Crankshaft End Float

[Greybeard]

...looks like fibre washer fragments...

Excess red sealant maybe?

[Zander]

Could be! I removed a small amount of what looked like sealant when I removed the sump plate the first time.  I take it that, due to the excessive end float it won't be sensible to use the bike til it's corrected?

[mugwump]

Sent you a pm.
John

[Zander]

Update:  engine is out on bench and  stripped. Crankcase are clean, no crap anywhere.
No sign of red hermetite so red bits on sump filter must have been fibre washer fragments - don't ask me where from!  I've got one, possibly two holes to helicoil - one for the timing case cover which is stripped, and the one by the mag. Which, although the thread is good it seems to be at an angle, which prevents proper assembly of the crank case halves.
There's no indication that crankshaft shims were ever fitted, which is good and bad I suppose.  Spoke to Roger at Cake Street re crankshaft balancing, but he doesn't do it, so undecided at the moment. Heads will need new valve guides, and am contemplating new valves too, also considering oil seals for the new guides.  Springs will be renewed.  Bores seem fine, pistons look new so won't be doing a rebore.
When I took the clutch apart, I found I'd made a mistake when I assembled it; I loctited the centre nut and had to resort to shock tactics do undo it. Am currently attempting to confirm the 0.016 end float by measuring the crank case internally, then measuring the crank shaft.  Not sure if this will work out, but I'll give it a go.  I was surprised how difficult it was to get the head bolts undone.  They were so tight I thought I was going to break my socket.

[RichardL]

Zander,

With no shims present, I'm thinking you're going to find more than 0.016" float. The first time I tried to measure float I did what you are planning, that is, measuring across the inside of the case and across the crank. I only had a telescoping gauge for the inside and, really, nothing for the crank. Telescoping gauges are tricky enough to use, but inside the crankcase was a pain. For the crank, I found a friendly local machine shop with a micrometer big enough for the reach. When I built a shim stack based on these measurements, the result was a crank that would not turn. I ended up using the method of measuring off the drive side bearing boss (with a spanning block across the diameter of the boss) while pushing the crank back and forth within the case. This has been successful a few times.

As for the head bolts, unless some  of sign  rust or other corrosion is the obvious reason for being so hard to remove, I think you should carefully determine that thread types match.

Richard L

[Greybeard]

If you have a look at this video you will see some pictures, (at 2:36) of how I measured my crank endfloat
https://youtu.be/nrOfq1O-gV8

Confession time: Because I was misreading the guage divisions as thou of an inch but being a metric guage it was reading microns(?) I managed to end up with almost no endfloat. I understand that that is ok.

[Zander]

Excellent video - thank you. Excellent music too - sounded like Jeff Lynne and ELO👍
 I gave up on trying to measure crank case and crankshaft.
Too messy and I wouldn't have relied on any  measurements.  I'll do the same as RichardL, so, again, thanks for the guidance and sharing of experience.

[RichardL]

Shot a picture to clarify what I was describing. I used the method shown by Greybeard when measuring in the bike. I am not sure the dial indicator method would work well on the bench because you have to jostle the crank and crankcase around to shift the crank from side to side.

Richard L.

[RichardL]

P.S. Always keep your block in the same place and measure at the same place on the end of the crank.

[Greybeard]

Shot a picture to clarify what I was describing. I used the method shown by Greybeard when measuring in the bike. I am not sure the dial indicator method would work well on the bench because you have to jostle the crank and crankcase around to shift the crank from side to side.

I did mine on the bench.

[RichardL]

True. The bracket(s) you used to stabilize the case probably made it practical.

Richard L.

[Zander]

Time was that when you wanted a spare, you had to physically locate a shop that had it in stock, then go and get it. The make of the part rarely featured - it was generally a relief to just get that part.  Today I've been assessing what I need, starting at the cyl. Head, and have been surprised at the variety of valves and guides available.  Talk about confusing!  Bronze or cast iron guides; where to buy them; which type is best?  On and on it goes.  eBay have a few complete sets of valves and guides at competitive  prices, but who makes them, and are they decent quality?  Pays yer money and makes yer choice!

[Greybeard]

...Talk about confusing!  Bronze or cast iron guides; where to buy them; which type is best?  On and on it goes.  eBay have a few complete sets of valves and guides at competitive  prices, but who makes them, and are they decent quality?  Pays yer money and makes yer choice!

Just ask here

[terryg]

Zander - a shortcut for you could be to speak to Andrew at Priory Magnetos (member beezermacc on this forum).

[Zander]

Thanks, terryg.  I had a look at Andrews site earlier but didn't find valves etc., but after your post I did another search and found the engine parts.