engine removal

[Bill Conquest]

Hello, I have a 1979 r65 that is a victim of the oil filter O-ring mistake.. The engine Has to come out to check the bottom and bearings by a shop here and I need advice on removing the engine from the frame ,which they won’t do I need to bring the engine to them.. they have already stripped off the cylinders and removed the pistons but we are assuming that the main bearings have been damaged.. this is a big job for me but I think I can do it.. I need advice on removing the engine such as.. do I need to remove the transmission ..Will the engine move forward and out..I plan to strip off most everything else.. once I get the engine out they will do the repair work for me.. and I will likely be ordering parts for them.. any advice would really help..
Thanks very much
Bill

[wilcom]

removing the engine from the frame ,which they won’t do

Sorry, I can't help as I have never had a motor out of my bikes, but the line above concerns me.  How come they won't wrench the motor out of the frame for you?

[Bill Conquest]

Hi and thanks for the response.. I live on a small island and there is only one good motorcycle shop that I trust that could possibly fix this motor ..he has experience with Volkswagens as well.. for what that’s worth ..but being a one-man show he’s totally swamped and doesn’t have time to strip the bike down.. but he agreed to fix it if I can get the motor to him..As I said he has removed the cylinders and pistons . Is it really good guy and I’m lucky to have him as he is my only chance here..
I have seen some other information that says I may be able to pull the engine forward away from the transmission without having to undo the swingarm and transmission.. just trying to figure out the easiest way to do this..
thanks Wilcom for answering,
Bill

[dogshome]

 Hiya, I've also not had an engine out. It doesn't look hard though. Moving the transmission back and undoing the swingarm pivots is easy if you need to get some wriggle room. Getting transmission out is then only undoing the driveshaft bolts at the front. Taking the carbs, air box, exhaust and other paraphernalia etc out takes longest and I think you already did that.

This is probably a stupid question, but why do you suspect the main bearings have been damaged? Has cam and big ends survived?

[Bill Conquest]

Hi ..Thanks for the question, The mechanic says connecting rod bearings are shot and since it seems that the oil first passes through the main bearing and then to the connecting rod bearings it could be likely that the main bearing has been damaged.. he’s still looking at it and it’s at his shop.. since I work full-time I’m trying to juggle this with my job.. but I’m not sure if it makes sense to go halfway and take a chance and then find out that the main bearing has been damaged.. any thoughts on that or appreciated..
Thanks much
Bill

[Justin B.]

Yeah, I agree that it would be prudent to go ahead and renew the mains if the rods are chewed up.

[dogshome]

It might be worth slowly taking it apart yourself. If mains,cam and various other parts are destroyed, then oil pump and cam bearings etc might want looking at too. Mega cost to replace.

Recon engines is a big ask, but maybe another bike might be the way forward. Scruffy as hell with a solid engine.

Nightmare ☹️

[Bill Conquest]

Thanks so much for the replies..Yeah it’s a real dilemma if I find out the main bearings are shot if I should continue forward or like the suggestion says to pursue another bike possibly.. it’s really odd that this happened because I used the same shim arrangement that I’ve always used.. i’m going to be pretty paranoid after this! And I shut the motor off as soon as the red light came on which was a bit of a surprise..oh ,man..there are always surprises out there waiting..

[dogshome]

Well white metal bearings are sacrificial. And cheap ish!

Did the oil filter housing slip in the case or something? i.e.. O ring loose? I'd want to know for sure whodunnit.

Before another murder....     

[Bill Conquest]

Thanks and absolutely right.. I want to know exactly what happened and why.. I took it apart after I got it home and everything looked as it should be.So I pulled the filter out looked at the configuration .. drained the oil and put new oil in ,added another shim ,put it back together started the bike it ran with no red light..I can’t imagine what happened I’ve been running r65s for almost 20 years..Something I will definitely get to the bottom of when I get some time..btw.. I didn’t notice any metal flakes in the oil when I drained it..?

[Bob_Roller]

Oil pressure relief valve could have caused it, happened on my '81 R65 after an oil and filter change  .
Had the dealer pick it up and they blew compressed air into the center tube in he filter housing and reset it .
That was in '1982, hasn't hasn't occurred again .

[georgesgiralt]

If you still have the oil filter open it and see in the pleas if there is some sort of metal/debris/whatever. That will give you any idea of the damage if there is one.
And you may find a place doing oil analysis. Bring them you used oil and check what they tell you.
You may get lucky and the bike will run fine after this. (maybe you did not put enough oil in the pot ? and the light come on on a curve ? ) (don't laugh it happened to me years ago)...
Anyway, if the bearings have suffered, the play will be more than expected. Oil will leak more on the bearings so the oil pressure will be too low. So you may want to measure the oil pressure on the engine while it runs. Easy and manometer are cheap if you have a shop selling agricultural stuff or industrial supplies nearby. bring them your oil pressure sensor for them to devise the correct tapping and the estimated range of pressure expected. They will make a gauge a tube and a coupling in minutes for relatively cheap. Hook up your bike and see for yourself.

[dogshome]

I believe surgery has already commenced! Cylinders are off, so it's extraneous bits like tank, airbox, top cover of engine, gearbox. Just  time and manual labour.....

The garage is doing the awkward part of taking the crank out. I'd also be looking for bits of scrap in the pan or filter area, has the filter steel sleeve slipped, does the pressure relief look OK, horrible gunk anywhere inside, shot main letting oil go,.   Micrometer, eyeball and inspection time.

[Adrian]

Hi Bill - I've had my R65 motor out of the frame twice over the years having rebuilt the bike twice since I bought it. Removing the gearbox is quite easy - no need to remove the swingarm. Move the motor forward a bit having removed the engine bolts - I used a car scissor jack with a goodly piece of wood to hold it up off the frame a fraction.
.
The gearbox will slide out easily once this is done. It will reduce the weight considerably when you lift the motor out. It's a tight fit but doable. I did this on my own but I used a couple of ratchet straps attached to the shed rafters so that I could swing the motor out & into place. If you have a second pair of hands to help it's quite easy to do.
.
 

[Bill Conquest]

Hi everyone.. thanks so much for the insights and ideas.. i’ve been super busy working at the airport so I’m not able to attack this thing but I now I have a bit of time.. The bike without the cylinders is back at my house and I’ve pretty much stripped everything off..I did remove the swingarm bolts andpushed the wheel back.. i’m about ready to try to take the transmission out and I was wondering.. do I need to remove the clutch release mechanism to take the transmission out?
Once I get a transmission off I can hopefully get the engine out and down to the mechanic.. at that point I’ll be asking for advice as to where to buy parts and what I should replace while I’m there..
Really appreciate all the input as I am very out of my league here
Bill