the piston isnt hitting the head any more i have the right size spacer in there now. i have taken my time with the engine i just didnt have the correct parts from esr to begin with. so i tried to make due with what i had. i am taking everybodys advice on what they say and paying attention to what im doing. thats why im figuring out smaller problems as i go. i have to put the damn thing together to see what is wrong other wise i wont know. i cant just guess and say oh well im gona have coolant leaking from the head.. or oh im leaking coolant somewhere.. only way to know is to assemble the engine and run it.. also i cant haul ass down the road cause im still in the break in process so what should i do to see these problems jerry? im listening to your advice but your telling me my water passages are to big as if i can control that.. i am more than capable of installing this engine it isnt my first engine rebuild but it is my first o-ring head rebuild.. i need advice on the questions im asking jerry not smart ass answers that try n chop me down like im an idiot!! im a very respectful guy thats tryna learn. not be talked to like a child..
I am sorry if you think I was talking down to you. Sometimes teachers have to take drastic measures to get a students attention and make them stop and think.
I still believe that you are taking the wrong approach by "figuring out the smaller problems as I go" by putting the engine back together without taking a few simple measurements. Taking few simple measurements would have taken all of the guess work about knowing if the coolant leaks were due to something wrong with the o-rings, the o-ring grooves, the flatness of the head and cylinder, if the piston was hitting the head or something was wrong with the cooling system. You can take all of those simple measurements in a lot less time than it takes to take the top end off and put it back on.
Running the engine to see if the piston is still hitting the head will tell you just that..........the piston is not hitting or it is still hitting. If the piston is not hitting, you still do not know it the piston to head clearance is where it is suppose to be. It takes about 10 minutes to take a piston to head measurement. If the piston to head clearance is too wide it can also cause o-ring destroying detonation even though the compression is lower with excessive piston to head clearance.
If you are using the correct o-rings, the o-ring grooves are machined to the correct dimensions and the o-ring is laying in the grooved relaxed, those thin rubber slivers WILL NOT BE SHAVED OFF OF THE O-RINGs. Any time ANY SLIVERS ARE SHAVED OFF THE O-RING during installation there is potential for the o-ring to leak. O-rings getting shaved is an indication that some dimensions are wrong or there was careless assembly.
It will not hurt an engine during break-in to ride the bike 25 to 40 MPH, where there will be plenty of air going through the radiator, as long as you are not trying to run 40 mph in 2nd gear.
The comments about machining the coolant passages too large, was aimed at the engine builders and manufactures that are grabbing at the wrong straws trying to fix heating issues by performing this machine work.
I know that you cannot do anything about the large coolant passageways that were already in the top of your cylinder, that is why I said that the large coolant passageways are not responsible for you loosing coolant but may cause other problems.
It is the small details that separate the budding engine builder from the veteran builders. Small details are often over looked when one is in a big hurry and or not properly equipped for the task at hand.
Again, I sorry if you think that I was trying to make you look like an idiot.
Jerry Hall
