New Member Opening a Big Can of Worms

[ny.phill]

Hello everyone. I've been a member over at XJBikes for a while and I finally realized that most of the links that applied to my 82 XJ1100 came from this site. So here I am =)

That being said, I got the bike back in April for next to nothing and being that it's my first bike (I took a course to get my license... money well spent!) it never bothered me too much that it doesn't stay in first gear. The bike ran very well and I put about a thousand miles on it over the summer. I would just start off in second gear and all was well save for a few stalls here and there.

So now it's getting cold by me and I'm starting to take the bike apart with the intention of fixing whatever it is that ails my transmission. I figure I'll need the 1st and 2nd gear dremel fix but we'll see when I get it apart that much.

Thats pretty much it. Wanted to say hello and figured those of you who have attempted to get an engine out of the frame by themselves might be amused with the results from tonights efforts. I'm recovering from a broken hand so i'll be waiting till I can get a few more hands to help out.

[trdriver71]

Ouch hope the comes out alright!!!

[DGXSER]

Never tried that method. The simplest method I have seen yet was used on Thunderstruck by two XSive friends. The old refrigerator straps method. They put them around that engine and popped it out like it was nothing. If both guys know what they are doing, it gives alot of control over the engine to.

[mack]

Engine removal

Ya, I've had a couple of them out now and I must say I haven't tried that one either. I'd have gone the other way and stripped the bike down, then pulled the frame off the engine.But I prefer the boards and slide method.

[fredintoon]

- - - - So now it's getting cold by me and I'm starting to take the bike apart with the intention of fixing whatever it is that ails my transmission. I figure I'll need the 1st and 2nd gear dremel fix but we'll see when I get it apart that much.

Thats pretty much it. Wanted to say hello and figured those of you who have attempted to get an engine out of the frame by themselves might be amused with the results from tonights efforts. I'm recovering from a broken hand so i'll be waiting till I can get a few more hands to help out. - - -

Hi Phil and welcome,
coulda been worse, coulda crushed your nuts instead of breaking your hand, eh?
What works for me on heavy lifting jobs is a garage crane.
Unlike the average biker buddy, a crane don't want to stop for a beer with the job only half done.

[jmelin]

Try layng the bike on its side so it rests on the motor, then lift the frame off the motor. Frames are lighter than motor and transmision combination.

Oh yeah, strip the bike as much as possible first to lighten the frame.

[latexeses]

You have found the right place for advice.

[ny.phill]

Thanks for all the advice and welcomes. Much appreciated.

I guess I should've given some context to that picture, but what i was trying to do was lay it on it's side and pick up the frame leaving the engine behind. The problem is that now it's coming out of the left side despite my best efforts to get it out the right side as I had read is how it should be done.

I've got an engine hoist somewhere that I was too exhausted to set up after messing around with the bike for about 2 hours. I'll have a buddy out there within the next day or two to give me a hand and we'll get the SOB out one way or the other =)

Then i get to find out if my transmission is fixable and what the engine looks like on the inside (compression tests maxed out at 90 psi)... ahh, it is nice to have a nice fresh project for the holiday seasons though!

I'll try to keep this thread update with progress pics as I move along.

Thanks again for the warm welcome!

[tcoop]

I tried that method also but the frame kept binding up. I stood the bike up and slid the engine out the left side. ( I had my son help me)

[ny.phill]

Well, I had a friend help me out tonight and finally got the engine out of the frame. Really isn't all that terrible with a few pry bars and someone to help, but holy hell this thing is heavy! What do these things weigh?

I am rather shot and have to get up early tomorrow, but here's some pics of all the unhappiness I found on the inside.


first gear - bad dogs


first gear - bad dogs (opposite angle)


second gear - not looking too shabby thankfully


oil pump screen - bad things happened in this engine


oil pan - note the multiple grams of metals shavings in each corner... I was hoping not to tear the whole thing down but I guess I really should at this point.



That's all for now. Hoping to have some more progress by the weekend. Happy Thanksgiving everyone =)

[strom]

Well, at least you see your problem now... dremel fix should work. Also do the 2nd gear and the washer swap, if it also applies to the XJ.

Dont worry too much about the shavings if everything else looks OK. Just clean the oil pump mesh.

Many happy miles!

[ny.phill]

I'm glad to say that I got the countershaft out tonight and have the gears in hand ready to be backcut. I've read every 'dremel fix' post I could find and I am going to try to find myself a machine shop tomorrow to see what it's going to cost to have them done by a pro. I'm sure I could do a better than decent job myself with a few diamond and/or carbide bits, but I'm thinking even my best effort still wouldn't compare something done at a machine shop.

Has anyone else gone this route? I'm curious as to what kind of quotes I'm going to get for what I would think would be pretty simple with the right machinery.

What would a shop use for this situation? CNC seems overboard, but I dunno...

I also noticed a lot of comments about the shift forks, but didn't find too much describing what kind of wear I should be looking for... What goes bad on the shift forks?

*tldr*
-Counter shaft is out
-I'm learning towards having the backcuts machined
-How would a machine shop do these backcuts
-What goes bad on the shift forks


1st gear dogs - up above


1st gear dogs - side angle


4th gear slots


Shift forks look happy... I think?

edit: Happy Thanksgiving =)

[DGXSER]

Wowww

OK..shift forks look good from what I can see. The most likely thing you will see si where the ger has worn clean into the metal of the shift fork due to someone standing on the gear shift to hold it in gear.

As to your gears, prinarily the no 1 gear dogs shown, well, I am the last person to spend money if I can fix it myself some way. But unless you are an expert welder or something, you need a new gear in my opinion. That is the WORST worn gear I have ever seen. Sorry. Gears are about $100 a pop.

[ny.phill]

Yeah, that bad? Crap

I didn't get a chance to get any quotes for the machine work today, but I did find a shop that I'm hoping is open tomorrow. If not, I still need to have the 2nd gear dogs cut back a little and I'll see what they have to say about backcutting the 1st gear dogs and still having enough strength left. There's a dealer not too far from me that I know is open tomorrow so I'll go see what they're getting for a 1st/4th combo purchase.

I am planning on cracking the cases and getting a look at the bearings and hopefully the heads if I get around to it.

[crazy steve]

...There's a dealer not too far from me that I know is open tomorrow so I'll go see what they're getting for a 1st/4th combo purchase..

Yeah, that one's pretty bad...

You might check EBay for gears, as you see a lot of gear sets listed.