Condition of LRB's Valves!!!!

[trolle]

Sue, one thing is certain, you will be very satisfied with the lrb's performance, once you get the heads mounted and the bike running.

greetings from a cold and windy north (20-30 mph winds and a temp of 35 degrees F)

trolle

[suecanada]

Cost is $587.15 including top end gaskets and sealant but NOT shipping. Pretty fair I'd say. So for me it took 2 months from Dec. 4 to Feb 4 more or less. Valve work that was no good done on LRB in 1995 at 34,000 miles and NOW again by Ted at 87,000 miles.  Other than ONE exhaust valve closing up below 1000 miles interval, the bike exhibited no running problems...even gas mileage was peak as per 1982 brochure figures for consumption. So check those valves for diagnostic purposes!

I just hope I've read enough and my friend is knowledgeable enough to get everything back together properly!

[suecanada]

Another tidbit or two from Ted Porter:

"PLease note it is important to heat cycle the heads once, then allow to cool and re-torque the heads (25 ft lbs max) and re-adjust the valves before riding. Check the valves often during the first 500-600 miles, they may close up until they seat in.
 
There is no need to put any oil on the heads. Your rockers will oil quickly and don't need any pre-lube unless you have washed them and they are completely dry.

You can start the engine and bring it to operating temperature without riding it by holding it at 4000RPM for a minute then shutting off the engine and allowing it to cool with a fan on it which is very effective. It will be ready for a re-torque in less than an hour.

Or you can do it the slower way which is take the bike for a ride, then bring it back and let it cool overnight, then do your re-torque and adjust. Either way is fine, I do it a little more efficiently because my customers are paying by the hour:-)

The idea is to let the parts heat up and expand, then cool down and contract. In this process, the head bolts often loosen, and the valves often tighten. You want to heat cycle it one time, re-torque and re-adjust your valves.

Don't exceed 25 ft lbs on your head torque."

I think that is all the info on this for now. I will of course be telling or asking ya when the work starts on reassembly soon. Heads haven't arrived by UPS yet. UPS seems reasonable choice of carrier. Let them box them up in two separate boxes for each cylinder and then those two boxes in one bigger box; all crevasses filled with packing!

[Ed Miller]

Sue, if you check the Airheads.org site you can probably find a way to purchase Oak's Top End Manual which covers stuff like that, though I would go with what Ted specifically said on things since he did the work.  I don't have the manual, but I'll probably buy one before I do that work.

[suecanada]

Good idea Ed. I would like an entire Library of Oak's tech articles and they can be purchased.
I am wondering right off the bat whether it will be bad to put the bike back together and maybe not DO the heat cycle thing right away because the bike is in a heated basement recroom and it's winter outside! We could get it back to a garage setting though if absolutely necessary.

Do you think I can delay the heat cycle for awhile? Should I or should I NOT torque things up if this is the case but leave things just bolted in place lightly? Probably one of my more assinine questions.

I am too   to ask Ted P. I gotta be starting to bother him about now. :-/

[Bob_Roller]

Sue,

I would put the bike together now, and then when the conditions outside are favorable for riding, take it out for a ride.

When I had my heads done, I installed the heads torqued it down, set the valves, and rode it for about a week back and forth to work ( 130 miles), then retorqued the heads, and reset the valve clearances.

As long as you don't take off on a cross country trip, and then get around to it in 3-4,00 miles, you aren't going to have any problems.

I didn't notice any difference in engine performance, after having the work done.

[suecanada]

Here is a link to 2 photos showing the condition of the valve seats and valve keepers. You will notice that the grooves where the collett goes at the end of the valve stem are almost sharpened to a knife point and thus very weak. They could have given out very soon and the whole valve would have been going "boing"!!

http://my.fotopic.net/collection/01459975/

[Justin B.]

All I got was a login page...

[msbuck]

Same here...I guess we have to register to see her pics.  

[thrang]

Lucky escape Sue, because having a valve drop can be bloody expensive. A a dropped valve on my old 'company' R100 trashed the engine and scared the crap out of me when the motor to seize accelerating way from a set of lights at about 30mph.

[suecanada]

Please try again...the photo album had to be approved so there was a delay: Try this:

http://sue5762.fotopic.net/c1459975.html

[suecanada]

Good that worked OK. See those knife-edged keeper grooves on the one valve stem end???

[Justin B.]

Damn, gal!  You WERE just a few miles away from dropping that one!!!  I have had that happen in a 302 Ford, and luckily the piston smacked it and "tweaked" the stem a couple thou so that it stayed up in the guide...  I guess the "Force must be withg you" and you caught it just in time.  I have never heard any complaints about this end of the valve wearing out before.  Was this due to the previous work?

[not-so-fast-ed]

WOW!    [smiley=shocked2.gif]

Makes me want to pull the heads & check mine.
Maybe when I try to fix my weeping pushrod tube seals.

[suecanada]

The only thing we all have to go on is Ted Porter's comment that the valve material was very poor as was the workmanship that went into the last valve job. Boy that must be soft material on those valve keeper grooves. Now, the intake valves must have been fine...I am totally trusting Ted on this.  It's kinda odd that in all of my reading I have never been aware of keeper grooves and wear that gets to a knife-edge. Lots of talk about plastic deformation and recession and heat and wear..just not at this end of the valve.