Engine rebuild advice?

Hi all, I hope I'm not re-visiting a topic that's been well covered but I'm after some advice about my above mentioned rebuild. I've just started stripping down a 2000 curvy engine and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to what are the main areas of concern that I should be checking. I've been looking through the manual (Suzuki not Haynes) and it mentions in great detail a lot of complicated procedures and tools that I don't have.
I'm hoping I can strip it down, clean it up and get it running sweetly again without getting involved in plastigauge, micrometers and so on.

Looking forward to "the ORG's" valued opinions.

Out of interest what is the reason for the rebuild?

The engine was stored in the same room as a sandblasting cabinet for a while so the heads needed to come off and be cleaned THOROUGHLY. I thought it would make a nice project. Besides, the engine currently in my bike is starting to show its age.

Ah. Because you can! Excellent. I'll probably end up doing the same one day.

[muzikill]

i used a micrometer to check the piston rings & i would recommend the worthyness of doing it since the engine will be in bits it'll give you peace of mind in case the rings need replaced. The plastigauge will be for the crank/pistons wont it?.

For the cost that will be involved £10 / $10 for these tools its worth doing it right.

Your learning stuff by doing this!

i have just done 4 rebuilds on 2000 engines and to be honest, i found the plasti-gauging isn't needed, as all the cranks and bearings seemed to fit each other exactly the same, no matter the mileage :P as strange as that may sound


problems i had were:

1. when refitting the two shafts that sit between the cases (the ones which the selector forks will sit on) i managed to get them the wring way round as one is longer than the other without noticing and popped a part of the case off when tightening the cases together **rookie mistake**
easily fixed with chemical metal and is still on the road running fine

2. be careful when fitting the bolts into the clutch (the ones which hold the springs in) as they snap EASILY but are also just as easily removed and replaced) same goes for the camshaft holder bolts (not so easily removed though

3. don't forget the bolt which winds into the RHS of the crankshaft (holding on the gears and cogs to drive the clutch and the cam chain is a LEFT handed thread..... took me a few minutes of huffing and puffing with a breaker bare before i remembered -.- Doh!

4. don't use gasket sealer for the head gasket, but apply to both sides of the BASE gasket

5. base gaskets are re-useable but not interchangeable from front to rear cylinders, head gaskets aren't reusable but are the same fro front and rear Cyl

6. don't take the starter clutch off the back of the generator/flywheel/magneto/whatever you wanna call it :P
and when fitting it back on, wiggling the gear behind it left and right whilst gently pushing the generator over it (with alot of patience) is needed

probably is more to say but don't wanna write an unneccersary essay....
well... a bigger one anyway :P
any problems don't hesitate to ask :P

Thanks guys, some great pointers there. I'm really enjoying getting stuck in with this little adventure into the depths of my engine! So far the heads, flywheel, clutch are off and ready for inspecting and cleaning.
As it turns out, the bolt that holds the final drive sprocket on is stuck fast. Is there a good way of getting it loose since there is no back brake to hold it still?
Also, can hard carb inlet rubbers be saved? I just found out they're £45 each!!!

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by ryangarside

i have just done 4 rebuilds on 2000 engines and to be honest, i found the plasti-gauging isn't needed, as all the cranks and bearings seemed to fit each other exactly the same, no matter the mileage :P as strange as that may sound

Especially the 2000 motors, it's a pretty binary thing. Starved of oil > f***ed, not starved of oil > not f***ed.

Just having a look at most of it should be enough.

[squirrel_hunter]

Originally Posted by sixstring

As it turns out, the bolt that holds the final drive sprocket on is stuck fast. Is there a good way of getting it loose since there is no back brake to hold it still?

If the engines still in the frame with the chain attached its possible to stick it in gear and use a rattle gun (compressor impact gun, or electric) to take it off as just a hand resting on the rear wheel is enough to stop it moving. Just make sure the tab washer is completely flat and not going to interfere by doing its job.

to get the nut of the sprocket i used a bodge method of wedging a large flat screwdriver between the teeth on the sprocket and the generator case (i put it back on to do so) and then battered it with the knocker gun :P
job done
if all else fails, hit it with a hammer! that always works ;D