CAREFUL doing the cam chain tensioner adjustment, PLEASE READ the tech tip, and even do a search for recent threads, valve damage can occur IF done incorrectly, and sometimes even when done correctly!

Best to do this while you have the valve cover OFF so you can inspect the timing marks on the cams after doing the adjustment and SLOWLY turning the motor/crank by hand with plugs out to verify timing still correct vs. slipping a crank tooth!

Many of the gaskets can be made with just a roll of gasket material, Xacto knife and single hole puncher. The valve cover is a bit more complicated and stiffer, can be bought alone from Partsnmore.com, along with the little half moon rubber/metal cam boring cover seals...they tend to leak due to shrinkage with age/heat!

New MikesXS.com ignition coils and wires/plugs will also give you a power boost at a decent price, the old coils are only rated about 15kvolts, and they are 20+ yrs old! Also, a new fuseblock and solid fuses are highly recommended vs. the old glass/copper clips!

There are tech tips in the top MENU DROP DOWN MENUS, not just in the FORUMS, check them out!! PLEASE!!