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A summer/winter project: '92 XT600 rebuild
I am a sucker for old, neglected bikes that need love. In this case, a 1992 XT600 E with 5000, hard, hard miles. I don't think this bike was ever maintained in any way, shape or form to be honest with you. It was simply ridden into the ground, where it stayed until I came to rescue it.
I've documented my progress in another motorcycle forum but the interest for these bikes there is pretty low it seems. I was pointed in this direction by a HUBB member and I was astonished with what I found here. Great information all through out the site and lots of knowledgeable folk aswell. In the next few days I will try to catch things up here with where I am at with this project. My hopes are to gain some useful insight into these bikes and document the process as I go along so that others can chime in and also learn from my mistakes. :scooter: Alfredo |
You can kill an XT in 5000 miles?:eek3:
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The subject
Here she is, in her true naked form:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...D/Naked-XT.jpg I knew a couple of things about the bike before I became the owner. One being that it ran, the other being that the oil, it's lifeblood, was not circulating to where it should be. Right away I knew things weren't going to look pretty inside this machine, but I decided to go for it anyway. With the hope that I, or someone out there will learn something from this process. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...-TOP-NAKED.jpg |
So, right away, as I began to dig into it, issues arose.
Yep, things were a bit dry up top. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...VALVECLOSE.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...xtheadcam1.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o.../xtrockers.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...T-CAMSHAFT.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...T-CAMCLOSE.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...o/xtvalves.jpg |
Hmmmm.. I wonder what the cylinder looks like...
If your piston looks like this: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...-BADPISTON.jpg Then your cylinder probably needs some love: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...-INSIDECYL.jpg |
Up to this point all I've done is remove parts. I removed the engine also, even though it wasn't really necessary I want to give this bike a complete make over.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...-ENGINEOUT.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...D/XT-PARTS.jpg In the next post or two I will show you guys what, besides the obvious abuse/negligence, caused all of this to happen..... Check back soon! Alfredo |
hey there and welcome to the Hubb!
Wow...the bike doesn't look that bad on the outside... i didn't spot any rust on the frame either and the engine looks as new ON THE OUTSIDE lol... Anyway, might you consider on a Stage2 Cam and a 96mm Wiseco (11.5:1 compression)?? lol Have fun with that rebuilding! Any questions just ask! If you need the workshop manual just go here Smokin' Lizard Vando :innocent: |
Great pictures, thanks. Mine looks a whole lot worse on the outside, but I'm hoping that inside things are a little better.
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Come on, admit it, you went "oooh" out loud when you saw the pictures didn't you? Nasty, nasty, nasty. :( How did such a low mileage engine run so dry? Did the drain plug fall out? Oil pump fail? It'll be really interesting to see the re-build, and also to see what it all costs, just in case the worst happens to mine. |
What caused this to fail you say? It was indeed the oil pump, it was jammed up by some crud that got into the engine somehow.
Here's the clutch side of the engine with the clutch and oil pump out. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...Clutchless.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...PUMPCAVITY.jpg |
Here's the oil pump taken apart:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...LPUMPAPART.jpg A close up picture: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...ILPUMPCRUD.jpg The pump was a little pitted on the inside so I went ahead and bought a different one on ebay that came off of xt550. Also, the gear that drives the pump was toast: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...ILPUMPGEAR.jpg Can't really see it in the pic but the boss spun inside the plastic gear when the pump jammed. |
While I was messing with the rest of the engine I ordered a brand new 96mm wiseco piston from ebay. Cost me around $130 dollars with rings and everything. At the end of the project I will compile a list of what everything cost me that way it's all together and easy to find.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...sNewPiston.jpg Once I had the piston in my hands, I took the cylinder into a shop that was recommended to me by a well respected motorcycle wheel builder/machine shop that is here in Denver, CO. I was impressed with the job... http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...Crosshatch.jpg |
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Junk it, and go get a post '89 one - plenty of posts on here about the differences. Unless the 550 guy was enlightened, and had replaced his for the new type already? |
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Wow. Good to know! See, this is why i'm posting this here also :thumbup1:. I only looked at them side by side and the look and fit was exactly the same, it's the internals that are different then? Good thing I still have all winter to do this! :mchappy: |
Nice point!! do get the other oil pump!
Btw, is that piston the 11.5:1 compression ratio or is it stock comp? One day when I do need to bore the cylinder I might get a 97mm 11.5:1 piston in it and the stage2 cam and maybe a performance "ICU" or whatever it's called... and get a new cylinder sleeve.. if I want to get back to stock or whatever.. Vando :thumbup1: |
Oil pump?
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The new piston is stock compression. I'm going to be on the lookout for a later model oil pump...Or see if I can fix the one I have, if it comes down to it. Anyone here have one laying around? Not many parts for the later models here in the US. Most of the parts I find are from early '80s xts. I guess that's a bad thing for me but also a sign that these bikes do last a while if they are taken care of in a proper manner. |
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Thanks. |
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Terrific thread and project!
The pump you need is stamped 3AJ I ordered one from bike bandit. I used the 1991 xt6 parts list to order. You also require the oil pump drive wheel from the same year. Although the pre 1989 pump and wheel look similar to the later ones, they are not the same! While you are in there I would replace the o-rings that sit between the case and the pump. When I did this job I soliticted the advice of the good folks here and there is a lengthy thread discussing it. I will try and search for it. Last week I saw the proper 3AJ pump listed on e-bay in new condition for half what I paid @ bike bandit. (you will still need the correct wheel and the old one is not the same) Worth checking out but buyer beware on Flee bay. Good luck, Pawlie |
I found my previous thread on this subject. good luck!
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...aukeboss-30019 Cheers, Pawlie |
Thanks for the info, Pawlie! That's very helpful. Hoping I can find one on ebay...if not, then I might just ask for one for christmas :innocent:..
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http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...ILPUMPCRUD.jpg
Do you guys think it'd be worth using this oil pump again? It cleaned up real nice by wetsanding it with some really fine abrasive. Only a very small pit, the size of a grain of sand i'd say, left after I cleaned it up. Tip clearences are still within spec. Worth reusing or not? |
Let's catch up here...
Ok, so while I'm waiting for a new oil pump, let's continue with the rest of the work.
Received some new parts: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...landPiston.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...sNewPiston.jpg Before installing the new piston, though, I flushed out the bottom end real good with kerosene until it was almost as good as new. I opted not to split the case. We will find out later if this will come back to haunt me... I really doubt it though, the rod was fine and everything else looked good so I saw no real need to do this. |
And here we go....
New piston installed with the rings in the correct order and lay out: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...nInstalled.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...tslayedout.jpg Cylinder came next: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...rinstalled.jpg I applied some gasket maker to the outer edges of the gasket, may not be necessary but I felt like it wouldn't hurt if I did... Also, I had to go out and buy some crow foot wrenches to be able to torque down 2 of the 4 bolts that holds down the cylinder... Even with those they are kind of hard to get to. What's everyone else doing here? You can see the two bolts I'm talking about in the picture above. |
I know I'm not being very thorough with the steps I took to get to this point but if anyone has any questions about how I did something or why I did something a certain way, feel free to ask! :thumbup1:
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Next few steps included installing the head, camshaft, timing everything correctly and then installing the valve cover.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...xtheadcam1.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...camcloseup.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...headandcam.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...lvetappets.jpg And the "finished" product: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...Engineleft.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...ngineRight.jpg |
Ok, so after putting the engine back together I gave the frame of the bike a general cleaning bringing the engine back home:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...102_0081sm.jpg After that, I decided to drop (with help from my uncle) the frame onto the engine: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...102_0085sm.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...102_0086sm.jpg No pics of the actual process but you get the idea...It was fairly simple with two people. One person doing this means trouble...don't ask me how I know :nono:. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...102_0087sm.jpg |
I also spent some time on the swingarm, linkage and shock. It was all covered in gunk, it cleaned up nicely though.
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...102_0065sm.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...102_0063sm.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...102_0062Sm.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...102_0066sm.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...102_0082sm.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...102_0084sm.jpg |
This is how the bike looks now...
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...102_0101sm.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...102_0102sm.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...102_0103sm.jpg I am waiting for a new oil pump before I fire it up...The gas tank is at school in the shop, I fixed some dents it had and painted it with a HVHP gun, it looks real nice... I picked a metal cadet blue color that is pretty trick. Once the bike is put back together I'm going to paint the plastics aswell. So far so good....Can't wait to hear it run! I started this project back in July, slacked for a while and now finally it's gaining momentum since I'm eager to get it going... I predict this will be my commuter bike and the Husky will be reserved for the "epic" rides... I'll post more pics once I am able to pick up the tank from school next week...It's closed this week due to the holiday. Happy thanksgiving all! :blush: -Alfredo |
Nice work m8:thumbup1:
Keep on rebuilding. I hope the bike runs pretty well. But i have to ask something, who will only 5000 someone managed to do so much damage to a XT? |
Nice work.
I hope the gasket sealer stuff hasn't squeezed out on the inside, like it has on the outside. If it has, bits can break away and block oil pipes, or oil feeds etc. It'd be a real shame to strip it again if this may have happened, but it's better than have it run dry of oil again. |
She's aliiiive!
Got her started a couple of days ago without any fuzz. Fired right up and it was so smooth and quiet that you would have never known it had been down in such a way! I'm really happy about this. I took her out for the first test ride today and it handled well, except for I did the classic mistake of over filling with oil and had a mess going by the time I got back home. No problems after that though! I plan on continuing the break in process tomorrow and then changing the oil/filter not too long after that.
Note: I ended up reusing the oil pump that came on this bike and it's been working well so far. I did order a new one but it has been backordered. Next project: An XT550 that I bought along with an spare frame/engine and suspension off of a yz and many other parts. The bike is two states over so I will have to go pick it up sometime. Stay tuned! Here are some pics I took the night I got her running, it was dark out so the quality is not the best. I will post more soon. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...racho/tank.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...htsideback.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o.../rightside.jpg |
If you look closely at the last picture, you will notice one of the valve covers is missing. Well, the oil pressure is so good that it blew it off! It'd been cracked by someone else previously and I tried to JB weld it while I'm waiting for the new ones. Didn't hold up too well but I sure was pleased to see the stream of oil coming out of there!
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did you reuse the original cylinder head or did you have to buy a new item?
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Update
I rode took the bike for a 20 mile run today, it was all my fingers could handle before the froze! It runs good, and strong. Engine is smooth and quiet, bravo! Here is a picture from earlier today:
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...cho/daypic.jpg To do list: - Paint all plastics - Find side covers (anyone have some they want to sell?) - Change oil and keep riding it! Thanks to all of you for your help! |
Nice job. What are you going to paint the plastics with? I fancy doing something similar with mine, but I have never painted plastic before, only metal. Do you need special flexible paint? I'm serious.
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I'm going to use Krylon Fusion, a spray paint specially made for painting plastics. It works real well if you take your time and do it right. I like to do a base layer, let it dry for 24 hours, wet sand with a really fine grit (500-600) then apply another layer of paint. Let that dry and wet sand again if you need to. When you're finished with all the layers it's good to let it sit for at least 4-5 days in room temperature so that the paint will last you for a while. |
Thanks for the info. Does this stuff need a primer?
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Great news. Will investigate! Thanks.
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since you seem to be such a great photographer, maybe you could show some of us plastic painting newbies how its done in picture format?
Appreciate the great thread! Keep up the good work! JAMES |
2500 miles later...
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...0503091147.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...503091147a.jpg Notice the replacement side cover? :thumbup1: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o...0509091323.jpg I rebuilt the bike when it had 5535 miles and i'm going over the 8000 mile mark today. The bike's been running great, with no issues, really. Only thing i've come up against is a knock that happens when the engine is really hot and I go to start it back up and while riding in the rain one day it stalled on me but it started back up and I made it home no problem. It's a fun bike and my 2006 TE610 has been neglected the past couple of months because this bike inspires me to just go! Plus the seat is 100X more comfortable on the XT than the TE. |
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