Engine woes 83 r65

[jpok11]

Hello all: I'm not entirely new to this site as I visit sometimes to view the wealth of tech related posts. I recently changed the oil on an 83 R65 and developed a loud banging sound in the motor shortly there after. Prior to that  the oil light came on while riding I immediately stopped and checked the level to see that it was OK. I fear the oil filter may have not been installed correctly and I have now done some expensive damage to the motor? Is there any info. available on this site or does anyone have an idea about what may have happened. Thank you. John

[Barry]

Welcome John

Sorry to hear of your problem.  You may just have learn't the hard way about the infamous 2000$ O ring.

The link below is one of the better articles on the topic.

http://www.largiader.com/tech/filters/canister.html

[nhmaf]

Yikes!
you may indeed have fallen victim to the  O ring sealing failure, or something else.  IT *could* also be that the oil pickup screen in the sump came off, but if you had recently changed the oil filter, well, statistically it tends to point to that.

Did you have any oil leaking from the oil filter cover? What order did you put the parts back on after replacing the filter? (e.g. metal shim, white O-ring, paper gasket, cover, or ??)   How much oil did you put in with the filter change ?   how long had the engine been running since the oil change and the occurrence of the sounds?

[jpok11]

Yes there was enough oil in the bike, but no leaking. It looks like the O ring got pinched and that prevented proper circulation. The order of reconnection was shim, O ring, gasket. I would say I ran it for 1/2 a mile while the oil light was on and the clanking started?   I'm bracing for the worst. Anybody got a motor for sale?

[Bob_Roller]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune .

Somebody else may have the definitive answer on this, but I think you will need an '81 or later short block assembly, or complete engine .

I don't think the post '81 transmission will bolt up to a'79-80 model year engine .

Where abouts do you call home ?

[nhmaf]

The issue with the 1981->later versus 78-80 transmission/engine compatibility is that the input shaft on the  78-80 transmission actually is a bit longer (extends toward engine crankshaft further) as the older style flywheel assembly didn't extend as far back toward the transmission as the new carrier assembly appears to do.   I don't think that the post 81 transmission input shaft splines wouldn't slide as far in to the old style flywheel assembly as it should, but I may be wrong in this.    I am not sure if there are issues with changing the old style flywheel assembly on a 78-80 engine to a 1981+ carrier assembly..

In any case, the 81+ engines have the larger heads and a few more ponies anyhow.   Just a couple weeks ago someone was selling a later mode R65 engine for just a couple hundred $ on ebay, but it was in Tennessee and pickup only.    I'd start cruising ebay, and IBMWR.org (and airheads and BMWMOA if you're a member) and something will pop up eventually.

If you are a very handy mechanic, you might start going through the engine to assess the damage - typically the large clanging sounds originate in the bottom end (crank journals and bearings) but you might find that not too much damage was caused (fingers crossed for you).   Your Nikasil cylinders and heads may still be usable.

A tough bit of luck and a hard lesson.   I am too paranoid to ride any of my bikes immediately after an oil change without first just starting it up in the garage to check for leaks and to watch the oil light.  If the oil pressure light doesn't go out within 2-3 seconds of starting the engine I shut it right down and start looking for trouble.

[Ed Miller]

If you're really paranoid about it you can drain the carb bowls and turn the motor over with the starter until the oil light goes out.

I only did that after my top end rebuild though, I don't normally do it.

Sorry about your situation, John.  If I was mine I would take the motor apart and see what was wrong, though any reason to get a spare motor is a good one.

[jpok11]

Thanks all for the advice, I'm currently in SF, CA and will drop the bike off at Dave Gardners shop, recommended service. I'm hoping it will be a question of replacing a few(cheap)parts as opposed to swapping the motor? We'll see what the doctor has to say. If I knew what the clanging was I would be tempted to pull the motor apart and fix it myself. The sound is definately coming form the botttom end of the motor, on the left side, and is only present after it warms up a bit?