Here's One For The Gurus.....

Getting the springs OUT would be a lot easier than getting them back IN.
Actually,it's not the springs that would be difficult to replace,but the keepers.(Obviously)
Setting a socket on the retainer,and giving it a few taps with a hammer can pop the keepers out of place,releasing the retainers and springs,allowing you to get in there to the seals.

I've watched a friend of mine(who runs a repair shop) do this on a few different bike engines(with the head off though),only because it's quicker.He's got the knack.
He still uses the spring compressor to put it all back together.

I want to know how you make out Rick...for future reference,bud.

H2RICK wrote:

Well, Plummen, to my mind stuff like that falls into the "overhaul in a can" school of thought.....but I know you're kidding me cuz you're smarter than that....right ??
Nope, this kind of thing has to be done properly. Anything less is just a bandaid, IMO, so I'll just have to buckle down and get 'er done. Should be an interesting process.
Film at 11.....or as soon as available....hopefully sometime in mid-November or thereabouts....

ive never tried anything like that myself,but mechanic in a can works for some people.:laugh: run a couple of quarts of this in there and run the wheels off of it to see if it really helps,youve got nothing to loose and if it does work you will be everybody heroe.and if it doesnt help,just deny ever doing it !:woohoo:

The "little circlip " stays on the seal the whole time.
If you can get it all apart ,, And think you can get it all back together again,,,,,,,,,.....
Oil the seal , then seat it on with a piece of hard plastic tubing .The top of the guides are tapered.

I understand what you are trying to do ,
But man , space is tight in there .

PS . the nylon rope trick lets you walk away for a day or a week without having an air supply hooked up full time.

Best of luck ,
Please let us know ,,

Mike

Rick,

This will take you to a drawing of the BMW tool.

www.ascycles.com/detail.aspx?ID=999

It looks like an easy build.

Ride Well,
Jon

Thanks for the link, Jon. That's kind of what I figured it would look like. However, I'm hoping to be able to use a longish bar with the spring retainer "cup" on the end of it with the bar pivotting on some kind of crossbar bolted to the camshaft cap holddown bolt holes. That way I can just lift up the long bar which would depress the spring retainer and then pick the keepers out with a magnet.
Until I get the cams out, I'll just have to wait and see because I can't make any measurements, etc. I just may "borrow" a scrap 650 engine from work and disassemble it to measure everything up first, then build the tool and then try it out on the scrap engine. That way, if anything gets damaged....no probs.

ok so your idea can work on 1 & 4 two and three are going to make you turn colors me thinks.i think after you do it once to prove you can,next time you will pull the head.so now that you have us all interested you have to follow up and show if you did it or not.no hangin threads.

might use some used(junk)cam caps to lever off of.levering off of the cam caps would make me leary that i would pull the little cam cap bolt threads outta the head.imagine the look on your face if you mess up a 4000 mile head because you wanted to shortcut.i have done stupider stuff tho,so soldier on.you won't be any dumber than some of the rest of us have been at times.

Yep, 531blackbanshee, I've been a little concerned about those weedy 6 mm bolt holes and pulling the threads right out of the head. Apparently the metal is not too strong in those cam bearing castings. This needs a lot of looking at and head scratching, for sure. It WILL take me awhile....but I will be taking pics, if for no other reason than my fading memory banks.

Ukandoooooit!