If that works, I'll eat my shoe!

 

Gbauto, my kit measured up perfectly. All gaps were good. Its impossible to measure ring diameter with any accuracy due to the springy nature. The oil rings just had no spring tension to them which tells me that they were either the wrong size with the right gap or they did not get heat treated properly. Either way, I put new rings in it and it doesn't smoke or burn oil. The first build, it smoked a bit at first, but a lot of engines do for break in. Its easy to blame installers, but when there are multiple installers with the same exact problem, its the product. If you would like to blame me and everyone else having problems, go ahead. I feel its simple... Bike smokes... Change rings.... Bike doesn't smoke.... It was the oil rings.

 

It is up to the installer to ensure that the installation is correct. It is up to the vendor to ensure that part tolerances are correct.

 

I actually went ahead and tried this just to see. By "feel" it doesnt inspire confidence. I will be stress testing it before i even think about installing it. More of a curiosity thing at this point. I cant imagine it holding up under heat long term (and the aftermath if it ever let go and dropped into the crankcase).

Now to find someone with a TIG

 

So were you able to order new rings and install them? Did you have to do anything to the bore or just change rings and all was good?

 

Alright so I’ve got the head torqued down getting ready to install the cams again.

It doesn’t feel like the cam chain is making positive contact with the gear - I can move it by hand with no resistance, and if I turn the engine via the bolt on the side, the chain won’t move unless I put tension by hand on it, and if I put enough tension it slips.

What now!?!? Is the gear stripped out or the chain off the sprocket?

also felt too tight to get both cams in

on another note - the book says when timing to count chain rivets, which on my bike leaves the timing marks not quite flat. Bill told me to disregard the tooth count and set those marks dead flat. Thoughts?

UPDATE: took the side cover off - chain was bunched up and jammed under the sprocket. also front chain guide was unseated and too high - binding against the cam sprocket. Got all that straight and the timing set. just need to button back up and i think we'll be good....

 

At long last and after way too many set backs, the bike is assembled and started! Did my heat cycles and a quick test run around the block. Still tuning....

 

Hello All,
Regarding the oil consumption & incorrect ring size.
I've sent a customer's 351 cylinder, piston, and rings to JE Piston to be analyzed as to what they feel the problem is. I hope to hear back from them this coming week & will post the results as soon as I get them.

As far as incorrect ring size, all rings are fit to the cylinder before I ship them.
Bill

 

I will be interested in your findings.
Thanks for looking into it.

 

Haven't been on this forum in a while.
Bike is still in my garage taken apart. Still haven't gotten around to sending the parts back to Bill to investigate my 351 oil burning too.

i'm sure all will be sorted in due time, but I too remember Bill sounding insulted when I spoke to him over my #609 cylinder burning oil and me theorizing something was wrong with the rings or piston. He told me I must have not broken it in correctly and made me feel it.
Didnt mean to offend, I'm just trying to help suggest a possible cause, so we can figure it out and I can get back on the road sooner. Money has been too tight for me to pay another $530 for a rebore and gasket set within the same season of riding.

Thanks and please!
I miss riding my KLX.

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