Transmission and tear down

[bakerboy]

Hey everybody! I'm new here and have been reading up on transmissions and fixes that everyone has posted on the site. I just bought an 82' XJ1100 with "transmission problems" and the guy I bought it from said its missing in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Hopefully I will have a different transmission soon to replace the one currently in the bike, however I don't know the best way I should go about replacing the older one.

Whats the BEST way? Flip it? Leave it standing and lay on the ground? Take the engine out?

I haven't opened up the trans yet to see whats going on in there, but if you read this and have tinkered with yours can you reply with what you did and how it worked?

THANKS!

[trbig]

Welcome to the site and congratulations on your XJ.

99% of the time, you won't need any new transmission parts. You just back-cut what's already there. Many say it's not required to flip the bike, but some still prefer to do so. It's certainly not required to pull the motor and split the cases, but that's MY preference so I can see if there's any other problems while I'm in there.

As for the miss... On the XJ, it's more than likely going to do it in every gear since there's no mechanical timing advance. These motors are so smooth, that sometimes if the RPM is up, it's hard to tell even if it's dropped two of the cylinders. If it's just one cylinder, it could be a clogged carb or a bad plug/plug wire. if it's two cylinders missing (You can spritz water on the header pipes to see if they all sizzle equally.. missing one(s) won't be as hot).. if it's cyls 1&4 together or 2&3, suspect coils or electrical. If it's cyls 1&2 or 3&4, suspect carb issues.

The XJ has a YICS system (A tube along the back of the cylinders that connects all the intakes) that must be plugged with a YICS tool to be able to individualize and synchronize the carbs. One of the members on here makes one that can be left in place permanently if wished.. or taken in and out for carb synching.

Tod

[bakerboy]

Thanks Tod.

I ended up pulling the engine off the bike and will more than likely do a complete tear down to see how the cylinders/pistons/rings look.

Turns out that I wont be getting that newer trans after all, so once I see how the current gears are then I will do the Dremel tool alteration (Is that what you guys call the Black and Decker mod?)

Thanks for your reply.

[trbig]

Just a suggestion, but I wouldn't pull the jugs off of the pistons. You can mic the cylinders with just the head off. Removing it completely will require honing and ring repositioning/reseat... plus a base gasket and a PITA to get the jugs back on the pistons without breaking a ring. Not to mention sometimes a MAJOR pita just to get the cylinders off! Mic the cylinders front to back... over time they tend to get slightly egg shaped from the piston stroke.

Good luck and holler if you need any help.


Tod

[bakerboy]

Awesome advice Tod. Thanks for that

I might just tackle the trans gears first because I know that there is definitely a problem there. As for the cylinders and the pistons I might just leave them alone, but still take the head off and look, do some measuring like you suggested.

One thing I noticed when I took the valve cover off today is that there are two valve rotators that have superficial "scarring" on top from the exhaust cam lobes on the 1st and 4th cylinder... It did not look like there was any depth to the "scars" but they were definitely marked visually and unlike all of the rest of the rotators. Should I worry about this or just leave it be?

Now that I have the engine out and can flip, tilt, turn, and rotate it; It would be easiest for me to roll the engine bottom UP and take the trans pan off to access the gears right?

Next time I post I will add pictures and arrows so you will be able to see what I am babbling about