Purity vs heartbeats

I've removed engines from dirtbikes in the past but not my KZP, so I'm wondering about hassle factor for an old guy without any special lifting gear...

I recently had to remove and replace my valve cover to control a couple of significant leaks.

users.crocker.com/~mwilliams/My_P18_restoration_2.htm

if anyone's interested. At that time, I saw that some valves needed to be adjusted but I didn't have the shims and it needed to be buttoned up for a show. I helicoiled a few holes I could get at but the last bolt in the tightening sequence let go and I was only torquing to 85 in-# (spec is 90). That one is behind the #3 intake valve so I don't have a prayer of getting to with with a drill or tapholder. The engine has to come out, and at that time, I do intended to timesert it. My questions:

1. What is teh PITA factor on pulling the engine? Looks way heavy.. I don't have any special lifting gear.

2.What are you opinions about either letting it go and p-texing the living cr*p out of it, or maybe just hand scribing the next size tap up (metric or SAE.. just the next size) as a form of some minimal holding power until I do get ambitious enough to pull the engine? Think I'll have a leak if I let it slide?

Thanks in advance,
Mike

The PITA Factor is directly proportional to the equipment and muscle available; in your case, it sounds like the quotient is right up there...

Heavy? You betcha.

Heavy enough that yanking it to Helicoil a single cam cover bolt is pretty much like having a proctologist take your tonsils out.

Why not just pull the head and fix it right - done easily enough motor-in-frame and mayhaps give yourself a valve job while you're at it? Once it's done, it's done - and doesn't preclude popping the motor to handle other issues some other time.

If the motor's otherwise running decent enough, and since that part of the cover is largely out of sight, you can try glopping the bejesus out of it with some kind of *Miracle Snot* (tm) and hope it holds out until you get around to pulling it. At the very least, I'd expect seepage.

you could lay the bike over unbolt the engine and then pull the frame up and away. lots of guys find that method a bit easier. Im sure somebody here could give you some pointers on how to go about it the best way

77KZ650 wrote:

you could lay the bike over unbolt the engine and then pull the frame up and away. lots of guys find that method a bit easier. Im sure somebody here could give you some pointers on how to go about it the best way

True enough - there's some wiggle-waggling entailed doing it that way, but it is an option. Hot ticket is to have a pre-measured set of blocks ready on the floor so that the motor lies flat without flopping around while you're trying to jiggle it loose. Save the frame paint.

Oh - and if you try it, especially on the living room floor on the Better Half's new rug, it'd be advisable to drain the oil first...

why not just pull the head off?lot less hassles.

Huh?

head off the motor!:woohoo:

Pterosaur wrote:

The PITA Factor is directly proportional to the equipment and muscle available; in your case, it sounds like the quotient is right up there...

Heavy? You betcha.

Heavy enough that yanking it to Helicoil a single cam cover bolt is pretty much like having a proctologist take your tonsils out.

Why not just pull the head and fix it right - done easily enough motor-in-frame and mayhaps give yourself a valve job while you're at it? Once it's done, it's done - and doesn't preclude popping the motor to handle other issues some other time.

If the motor's otherwise running decent enough, and since that part of the cover is largely out of sight, you can try glopping the bejesus out of it with some kind of *Miracle Snot* (tm) and hope it holds out until you get around to pulling it. At the very least, I'd expect seepage.

Yes folks... I'm THIS stupid. Thank you... that's an infinitely better idea. Please... all... go forth and tell more of those jokes about how engineering PhD's can't find their a$$ with both hands:)

I guess the only trick is going to be getting the cam shafts realigned with the crank shaft. I'm sure there's a sound procedure for this in the manual (out in the 38 degree garage:). Duh, duh, duh, duh... crap I hate being stupid!

Thank you again.

Mike

Related question... if you had just put new end caps on in August, would you get new ones again or reuse the old ones?

Mike

Mike W. wrote:

Related question... if you had just put new end caps on in August, would you get new ones again or reuse the old ones?

Mike

For purity's sake, a purist would always replace them.

But out here in the fields, where we fight for our meals, (...apologies to The Who)...a lot of us ham and eggers have re-seated an un-abused set with little or no trouble.

A thin-film wipe of some type of non-hardening Sillycone Snot (tm) around the mating surfaces of the plug will go a long way towards staving off the irritating drip, drip, drip made world famous by Millwaukee Pig Iron's affinity for marking its spot with prehistoric glop.

Speaking of enguhneers, asses and both hands, I've yet to ever hear why those end plugs are there in the first place - they're the evolutionary equivalent of third nipples on Wireman's boar hogs... :blink:

the plugs are there because that is the way the cam bores were machined, but you would have thought they could have used a bolt on plate rather than rubber plugs, the allmighty dollar at work

BSKZ650 wrote:

the plugs are there because that is the way the cam bores were machined, but you would have thought they could have used a bolt on plate rather than rubber plugs, the allmighty dollar at work

Knew about the cam bores, didn't think of why they'ed go so cheap on the work-around...

But then, a spanky-new '73 Z1 went for about $1495 as I recall (..a '72 boat-tail Superglide went for $3495...), so it all begins to make sense.

Nobody expected them to still be on the streets 30-odd years up The Time Tunnel...:woohoo: