checking the front drive sprocket on a 180

[Haggis]

Hey Nick. Like you, I find fairly easy to get the whole engine onto the bench. i.e. Lift and drop at a convenient height.

But, really hard to get it off the bench    Ouch, I just know it would be hernia time.

Last time I did it, I had to made a set of 'stairs' from bench-level to ground-level from boxes and bins, to be able to move the motor, bit by bit, to the floor. Must have looked quit comical.

I felt very old in that moment. Unlike you, my squash playing days are long over.

Stopped my bollocks ending up in my back pocket, I guess.

 

[TheWrongTrousers]

I am not a "He-Man" type like Nick and Paul.  Call me unadventurous, but I think i will just get my next door neighbour to come over and give me a hand.

 

[nick7]

no sense in taking a risk...
2 squash games this week, won one lost one..last game in current league at 8 30 am tomorrow..630 train for that!
All i would say is that once the engine is out, take it all apart, gears etc as you dont want to be doing this again too soon  do you? Personaaly, unless know to have been done, id hsve the crank apart too, slingers cleaned, main bearings replaced too....but perhaps that is ott

 

[Dellortoman]

I try to avoid difficult lifts these days. My back isn't as indestructible as it was when I was younger. I use a chain block for hoisting engines out of frames or lifting onto a bench.

 

[Vince]

100%, just such an awkward lift it's an injury looking for a place to happen. I really like Clem's lifting rods idea. It's just some much easier with a crane, less chance of dropping it as well.

 

[TheWrongTrousers]

no sense in taking a risk...
2 squash games this week, won one lost one..last game in current league at 8 30 am tomorrow..630 train for that!
All i would say is that once the engine is out, take it all apart, gears etc as you dont want to be doing this again too soon  do you? Personaaly, unless know to have been done, id hsve the crank apart too, slingers cleaned, main bearings replaced too....but perhaps that is ott

I am not so sure about taking it all apart Nick. Its easy taking things to bits, not so easy putting them back together again properly. I perceive that there is a substantial risk that once its in bits, labelled and deposited in various boxes in my garden shed fully equipped spacious workshop, I will inevitably get distracted by work or some such and then by the time I get down to it again, the labels will have fallen off and I will have forgotten which bits goes where, and that will be the end of that.  I am not sure what a slinger is anyway. Is having a a dirty one so bad ? Other than having a dodgy cylinder head, the bike seems to be on top form. There are no horrible knocking rumbling noises from within, but maybe thats just a figment of my imagination.

 

[piranha-bro2]

I wouldn't worry about slingers unless you have a high mileage bike. Slingers are part of the crank webs and feed the big ends centrifugally, and the overflow from the sides of the conrods then sprays into the cylinders under the pistons. They eventually fill enough to start feeding 'stuff' to the big ends. Bikes that have had infrequent oil changes or have worn rings/bores will fill quicker. The 'stuff' seems to be a mix of carbon and solids that have centrifugally separated from the oil ... the slingers actually work as a filter.

Cleaning them properly is probably best done by experienced mechs, probably after pressing the crank apart ... then you go to Carillos, new big ends, etc etc etc!!!

I felt MUCH better when I knew mine had been cleaned out (on an SF with about 160,00km from bad memory).

 

[TheWrongTrousers]

Yes, that makes sense. I was pondering what a slinger might be today as I went on my travels, and I figured it maybe something that slings oil about. Well, my bike has done about 50,000 miles and has had regular oil changes. Unless I find something untoward when I get the head and barrels off, I am inclined to give all that expensive sounding stuff a miss if at all possible. P.S. Just read some past threads on slingers. Gosh, they do sound like something to worry about. I can only hope that mine are not too full of crap. Perhaps given that it is not a high mileage bike in the scheme of things, and I do about 1,000 miles per year, if that  - all will be well.

 

[Dellortoman]

? when I get the head and barrels off ? I can only hope that mine [slingers] are not too full of crap ...

With the barrels off, you may be able to check how much crap is in the slingers. I last checked mine when I took the bottom half of the crankcase off to replace a knackered gearbox bearing. You can poke a piece of wire into the slinger to check the depth of sludge that's packed in there. It packs down pretty solidly, so you can easily feel the surface of the muck pile. Mine were about half full on a 100,000 km engine. Only thing I'm not sure about is whether you can get access through the cylinder mouth in the upper crankcase to poke the wire dipstick into the slinger opening. One of the engine experts on here will know if that's do-able.

 

[Tippie]

On an SF there is not room to check the slingers, they almost scrape against the case. Triple will likely be the same, but barrels off will show. 50 thousand miles and regular oil changes, extremely unlikely they have more than a few mm in them.