Well my next project is to replace the both the timing chain (& guides) along with the water/oil pump main shaft & seals.

I'm wondering if I'll need to pull the camshafts to get the chain off. From pictures I've seen, it looks like it be possible to remove it with the tensioner & guides out of the way. Is this the case? Any other advice? I have the Clymer manual which has you remove the cams & do all kinds of measurements which I'm not going to be doing.


Thanks,


Red

Hey Red,
I think TWB did this relatively recently on his bike and would be an excellent person to talk to about it. Also, keep us posted on the job as this is another thing on my to do list, lol!


OG

Will do. The bike is giving me fits! Running crappy again, back firing, stumbling. I'm lost. Checked fuel pressure, spark plug wires, coils, water temp sensor, injector resistances, etc. Driving me crazy.

Hi Red,
Are you sure that you have got a good connection to the fuel pump at the plug? They have been known to be troublesome and if the pump is loosing power then the pressure will drop and the engine will run rough which could shake it back into life for a while. When you have checked the pressure was that when it was misfiring?

Talking of connections have you gone through all electrical connections with the DeoxIT treatment? Injector resistance is unlikely to be a problem. But it is well worth going through the earth connections under the tank with the DeoxIT.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Hi Red. Stupid question.
Have you checked the condition of the engine breather pipe?
If its dozed or pulled off the engine runs like crap.
Just a thought.

I tightened up the connections the other day. One of the wires is no longer connected. PO had it all boogered up & I couldn't get the female pin out of the plug but it's the wire to the fuel lights in the instrument cluster so that shouldn't be a problem.

I have not checked the fuel pressure when it's been running bad like this, Maybe I need to rig a gauge that is semi-permanent to monitor while I'm riding...

I just got the DeoxIt in the mail and will be pulling the tank, cleaning the frame ground & the plugs then going through every other plug I can find. I'll figure it out eventually but I'm frustrated. Too many other things going on in my life. I need the distraction of the bike but don't have the time I need to spend with it.

Thanks for the continued help!

Comberjohn wrote:Hi Red. Stupid question.
Have you checked the condition of the engine breather pipe?
If its dozed or pulled off the engine runs like crap.
Just a thought.

It looks ok but thanks for the tip. I'm going to pull it off & check it out.

Fuel filter?
My K stopped on me altogether due to me being too lazy to change it. Just changed it again after a year and was surprised how difficult it was to blow through the old one.
Must pick up plenty.

Hey Red,

Not sure if you know, but in the download section for members Bert has a bunch of trouble shooting flowcharts so you can go thru the bike in a methodical fashion. I'm sure you'll get her sorted and just hang in there!

OG

*a shamefaced Red comes back to the forum*

So apparently it helps if the plug wires & all the plug wires are securely affixed to their plugs. Cleaned up all electrical connections with DeoxIt too. Now running quite well except for a knock/clunk coming from the alt.clutch area at low RPMs. I think it's trouble with the output shaft judging from the description here: http://k100rt.aforumfree.com/t2001-knock-from-clutch-alt-area

Ugh. Going to be a lot of work on this thing in the near future. And insult to injury: fork seal blew today, too.

Good news about the wires Red! Hopefully not your output shaft, but doesn't sound good. :-(

OG

Hi Red,
A simple diagnostic is to take the alternator off it is only a few bolts and run it without the alternator to see if the knock has gone sometimes the alternator can make a nasty noise like that and alternators are simple to fix.
Regards,
K-BIKE

Red, whack a short piece of fuel hose onto the tops of the spark plug caps (assuming they're the original Bosch/Beru type with a tab) and they should stay put against the centre metal 'BMW' cover whether you're riding in anger or just cruisin'.

Well, I'm dug in pretty good. Got the bike disassembled up to the transmission. Now I have to rig a frame support & do some engine blocking. I pulled the crank cover & peeked into the outputshaft. It looks the rivets seem to be intact but it looks like 2 are further out towards the front of the engine than the others.

Hopefully I can find the time to get that shaft out by tomorrow & get the parts ordered.

I also plan on documenting the timing chain replacement with photos which I'll post a link to.

Good luck Red and thanks for posting your progress. Any pics of the output shaft would be great too if you've got time!?

OG

I should have the output shaft removed tomorrow. The seals in the waterpump were unrecognizable & the threaded end of the impeller shaft broke as soon as I put the slightest bit of pressure on it!

Hopefully I can get the parts I need fairly quickly & be back on the road in a couple of weeks.

Exactly the same condition my pump was in Red. I was hoping to be up and running myself by Monday, but looks like I'll be ordering some more parts myself.

OG

Good news: rivets in output shaft in perfect condition, bearings in perfect condition

Bad news: back to square one. what the hell is making the clunk & causing the idle to drop ?!

redman wrote:Good news: rivets in output shaft in perfect condition, bearings in perfect condition

Bad news: back to square one. what the hell is making the clunk & causing the idle to drop ?!

A stupid observation, but what about that water pump/oil pump ... it may have been noisy due to lack of seals. Yes, i know that it appears to come from the rear of the motor.

Certainly possible, Ned. And I hope so...

Also, back to the timing chain. Camshafts do not have to be removed. Simply hold each respective shaft in place with a 19mm wrench & remove the nut holding the chainrings on the shafts, they slide right off. Just waiting for parts now & need to order a couple of seals & orings to but the beast back together.

Changing the timing chain and guides is a cake walk. I did mine a coupla months ago. I bought the 'kit' from the boys at the 'Bins in the UK and it was complete, down to the timing cover's cork gasket and a new-fangled front crank seal that I do recommend you soak in clean oil for a few hours. The radiator shroud is best out of the way. You'll need a smallish Torx tip for the 'top' plastic guide, and yes, you're correct that the cams don't have to be removed - but who ever said they had to? A 19mm spanner holds them in place while the bolts are removed to remove the sprockets. It's a cinch. Oh, be careful to line up the v-slot in the sprockets with the gap between head and block. I noticed it was too easy to allow a misalignment with these two marks and the TDC mark on the crank pulley if the system is rotated clockwise slightly whilst fitting the chain. It was only off by a tooth and I corrected my mistake after manually spinning the engine over slowly to verify the critical mark's orientation. All good fun. The bike sings a sweet tune.

I was looking at my disassembled timing chain parts today & found the cause of my rattle. It is the same problem as outlined here: http://www.ibmwr.org/ktech/timing-chain-rattle.shtml

I have exactly the same breakdown/hole in the plastic piece bonded to the metal tensioner bar which is acted upon by the hydraulic tensioner foot. The plastic is cracked & has a hole where the oil port is in the tensioner foot & this prevents any kind of back pressure so the hydraulic pressure isn't there to properly tension the chain. I'll see if I can get a close up photo at some point.


Red

I'd never seen that as a cause of this issue, but it sure makes sense. How many other frustrated mechanics are there out there who haven't twigged to that being the problem yet?

BTW, the tensioner is a fiddly bit to get back together as the last step in replacement of the components. You need to pinch it all together after first lining up the top piece's inner tab with the rotating groove so that when fully depressed it revolves around and is seated correctly against the tensioning guide, the two flanges out (against the rubbing blocks of the metal piece of the guide) and the single flange in.

I had a good secondhand spare and used all of the best looking pieces from the two to make up a good one. One of the springs was a red pubic hair shorter that the other and there were some mild score marks on one of the pistons.