Triple cranckcase is split - now what?

I would actually lightly blast the gasket surfaces with soda, is an excellent way to clean them up ready to be joined again
as long as you don't concentrate on the one spot for minutes at a time you will do no damage at all

 
aebbern said:
Thanks very much for the offer Paul. I`m planning to purchase a larger parts washer for my garage next week... that will do the trick for soaking the cases and barrels.

Would still be very interested in knowing from other`s experience if the gasket surfaces need to be protected from soda blasting.
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Hi Andy

yeah, I noticed Princess Auto has the biggest size recirculating parts washer on sale for half price, looks like a great deal.

Hi Grant, Andy (Laverdas) and Red

I kept turning the air pressure up until I got to 150 psi, really knocks the crap off............ :o ;) Good to know soda won't damage gasket surfaces as long as one is careful, taping everything up was a pain in the ass......... As for the high ph (alkaline) resulting from soda and water, I used almost 100 pounds of soda blasting hte engine bits in the gravel dog run down the side of my house, I did not have a problem with weeds in there this year.... 8)

Paul LeClair
 
A nicely soda blasted engine looks a picture to behold and when the engine is apart seems a logical thing to do however,

If the bike is going to be used in earnest for touring etc, I am asking myself how long before it reverts to it's  road use patina ?

Then I also wonder if soda blasting cuts into the metal and causes it to deteriorate from that moment even faster than it would have than before...a bit like when you steam clean a carpet, remove the factory Scotchguard and it gets grimy faster than ever although it does look nice if you are selling the house.

Is  soda blasting a cosmetic exercise...or will it give the bike a great look for a long period of time. It's a relevant question for me as I have a pair of crank cases apart awaiting rebuild. They are ok but not exactly dazzling. The primary, alternator and clutch gear selector covers are however...


For myself if the crankcase threads are good, I wouldn't be tempted to Timesert. Unless something happens to the metal around the threaded holes ? to degrade it and weaken it over time, I can't see the logic in doing this. I've examined mine as Piet says for signs of damage cause by caveman mechanics back in the Neolithic and they are all good apart from one which has a regular thread repair Heli-coil. I'll change that I think.

I'm of the school, don't cut away metal that doesn't need to be cut away. But this is just my tuppence worth and I'm not an engineer :)


joe
 
Certain blast media change the hue and appearance of the casings.
I think glass bead leaves the cases too silvery.
 
jotajoe said:
A nicely soda blasted engine looks a picture to behold and when the engine is apart seems a logical thing to do however,

If the bike is going to be used in earnest for touring etc, I am asking myself how long before it reverts to it's  road use patina ?

Then I also wonder if soda blasting cuts into the metal and causes it to deteriorate from that moment even faster than it would have than before...a bit like when you steam clean a carpet, remove the factory Scotchguard and it gets grimy faster than ever although it does look nice if you are selling the house.

Is  soda blasting a cosmetic exercise...or will it give the bike a great look for a long period of time. It's a relevant question for me as I have a pair of crank cases apart awaiting rebuild. They are ok but not exactly dazzling. The primary, alternator and clutch gear selector covers are however...

joe
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Depends on how much effort you want to put into keeping it clean.

An open surface such as created by soda or broken glass will stain quickly if not cleaned soon after being contaminated.  A bead blasted surface is far smoother, less prone to staining and is easier to clean, but does look a bit synthetic when fresh.  Takes a bit of use to attain a nice "used" colour.

piet
 
found the wet hydro blasting finish to be the best
is not as bright as a bead blasted surface, is far smoother in finish and stays cleaner longer
the wet blast process seems to close up the pores/grains and thus is a neat finish
damn expensive or it may just be the mob we use are damn expensive so we only use them when a customer wants that finish

 
I've previously used glass bead (cases totally sealed) and yes it has a very bright finish when first done but the aluminium naturally forms an oxide layer and I find that they grey off nicely after a year or so and are easy enough to keep clean.  I just use a bit of non-etching mag wheel cleaner every once in a while.  Maybe in harsher climes it would be different.

I do not find that soda blasting is aggressive enough to cut through a really dirty set of cases.  The 1200 I did which was imported from England got the full soda blast inside and out (had a lot of oil/sludge staining inside) but then I had to seal it up and redo the outside with glass to get a decent finish.  It was very heavily corroded though.

I've recently started using a wet blaster but have only used it on some things like rearsets etc, not done any engine castings etc as yet.  It does give a really nice finish on the few bits I've done though.  It depends a lot on the abrasive media being used, commercial operators tend towards coarse/aggressive media because it's quicker!
 
Bigdaddy said:
Has anyone tried a clear anodizing after cleaning? Should help no?
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On my 1200 project , I'm toying with the idea of having nicely polished covers ( as they are ) The crank cases black ( Vincent like ) and the cylinders natural finish ... That may look very nice and be an enduring finish.....but, would it look right ? hmmm

 
My crankcases just after vapour blasting,a mix of bead and water,all important drillings,ie oil ways,were plugged with Blu-Tac.This prevented any ingress of the blasting media,so no need to struggle to clean them out.
The finish was very shiny,almost as if the cases had been painted,but to clean them out I put them through my SafetyKleen parts washer,this leaves a slight residue when it dries,which will protect the exposed aluminium.

Being the rebel that I am, I also put dirty parts through the washer  :o

The head and new barrels will get the same treatment,to keep the motor all the same finish.

Jim.
 

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My intention when cleaning the stained cases of the 3C was to keep the as-cast protective oxide layer unharmed, so bead blasting was not an option right from the beginning.
Thought about DIY soda blasting on my small backyard, too, but the trees dropping their leaves mid-summer surely would have created outrage in the neighbourhood. :o Didn't feel comfortable on outsourcing for soda blasting either, always a good chance that some heavy handed dickhead will damage those irreplaceable parts.

Finally took out the elbow grease. After completing the engine rebuild I've rubbed the cases  with an aluminium polish (Alu Magic, I'd guess more or less the same stuff like Belgom Alu) . Have to admit that my patience got a bit strained when it came to the fins on barrel and head, but it nicely removed 40yrs of dirt, corrosion, fuel and oil stains. Was a bit disappointed by the first results, but after a couple of hrs "drying" time everything came out nicely. A bit of patina still left on that 40yr old engine, though, but that's just how I like it most:
Engine.jpg

 
hi gravelroad, that looks spot on to me infact it looks as though its just come out of the factory.does it ride as good as it looks?
regards andy
 
jotajoe said:
On my 1200 project , I'm toying with the idea of having nicely polished covers ( as they are ) The crank cases black ( Vincent like ) and the cylinders natural finish ... That may look very nice and be an enduring finish.....but, would it look right ? hmmm
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Get Golden Panda to post some picks of his blacked motor. Looks great, does not look crap.
 
laverdas said:
hi gravelroad, that looks spot on to me infact it looks as though its just come out of the factory.does it ride as good as it looks?
regards andy
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Reliable as a truck so far, and a great traveller. During the nearly 6000 k's since rebuild nothing happened apart from a snapped clutch cable (still rideable, though). Inferior quality of the cable and not the bikes fault. The odometer has stopped working recently, waiting to happen, as the clocks have been stored for more than 15yrs, lubricants been dried out.

I somehow managed to shave off about 17kg of dead weight w/o spoiling the looks to much, but it has still somewhat of a behemoth to me (been grown up on a Morini 3 1/2), demanding bike on narrow twisted roads.

Call me a materialist, but no better thing for me than riding this bike (ok, having sex comes in par even :D). It's not a motorcycle, it' a work of arts to me. But this is my first Laverda and never rode one before, so I'd guess I'm a bit biased and overly entusiastic...


 
While the rest of Calgary was in the shopping malls yesterday, I was making progress with the soda blasting. 

Minty fresh triple engine cases ready for the crank (thanks Red) and new Ross pistons (Wolfgang):
 
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