Steven wrote:
Why do the rocker boxes have to come off to change the oil pump drive gear?
Read Maz's post above and on the other thread. You need to unload the pushrods. Only one rocker box needs to come off, the other can stay on with the engine turned to TDC compression. If you have had the rocker boxes off already and have assembled it correctly with mechanical sympathy you will know what I mean.
Trying to remove the cam cover with the pushrods loaded will at best be not possible, at worst will ovalise the inner cam bearings.
Screwing the rocker boxes down, even with the pushrods on the cam base circle needs to be done with mechanical sympathy, i.e. each bolt done a turn before moving onto the next until the rocker box is tight... Then, as Maz says, go smoke a roley...
Steven wrote:
Did the air box venting mod on my XB12Ss 2007 6,000 miles
Took the oil pump out and took photos and zoomed in on a pc, it looked like new so just left it.
You have the later oil pump gear and a low mileage. It is the pre-06 bikes that wear their gears. Saying that, I couldn't get a real feel for how worn my gear was (05 engine) so I pulled the cover and sure enough there was wear. How much it needs to wear before one tooth breaks off (and falls in the oil pump, locking it and stripping the rest of the teeth off) is not something I wish to find out on my engine.
birdy wrote:
Good to see what's involved; looks like a garage job to me
You should think yourself more akin to Kenny Roberts. He had someone to do this stuff for him...
The job itself is not difficult, but if you don't heed the advice of Maz and Adam (not letting the tappets bleed down before turning the motor), you can end up causing problems for yourself. There are other pitfalls too:
1. How are you going to lock the crank? A few different methods, tools are available.
2. How are you going to 'hook' the seal out without scratching the bore? A screw driver will not do.
3. How are you going to press the new seal in? Tap it in with a hammer? Two sockets with some studding?
4. What are you going to do if your exhaust studs break off? This always happens when you don't want it to. Clean the exposed threads and soak with penetrating oil before you try and undo the nut.
I did my Firebolt over about a month, but that was cos I was on holiday for two weeks and had other commitments I needed to attend to. I can't tell you exactly how long it too me (I have fitted the gear to two of my other Buells), but if you have not done it before, budget a good day to do it and think through the process as you read how to do it (use Adam's cam cut-down guide, Maz's snippets and the service manual) and as you do it - as one of my childhood heroes (now sadly passed away) used to tell me,
measure twice, cut once.
If you have any doubts, take it to someone that knows what they are doing. Whilst you decide who that is, check the Adam post in the other thread with the aftermath of dealer work...