The FXS Shovelhead rebuild project

[jcrubin]

Well underway is this project that I had initially thought was a burned up exhaust valve, which turned into so much more. Im documenting the entire adventure and will be posting as a series to my youtube channel in short order. As it stands, now, a bottom end rebuild, and some possible tranny work.... so it goes... its fun work...

Setting up for video work



Disassembly begins



Exhaust valve guide and seat



Rear piston, oil came from head downward



Front piston oil blow-by, victim of ring alignment caused by piston slap



Oil drain port vs. Gasket diameter [James]



Oil leaking through rear exhaust valve



Head reassembly after work done



Rocker polish 1



Rocker polish 2



Rocker polish 3



Rocker polished 4



Rocker polish rouge

[jcrubin]

Tranny cleanup



Tranny clean



Piston wear



Side slap



Other side



Cylinder wear



Wrist pin wear



Wrist pin out of round



Broken oil bag mounts

[jcrubin]

Which side is it leaking from



Official locking tool



Basket removed



Leaking from both sides



Inner - OFF



Tranny leak also apparent

[Tattooo]

Man that looks very nice.... What year FXS???

[JBinNC]

Your piston skirt wear pattern shows the rods were not aligned before the top end was installed. Don't skip that step yourself.

Jim

[jcrubin]

Its an 80

[jcrubin]

Your piston skirt wear pattern shows the rods were not aligned before the top end was installed. Don't skip that step yourself.

Jim

Im pulling the motor as both wrist pin bushings worn out point towards a crank pin wear issue most likely, though other things may also be suspect, they will be identified.

[Tattooo]

Its an 80

That's awesome..... Here's my 79 FXS.....

Your rocker boxes are much better than most that I've seen of that era..... Mine were pitted like hell.... That's what they were painted....

[jcrubin]

That's awesome..... Here's my 79 FXS.....

Your rocker boxes are much better than most that I've seen of that era..... Mine were pitted like hell.... That's what they were painted....

With the original airbox, wow

[Tattooo]

With the original airbox, wow

Also it's only got 16,000 miles and the original paint.....

[jcrubin]

As one of the many side projects, tried out NORD-LOCK washers for the side cover of the tranny at 190in/lbs

[jcrubin]

Leaky tranny




Leaky tranny 2




Some say this is a sign of a loose sprocket




But it was torqued to spec and the lock tab is still in place




Engine mount stud wear 1




Engine mount stud wear 2




Empty....




Along side 1




Along side 2




Benched




Stator crack and wire rot




Unspeakable....!

[Tattooo]

Damn it....^^^^^^ That bike has had a very hard life......

[Bbqbiker]

Wow 39 years of wear if that’s the orig. Nce work keep the pics coming. Have you ordered your 93” Sidewinder setup yet???

[jcrubin]

Top end stuff is 7 years old, bottom end stuff is 40 years..... Id say it did ok... Ill admit I did reuse the stator. IT DID NOT look like that when i put it back in, in the last 7 years it somehow got corrupted and oxidized.

When I look at the mounting bolts I cant help but think they are uhm, well ,,,, wrong?

At a minimum, given the wear location, you think the bolts would be wider and have the thread start further down the shaft. The fact that the hex bolt was metric leaves me suspicious.

[JBinNC]

Top end stuff is 7 years old, bottom end stuff is 40 years..... Id say it did ok... Ill admit I did reuse the stator. IT DID NOT look like that when i put it back in, in the last 7 years it somehow got corrupted and oxidized.

When I look at the mounting bolts I cant help but think they are uhm, well ,,,, wrong?

At a minimum, given the wear location, you think the bolts would be wider and have the thread start further down the shaft. The fact that the hex bolt was metric leaves me suspicious.

Motor mount bolts should be 3/8-24, grade 5, hex cap screws of sufficient length to fully engage a nylon insert lock nut.

Jim

[jcrubin]

Motor mount bolts should be 3/8-24, grade 5, hex cap screws of sufficient length to fully engage a nylon insert lock nut.

Jim

Yes, this was apparent upon removal and the correct ones will be used in the re-installation, that said it looks like the mounts are a bit out of round.. Makes me wonder if this is an issue, and if so if there is a jig to cut and press a sleeve into these if this is a known issue


FR




FL




RR




RL

[Tattooo]

^^^^ Is that grease in the front holes it looks like it is??^^^^^^ it's hard to tell.......

See if it is???? If it is clean in out your old bolts were to small........

[jcrubin]

^^^^ Is that grease in the front holes it looks like it is??^^^^^^ it's hard to tell.......

See if it is???? If it is clean in out your old bolts were to small........

I will clean out the holes and retake the photos, Its fully established that the bolts that i removed were not OEM and were too small. The question is dealing with out of round mount holes.

[Tattooo]

I will clean out the holes and retake the photos, Its fully established that the bolts that i removed were not OEM and were too small. The question is dealing with out of round mount holes.

I'll bet if you get the grease or what ever out the holes they will be round enough....

Just remember when your remounting/bolting down the motor it might need to be shimmed and you should mount the inner primary to the trans and motor before anything is tightened down.....