Any water in oil? How does the cyl. head look? Compression check out OK? (leak down test performed?)
As indicated, Black plugs would indicate oil burn on one or both cylinders. Rings can be hard to measure. I think it is SMART to replace them all. Don't use Diesel or synthetic oil after rebuild ... rings will never seat with Syn oil. Standard mineral oil for first 3500 miles, IMHO.
Bad valve stem seals would mean significant smoking on start up. You would have seen this early on.
Getting the engine back in is a bitch. No easy way. I've not pulled an AT motor but have done BMW, Triumph, Moto Guzzi, and Honda singles to name a few. Recently a DR650, which was easy!
I like to have plenty of spare hands to help, lots of wood blocs, wedges and cloths. Try to stabilize chassis (not easy) tape over frame rails to prevent scratching. Rig some kind of block and tackle from above to take the weight. Work slowly ... it's like a frickin' puzzle.
Last edited by Mickey D; 2 Jun 2010 at 19:04.
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