998 Bayliss - Engine Repair - Page 2

**MarkG** · 18 Jun 08, 05:41 AM

Sf, what a great series of posts. Even my wife, who bought my 955sp, would draw the line at doing it in the living room.

Congrats on a fine job, maybe you should send Tye, (you know who I mean) some tips on how it's done right, you have clearly shown patience and dedication

**safetyfish** · 18 Jun 08, 12:26 PM

I can only wish, Tye is a professional mechanic who has done this job many a time. I am flying blind with the help of a lot of books and lots of good people in chatrooms who are willing to lend a hand. ALong the way I have learned heaps and try to return the favour where I can.

There has been a delay in the balancing of the crank by a third party. If all goes well I "SHOULD" have the engine parts back here just after the weekend and can then get to work on the engine.

You have no idea how frustrating this is right now. I just want to get stuck into that bike but cant because major parts are on hold. For example, the exhaust has been polished, but I cant assemble it until the engine is back in the frame.
All the component parts in the cases have been cleaned up with parts replaced where needed, but I cant put them back until the crank is here.
You need welding googles if you go near the engine cases thats how well they have been cleaned up and prepped ready for re-assembly.

This is where I am at in my frustration. A table full of spares and parts but no engine......yet

SF

DC · 18 Jun 08, 12:33 PM

Looking real tasty. Let us know when Its all back together and "ahem," test ridden.

DC

**MarkG** · 18 Jun 08, 03:38 PM

SF, the "Tye" I was referring to is a photographer and posts frequently on Ducati.ms in the states. He wants to come across as a mechanic, or the equivalent.

The fact that you are willing to be patient and take advice is a major difference. Darn tough I know when you see all the parts in front of you every day, and you have to wait for others to make progress.

**safetyfish** · 18 Jun 08, 03:58 PM

It is the same tye, tye1138 -the guy who stripped his brand new 848 "just to have a look" before it even had its firt service

That was nuts.

I thought he was a BMW mechanic? Anyway, thanks for the moral support.

SF

**luckyskua** · 26 Jun 08, 04:56 PM

Really amazed about the tip to check the oil level before riding 'your Ducati', I do this every time now. Looks like you will have a bike that is better than ever and hope it doesn't take to much longer to rebuild. Meanwhile, here's a nice picture of a working two valver.

**safetyfish** · 28 Jun 08, 02:01 PM

What should have taken three days turned into a 7 day nail biter.
The packet with the replacement parts went via another country and finally arrived this morning. My heart was beating in my throat when I saw the state the package was in as the courier company delivered it.

Opened it up, checked everything and it is all good. (phew!!)

**safetyfish** · 28 Jun 08, 02:08 PM

There is a bit of cleaning work required on the heads, but the crank and gear box went straight in and I dry assembled the main casings to check the interference fit on the crank. Torqued it all up, and she is perfect.

Cases was opened up again with me now checking the manuals on what needs to be done before those cases get put back together again for the last time. The last thing I want is to put it together only to realise 5 steps down the line that one small part was forgotten about and I need to open it all up again.

Bear with me if I am asking a lot of questions from now on

SF

**CJS ducati** · 29 Jun 08, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by safetyfish

There is a bit of cleaning work required on the heads, but the crank and gear box went straight in and I dry assembled the main casings to check the interference fit on the crank. Torqued it all up, and she is perfect.

Cases was opened up again with me now checking the manuals on what needs to be done before those cases get put back together again for the last time. The last thing I want is to put it together only to realise 5 steps down the line that one small part was forgotten about and I need to open it all up again.

Bear with me if I am asking a lot of questions from now on

SF

Im glad its all back safe and well fish. That tough staining on the heads could be gotton rid of with paint stripper of a fresh coat of paint. Good luck with the build and if i can assist futher just phone.
chris

**safetyfish** · 02 Jul 08, 03:24 AM

Dry assembled the cases to check functionality of the gearbox.

The gears and the selector drum are all in perfect condition and went in with no hiccups, same for the selector forks. Then I hit the first potential small hurdle.

When we, and I stress that word "we", took the casings apart my “assistant" who was responsible for taking pictures of the gear selector arm position in relation to the selector drum, lets just say that his sense of humour is now not appreciated because the idiot only took a picture of his middle finger proudly displayed over the selector arm. Now I have no idea what the position of the slector arm was. I know it is super critical that you line things up perfectly or you will have gear change problems.

Note to self, never ever ever ever ever give free beers to the helpers while you are working on an engine. Wait until the job is finished and then let them loose on the fridge!!

Followed the Haynes and the 998RS manuals - but they both refer to using a Ducati tool to line it up. (Another Special Ducati Tool Story -why?) If you don’t have one of them special tools, then it is Mark1 eyeball time the Haynes manual reckon. Played around with it and was able to consistently get the gears to change properly, and the suddenly it just didn’t work anymore try as I may. Gave up after about an hour of getting it to lign up.

At least the gears are centered and are rotating freely as I change between the different gears, neutral goes in without a hitch.

Anybody got any advice on how to line up the selector arm properly when I finally get to that stage?

SF

**safetyfish** · 04 Jul 08, 04:02 PM

Primary drive gear and oil pump is in.

How they service an oil pump without taking that driving gear out is beyond me. The clearance between some parts and the casings is mind boggling. That some things can run at that speed so close together is beyond me

One thing I have learned so far, where ever practical - first assemble all parts and tighten by hand only.
Then check parts manual that you got everything in there that is suppsoed to be in there and that it is all in the correct sequence. Then check Haynes manual on special precautions you have to take with certain parts. Check Snyder's Desmotimes Manual for special insights that guy may have on working with certain engine parts or components. Then you go to your bike model's workshop manual and check the torque settings for everything that is supposed to go in. For giggles you reference those torque settings to the ones in the Haynes manual and see by how much it differs.

Now use the correct Loctite or grease as specified in the manual and bolt it up. Check the manual again that you did not mess anything up and then you go to the next step.

Easy really.....

SF

**safetyfish** · 04 Jul 08, 04:13 PM

The gearing units on the alternator side.

Use plenty of grease to seat that little bugger of a washer that is free floating in mid air behind the flywheel. I can see why it will be a big drama if you get it wrong with this washer.
Line up the dots on the gears, get the washers in the right position and sequence and make sure you have the correct tool to torque up the flywheel nut.

I used my full weight on the torque wrench to get it to click at 270 Nm. That is a lot of force that I dont think will bode well for gears if you dont secure the flywheel properly when you torque it up. You may differ in your opinion, but having torqued this thing I will definately recommend using the correct tool before risking damage to gears

A mate of mine was kind enough to lend me his home made tool. Works a treat.

Finally, the starter motor went in and the ball bearing and spring on the ger selector arm. I think I have that gear selector arm sorted out, but will do a few tests before assembling the left casing cover.
That in efefct is it for work on the central casing, now to get the heads sorted out with new o-rings and then to put on the barrels and the pistons.

**stevel** · 04 Jul 08, 05:00 PM

Great thread SF, good luck with the ongoing rebuild .......I R-e-a-l-l-y hope this goes well for ya and she comes together without any rework. I read somewhere about someone who torqued the flywheel nut and locked it by jamming a copper coin between the gear teeth! Can't imagine the unintended side force that must put on the cases, bearings etc...........cheers

**safetyfish** · 07 Jul 08, 03:35 AM

Thank you for the moral support and for the technical advice I have received offline from a lot of folks, greatly appreciated.

Things always take longer than you planned, and the smaller and more expensive those things are that you are working on, like the heads on this engine, the more time it takes to clean it up properly. It is mostly residue sealant used the last time the valve covers were placed, a wooden toothpick is your friend in getting it cleaned up. It is surprising how soft the metal is on some parts and components, always take it very easy when you are cleaning things.

There was a small drama when I discovered that the oil seal rings on the pistons were damaged and had to be replaced. Miracles still do happen and the local stealers had two complete sets in stock. Measured them up - perfect fit - and in they went.

I have assembled the barrels and pistons and dry assembled the heads. Not long to go now (Big friggin cheesy grin on my face when I stood back and took this photo.)

Word of advice, that is not a proper engine holding/mounting stand. The engine is now very top heavy and will fall over the moment you turn your back. I am not making excuses, but you really should have an engine stand if you want to get the engine to this stage and still do work on her without risk of unwanted damage. The heads came off again shortly after this picture was taken, I am not risking damage now to this beauty.

**safetyfish** · 07 Jul 08, 03:40 AM

Something I noticed while putting the pistons in, using lots of engine oil off course.

The top of the piston comes within 0.7mm of the top plain of the barrel. That basically means that there is absolutely no room for error in getting the timing wrong. The valves and the piston must clear with barely a breath to spare between them....