found wood in the air box!

[MPittma100]

Head

If you need valve seals, bite the bullet and pull the head. Take it to a reputable machine shop. They will clean head, resurface, grind valves and seats, replace seals, and adjust valves. DONE DEAL! Ready for another 45 years.

[dansmith65]

Thanks for the additional feedback. I was hoping NOT to have to change the valve seals or remove the head this year. When it last ran, I didn't notice smoke from the exhaust, so I'm hoping these valve seals will last me another year, at least.

Once I get the valve lash adjusted properly, I'll check compression and re-evaluate; as per the advice from another thread.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Dan,

To save you some teardown time/$$ this year, they also make a rubber seal conditioner that can be added to the OIL to help re-soften rubber seals like the valve seals to possibly help them seal better, for a while at least.

I don't know exactly what's in the conditioner and whether it can affect the wet clutches??

PS, did some research, found 3 of the newest formulations/brands:
Lucas Oil stop leak, Blue Devil, and Bars Leaks stop leak.

Found this info on FAQ for Bars Leaks:

Will Bar’s Leaks Oil Seal Engine Oil Burning & Leak Repair work in my engine?

Yes, your vehicle is a good candidate for this solution if it does not consume more than one quart of oil per day. We have designed this product to work in all gasoline and diesel engines including turbocharged, EcoBoost, hybrid and even racing engines. This covers 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 cylinder engines in all cars, trucks, vans and SUV’s, also can be used in heavy-duty applications referencing the appropriate dosage level. This applies to a wide range of other motor applications too: tractors, boats, RV’s, motorcycles (including wet clutch), ATV’s, lawn equipment.

Here's the webpage link:
https://barsleaks.com/product/oil-se...g-leak-repair/

Here's a webpage with background info on Previous formulations that were NOT good for the engine/seals, along with explanation of latest formulations.

http://axleadvisor.com/best-engine-oil-stop-leak/

HTH, T.C.

[BA80]

Read the title of this thread and was thinking that must be a pretty sexy airbox if you got wood.

[dansmith65]

Thanks T.C. that's a good idea. I bookmarked it to look into before I put fresh oil in.

Greg, sorry this thread wasn't more interesting and my airbox wasn't so sexy.

[dansmith65]

I've been softening the velocity stacks with Wintergreen/alcohol mixture, which is working pretty well: https://youtu.be/b-UzW0nXbcw

For reference, I found a similar post about a caved-in snorkel: http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46691. I'll be using that "rag in the snorkel" method while I'm gluing mine back together.

I just noticed the seal that connects the top/bottom halves of the airbox is shrunken, hard, and letting air by in one or two spots. I'm wondering if anyone has replaced that with some sort of weatherstripping from the hardware store? I checked for an OEM replacement, but it doesn't appear to be available. Also searched google/ebay for the part number but couldn't find it that way... which is why I'm considering a DIY hack.

[dansmith65]

I forgot to update this thread with my results. The 3M weatherstrip glue worked great. I did end up changing the seal with some EPDM rubber weatherstripping I found at the local hardware store; it felt like it was probably the same material as original.

The old foam was hard and sunken here, so it was letting air by.


It was still sealing in most places, but it was definitely degraded and falling off in others.


Replaced with this stuff:


I put it in sideways so the sticky part was attached to the vertical part of the center plastic piece. It had a little too much volume, so I cut the bottom part of the "D" shape, so it would collapse more easily when the two halves of the airbox were assembled. I also tried my best to tuck the outer edge of it down into the groove of the upper half of the airbox, after attaching this piece to it.