6 years wait and 6 months engine build

[hanskloss]

This is a story of my long delayed engine build... picture says thousand words and there is quite a few photos so will have to load in couple of sessions, hope I won't block the site.
I bought my Z900A4 in 2003 with alternator + end of crank holding the rotor missing + cracked cases, must have been quite a precise hit as the rest of the bike including paintwork was in very good condition About a year later at Kempton autojumble I aquired a Z1A unregistered rat bike for engine and spares. Meantime I found a nice Z1000 engine in Germany so parted out the Z1A, just kept the crank and cases + gearbox and some small bits and the rest was sold. Than after a year or so I bought 1075 WISECOs + bored block from states and that was it. Enjoyed the ride until last autumn when the cam chain oring started weeping oil. This gave me a kick to start building the spare engine, had all the parts on the shelf, Z1A cases, crank and gearbox, spare Z900 gearbox, Z1000 bored block + Wisecos.
Started with bead blasting the Z1A cases, than matching the bored Z1000 block proved the cases needed to be slightly filed to fit:


than comparing the Z1 Z900 bits and advice from this forum helped to pick the right gearchange and box bits:



The crank went in the cases:

followed by the gearbox:

getting ready to fit the bottom cases

Threebond case sealant applied:

bottom case on and torqued, just doublechecked the gearbox action spinning the clutch - all OK:


...

[sanderz]

Excellant work there hanskloss

Impressed with the 'detailed drawings' on the wall - well thought out

Not something id of thought of

[hanskloss]

I'm paranoid type checking things couple of times, having the parts diagrams and rebuild articles (downloaded from here ) on the wall did help a lot.
next the A4 head was on the table

with my one off red organiser nothing was going to get mixed up

valves out and head jet blasted to clean the major dirt before taking it for ultrasonic clean

as the bike had 23 thou miles I expected the head to be in great condition, well it was apart from the guides where all valves wobbled quite badly, measurement confirmed the intakes were within service limit but exhaust ones were shot, ordered a set of APE guides from Z1Enterprises.
a quick shower while was away and the head went to machine shop for a while

[hanskloss]

valves getting cleaned

the old guides out

piston ring gaps adjusted

than pistons got fitted, rings fitted with gaps set where they should be and secured by cable tied plastic bottle strip, even though the bottom case was still opened I used paper towel to prevent pin clips dropping in the engine

[Pigford]

Soopa-Doopa

You probably spent more time making the "1-off Red sorting box" than most of us take checking the engine

Great details - keep up the good work

[eastlondon]

Good read. Keep updating.

[hanskloss]

after some wait got the head back from machine shop, APE guides fitted and bored, valve seats and valves touched, now a matching session to see which ones go where to keep gaps as big as poss,

even though the seats vere only touched it turned out four valve gaps were just below 200 so took valves back to machine shop for stem grinding, 0,4 to 0,5 mm taken off (as per Z900 manual 0,5mm is safe), measurements again and good result - shiming from 240 to 280,
another month gone, lapped the valves, vacuum test OK, found some time to put the head together, new viton seals on:

I've put molylube oil (mix of 50% moly grease and 50% synthetic engine oil) on every cam train component including valve stems, seals etc. as advised by pros here and by other reputable sources.
valve No5 and seal in place

+ outer spring

+ inner spring

+ spring cap

bit of spring compressor action

all secured, worth to tap it slightly through hammer handle to make sure all seated correctly

final drop of moly oil

and the shim bucket No5 landed in

that left the red box nearly empty, only cam caps to go

haven't got the photo of cylinder block being put on the pistons, I've used plastic bolltle strips (visible on "pistons fitted" pics) technique learnt here and it did work well, even though I wouldn't like to do it again

[LTD Project]

Nice work there, a few pointers that I shall use in the near future as I come to top end assembly.

Thanks for taking the the trouble to post this as it will definitely help me.

[hanskloss]

as I've read horror stories about glass beads left in the head oil passages, I decided not to bead blast the head, had to clean it somehow and tried different techniques - blasted with commercial grade KARCHER jet cleaner - cleaned off the general dirt buildup, ultrasonic clean- it got rid of hard carbon deposits but left anything oily untouched, engine cleaner + brush - got rid of the remaining dirt spots, than wire brushing but that gave too shiny finish

finally few days at home with kitchen scourer completed the job

head ready to fit, the exhaust copper gaskets glued in with silicone just to hold in place later when fitting the exhausts

everything ready to fit the head, all A4 cam train bits were in vgc with rubber rollers and guide showing minimal wear, but for peace of mind I've replaced all rubber parts with new ones, the idler rollers were very good

gaskets on and cylinder block dropped, because the block gasked that came with my Wiseco kit happened not to fit (correct label for Z1000 but some other gasket inside) I've used a spare gasket from a vintage Vesrah set, just to make sure it seals properly I've smeared a thin film of LOCTITE 598 gasket maker on both sides, the excess had to be wiped off with paint thinner before curing

than the head was put on and torqued, because Wiseco head gasket is one piece type the cam tunnel oring was skipped, the oring tunnel in cylinder block has earlier been filled with silicone and cut flat after curing, a layer of silicone went around now for a good seal

[hanskloss]

meantime there was a time for usual spring run to the mountains last time powered by my old engine, not dificult to spot the best looking machine ;)

the way back home, the guy in black is my best mate riding CB1300, there is hope for him though as he has a soft spot for Zephyrs the guy in leathers was on CBR1000 but found it hard to keep up throgh the mountain twisties, possibly hangover but we've all been there last night... I've used about a litre of oil through this trip (1000km) and heard many complaints about oil smoke behind, they either loved the sound of 4in4 or most likely rode safely

back in the garage, next the engine went upside down to have oil pump fitted

sump with new oring and new gasket ready

and on

did not have the filter ready so marked the bolts needing torquing later with masking tape

two days later new filter in and plugs torqued

engine back up and time to fit the clutch

picking up the best bits, I had three clutch sets to choose from, all within service limits

[hanskloss]

at this stage I've started to prepare the old lump to come out


quick note of previous succesful ignition timing

than ignition out

starter motor

bike lift under with a custom engine support


engine fittings undone and put away

and it's out with a help of my mate

obviously hard job it was and deserved a beer after

[sanderz]

Great work, keep posting the pics

[hanskloss]

removed the APE cam plugs from old engine and as expected they needed some work to fit in new head (had the same issues fitting them to the old one), left side fitted OK but right side was too shallow so needed filing, also head walls had to be touched with file


all four even with head surface and sealed with Loctite 598 silicone

next fitting the clutch plates, all preolied


couple of days later found some time to fit the cams

applied molylube and oil generously, time to fish the cam chain out

expected size shims in and cams on top, now to set cam marks and count 28th pin

all set and torqued, top idler and tensioner in place, turned the crank couple of times to make sure it's all spot on and with brand new chain it was

finally shims checked and adjusted, all apart two were as matched earlier before fitting the valves to the head, two needed swapping with 005 smaller size

while missus was out I took chance to refresh the cam cover

the engine is complete and ready to jump in the frame

[redzee]

Excellent thread and great work. Inspiration to us all.

[hanskloss]

frame awaiting...

and new lump landed in

starter motor on

fitted the front sprocket and drive chain...

...and due to lack of lubrication managed to shred brand new lock washer


with molylube round the washer, no problem this time

fitting the clutch cover, note thin line of Loctite 598 silicone to create a film, this is to enable easy removal next time (gasket not sticking to cases permanently and not getting torn)

klasmo clutch cover on, engine filled with mineral oil next day

fitting the exhausts


sprocket cover on, now to fit the carbs

starter cover and airbox on

and the carbs fitted, must say it was quite easy with brand new air box to carb rubbers, done it with old ones couple of times and it was quite painfull job

after putting the tank on I could not resist pressing the strat button ...and it fired straight away !
quick check of the ignition timing and final bling with repainted Moriwaki points cover

and the first ride, bike runs sweet with head being noticeably quieter than before, no ticking, rustling etc

short vid here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1V2vkrG4Aw&feature=plcp