fjr1300 c head overhaul with custom valve guides · pdf filethat has already been done in the...

FJR1300 Cylinder Head overhaul with custom valve guides

All Material © Richard Carroll, 2006. All rights reserved. 1

FJR1300 CYLINDER HEAD OVERHAUL WITH CUSTOM VALVE GUIDES My purpose in writing this is to share what I learned doing this overhaul on my own bike and hopefully provide some tips and gotcha’s to be avoided. It is not my intent to give a step-by-step guide. That has already been done in the Yamaha Service Manual and this project should not be attempted until you are very familiar with chapters 3 and 5 in particular.

Note: An excellent reference manual covering head overhaul for any type of car or motorcycle is Sunnen’s Complete Cylinder Head and Engine Rebuilding Handbook by John. G. Edwards. Of particular interest is the section on aluminum head to aluminum block multi-layered steel (MLS) head gaskets and torque to yield head bolts. You can also research these topics on the web.

16 little valve guides is what this is all about. Custom valve guide is on the left, stock on the right

Disclaimer All described procedures are for informational purposes only. All modifications and maintenance should be completed by a qualified mechanic and in accordance with Yamaha factory specification. All information is provided "as is". No warrantees are expressed or implied. Any work attempted using this information is done at your own risk and no assumption of responsibility for the accuracy or reliability of this information is expressed or implied.



Required tools Aside from a good assortment of metric tools, you will need the following:

Torque wenches low range (4-30 newton meters) medium range (20-200 ft lbs)

Precision measuring tools Feeler gauge Dial indicator Vernier calipers Plastic gauge Dial micrometer

Special cylinder head overhaul tools: valve spring tester valve spring compressor Torque angle gauge

History In April 2006 my 2005 FJR joined the list of ticker casualties. I noticed an occasional loud ticking at about 12,000 miles and a progressively noisier valve train over time. My biggest clue was a noticeable loss of power and lower gas mileage (mileage dropped from 41 to 37 mph).

When the bike reached 14,000 miles I decided to investigate. I removed the exhaust header pipes and found one exhaust port (E6) much blacker that the rest. A compression check revealed all cylinders were low but still within spec. Upon removing the valve cover, a valve clearance check showed all exhaust valve readings out-of-spec. on the tight side. There was noticeable discoloration of one of the valves (E6). The low limit for exhaust is .18mm, but all eight valves read .15mm. The intake valves also read .15mm which is at the low limit of tolerance but within spec, for the intake side. I wondered if the valve clearance was set too tight at the factory.

The two pictures below show the E6 valve in question:



Notice the discoloration at the bottom of E6 exhaust valve.

My research I discussed this issue with my dealer, who said he had never heard of any problems with the FJR valve train. I then e-mailed another dealer, told him my problems and mentioned the known issue with the FJR and he said that I was reading too much into the forum discussions and that 98 percent of all complaints were bogus. As I did not have the YES warranty and did not want to take all summer to get Yamaha corporate to react, I decided to fix it myself.



Since the release of the FJR, Yamaha’s attempt to fix the exhaust valve problem has been a failure. They have released new versions of the exhaust valve, valve guides and most recently new valve seals. The record shows that their first two attempts (different valves and guides) failed. Many factory repaired tickers have exhibited the same valve issues again (re-tickers) at approximately the same mileage. The newest factory fix just released in 2006, new valve seals, is yet to be proven. The 2006 model, released in April of this year has not had enough time or mileage to confirm a fix.

I did research on as many of the old ticker threads as I could find, including all the Warchild sagas. I concluded that the valve problem is a heat-related issue. A lack of lubrication might also contribute.

My approach to solve both problems; bronze valve guides for the heat and the new 2006 Yamaha valve seals for more lubrication. Bronze is a much better conductor of heat than the stock powdered metal. Bronze valve guides are used in most aftermarket high performance automotive heads (GM Bowtie V8 racing heads) and Kibblewhite Precision Machining, one of the largest makers of aftermarket motorcycle valves and valve guides uses only AMPCO 45 (nickel, aluminum, bronze metal) for valve guides, wrist pin and crankshaft bushings to name a few.

(To learn more about Kibblewhite visit their web site at Blackdiamondvalves.com. To learn about AMPCO 45 visit Ampcometal.com.)

The teardown

Step 1: Remove the Engine The first step is to remove the engine. This requires removal of sub-assemblies in the following order:

Seats and Fuel Tank Cowlings Radiator and coolant Exhaust pipe and muffler Air filter case Throttle bodies complete Air Induction assembly Thermostat assembly Engine oil/oil filter

Note The book says Oil cooler and Water pump, I found this un-necessary



Left footrest bracket/dust cover Clutch release cylinder (be sure to tie-rap the piston to keep oil from leaking) Side stand – complete

Step 2: Disconnect electrical leads as listed in chapter 5-3: Starter motor lead Ground lead Stator assembly coupler Oil level sensor lead Sidestand switch coupler Crankshaft sensor lead Speed sensor lead

Step 3: Disconnect hoses as listed in chapter 5-3: Crankcase breather hose

I was then ready to remove the engine mounting bolts and drop the engine. I used a chain fall centered over and attached to the handlebars of the bike and a furniture dolly under the engine. I placed wood spacers between the dolly and engine to support the engine while I removed the mounting bolts. Once all bolts but the rear lower mounting bolt were removed, I lifted the bike about four inches. Making sure all wiring and hoses were clear I then removed the last bolt and moved the engine forward to disengage and clear the drive shaft. Once the engine was free I lifted the bike higher and rolled the engine clear. Removing the engine:



Once the engine was removed I lowered the bike and used the chain fall to lift the engine onto a steel table for an easier working height. Next I removed the valve cover, checked the valve clearances for future reference and then removed cam tensioner and both cams. I removed the valve lifters and pads, they slipped out using a magnet (and put them in a plastic zip-lock bag marked with their original location (E1-E8, I1-I8).

I then had 16 bags, one for each valve, to hold all valve parts for said location. I knew I had to reinstall all valve train parts (valve lifter, cotter, upper and lower spring seat, spring and valve) in their original locations.At this point I could remove the ten head bolts and two timing chain cover bolts.

Note The head bolts are very tight; I broke two sockets during the removal. I also had to secure the engine to a steel post to prevent turning the entire engine when removing the head bolts.



Cylinder head removed



Next, using the Valve Spring Compressor tool, I removed all 16 valves and components and placed parts in the properly marked zip-lock bag used above for the lifters and pads.

The inspection After I removed the valve springs, I measured the amount of free play with the valves installed in the valve guides.

The factory valve-stem-to-valve-guide clearance is:

Intake = .00004 - .0015 in Exhaust = .001 - .002 in

I measured the clearance with a dial indicator. I zeroed the indicator with valve down, and then lifted the valve as shown below to read the clearance. I then divided this number by 3.5 to give a close approximation of stem to guide clearance. Measuring clearance with dial indicator

This measurement resulted in values as follows: Exhaust valve-stem-to-valve-guide measurements

Valve location Maximum factory spec. Measured clearance E1 0.002 0.0077

E2 0.002 0.0086

E3 0.002 0.0057

E4 0.002 0.0034

E5 0.002 0.0083

E6 0.002 0.0071

E7 0.002 0.0029

E8 0.002 0.008



Intake valve-stem-to-valve-guide measurements

Valve location Maximum factory spec.

Measured clearance

I1 0.0015 0.0011

I2 0.0015 0.0014

I3 0.0015 0.0011

I4 0.0015 0.0008

I5 0.0015 0.0011

I6 0.0015 0.0014

I7 0.0015 0.0014

I8 0.0015 0.0011

As you can see all of the exhaust valves was considerably out of spec. In fact, the wear was so obvious I could feel the looseness in the exhaust valves just by wiggling the valve.

All the intake valves were within spec.

I also noted during valve inspection that the stock exhaust valves are bi-metal. The lower half of the valve is SS and the upper half is carbon steel. The SS is more durable to hot exhaust gases and the steel is more tolerant to mechanical wear from the constant impact of the cam and lifter. The Yamaha valve is fused in the middle, meaning that the seam is half way up the stem. This places the fused seam inside the valve guide. (I question this design, as the heat transferred up the valve stem must cross this fused boundary.) Also, the seam creates a ridge that can wear on the inside of the guide. This seam can be felt with your finger nail on the old valves.

A more common approach used by other valve manufactures is a SS valve and stem with a Stellite tip welded to the top of the stem. The Stellite provides a hard wear surface over the softer SS metal but eliminates any fused boundary inside the guide area. Stock Exhaust valve showing SS to carbon steel boundary



I also noted that the E3 lobe on the exhaust cam had a trace mark on the closed side of the lobe. This should never touch the valve lifter on the closed cycle unless the clearance is too tight. The clearance was .3mm out of spec but so were all other exhaust valves. My conclusion was the lifter was defective (out of round maybe) and not returning to a full resting position. I replaced this lifter. See below. Bottom of E3 cam lobe

Top of E3 valve lifter showing wear mark

Other observations during the disassembly; one of the intake valve springs (I2) was installed upside-down. Didn’t seem to have any negative impact, but did lower my respect for the factory’s integrity.



The cleanup Cleaning the engine block was the next step. This includes cleaning the head gasket surface area and removing all combustion chamber residues. Take great care when removing the old gasket material to avoid damaging the highly polished surface of the engine block.

Before I started, I packed paper towels between the block and the outside of the cylinders (the water jacket). This prevented crud from going into the water jacket.

Arrows below show water jacket to be stuffed with paper towels or shop rags before starting. Engine before cleaning



Then I used Permatex gasket removal spray, WD-40 and a plastic putty knife. This worked for all but the most stubborn spots. Only as a last resort did I use a SS wire brush soaked in WD-40. I used the same tools to clean the top of each piston.

To clean each piston I rotated the crankshaft clockwise until the piston was at the top of cylinder. Engine after cleaning

When I inspected the cylinder walls I saw no measurable grove nor could I feel any ridge in the wall from piston ring wear. This is a good sign that engine is capable of going several tens of thousands miles without need of a major overhaul. Noted: erosion, mostly on No.1 piston and some on No. 2.



Using the same method as with the engine block, I then cleaned the cylinder head gasket area. I decided not to worry about protecting the combustion chamber or water ports from crud at this time as the machine shop will do a through cleaning job after new guides are installed. Again, I was very careful to protect the highly polished gasket surface area. A close-up if No. 1 combustion chamber before cleanup

The right machine shop for the job Finding the right machine shop proved to be challenging. Even though I live in San Diego, which has numerous shops, I had to do a lot of research to find one that I could trust.

I believed that because the FJR is a water-cooled, in-line four it would be very similar to many Japanese four cylinder cars. In general this is true, except that all the machine tools needed for the FJR head work are much smaller that for an automobile head. The guide extractors, reamers and hones for the FJR guides are based on 5mm stem diameter.

Most automotive machine shops are not equipped with tools this small. I visited several motorcycle dealerships and ask their service department who they used for head work. I then visited each of these shops and questioned their machinist about the kind of bikes they specialized in and looked over their equipment. Many of the “motorcycle only” machine shops were one-man operations with very limited equipment. Some even worked out of their garages. Having no past experience or personal references to go by, I went with the most reputable and oldest shop in town. They specialized in BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and Ducati motorcycles and had the best maintained shop of any I visited. They certainly were not the cheapest but I only want to do this once.

The new parts After searching in vain for off-the-shelf aftermarket valve components for the FJR, I called Kibblewhite and talked with one of their engineers, Jerry Ryan. (Kibblewhite is a machine shop in Pacifica, CA that specializes in valve components for nearly all metric



bikes. Yes, they have ready made parts for Yamaha; both street and dirt, just not for the FJR.)

Jerry and I discussed my requirements and I sent him a new stock valve guide and exhaust valve. I also sent him specifications from the Service Manual. After several conversations and engineering drawings we agreed on the design. The new guide would not use a circlip but instead would have a collar machined on the outside of the guide. This would service the same purpose as the circlip and would add additional surface area contacting the head for heat dissipation. This collar would be machined so as not to interfere with the lower spring seat washer. Custom AMPCO 45 valve guide (left) versus stock powdered metal guide

Custom AMPCO 45 valve guide (right) versus stock powdered metal guide, top view



In addition to custom valve guides, I opted for custom Black Diamond exhaust valves from Kibblewhite. As mentioned above,the bi-metal factory valve has the fused seam in the middle of the stem. This seems like a potential problem area I would prefer to avoid. The Black Diamond valves are one piece SS with a Stellite tip. The valve is also coated to improve wear. Black Diamond valve (left) versus stock exhaust valve on the right. Notice the Stellite tip on the top of the Black Diamond valve.

The inside diameter of the custom guide is machined under size. This is so the machine shop will be able to ream the guide to the proper clearances after installation. Jerry indicated that, depending upon guide-to-head pressed fit, the inside diameter could change. Reaming and honing after the guide is installed insures the correct valve-guide-



to-valve clearance. Kibblewhite sells hones for 5mm guides. I purchased one but the machine shop already had the proper size.

The machine work Once the new guides and valves were available I could deliver the cylinder head along with the valve parts to the machine shop. Because the machine shop did not want to be responsible for removing the valve springs or adjusting the valve clearances, I delivered the head only, with new parts separate.

They then performed the following machine work:

Decarbonized cylinder head Removed old guides Installed new guides Reamed and honed new guides Resurfaced valve seats Lapped valves Resurfaced head (sometimes this is needed. See warning note below.)

When I picked up the head, the valves were inserted in the head and the head was wrapped in plastic. I had to make sure not to let the valves fall out of their guides as they are custom fit to the guide and seat as installed by the machine shop. Making sure that valve E1 stayed in the E1 guide, etc. Cylinder head after return from the machine shop



Warning: If the cylinder head is resurfaced… The FJR cylinder head and block come with a highly polished finish. This is necessary for the multi-layered steel (MLS) head gasket to maintain a proper seal. Most machine shops will not be able to match this polished finish if the cylinder head is resurfaced. A typical machine shop head surface finish is measured within a roughness average (RA) of anywhere from 55 to 110 micro inches or 55 to 110 RA. This finish is not acceptable for aluminum head to aluminum block with MLS gaskets. A finish of 20 to 30 RA is required.

To obtain this finish, after the machine shop has resurfaced the head, you or the machine shop must further wet polish the head surface on a surface plate (a very flat surface, usually granite of thick steel) and very fine sandpaper. The sandpaper will have adhesive on one side to stick to the plate. The service manual calls for 400 to 600 grit sandpaper. I used 30u. This is a tedious process that can take three or four hours to get a semi-gloss finish.

If you don’t get the proper finish, the engine will fire up fine after re-assembly but after it has cooled down overnight and you start it in the morning it will blow antifreeze out the exhaust pipes. This is called a cold seal problem. Don’t ask me how I know this. The only recourse is to pull the engine and head, polish the head, buy new head gasket and head bolts (they are a one use only bolt) and re-assemble.

There are only two reasons the head would need resurfacing: head warpage by more that .004 in., or scratched surface. My cylinder head had none of these issues but because I did not explicitly tell the machine shop not to resurface the head they did.



Rebuilding the head The next step was to re-assemble the cylinder head with all 16 valves, temporarily install the cams and adjust the valve clearance.

Before re-assembly I checked all valve springs for proper free length with a ruler and compressed spring force with my valve spring tester. You put the tester and spring in a vice and compress to 1.3 ins. The tester gauge should read between 30.6 and 35.5 lb. All valve springs were within specs.

As I re-assembled each valve assembly to it original location I made sure to lubricate all moving parts with molybdenum lubricant. The service manual calls for molybdenum oil every place except under the lifter, on the pad and upper spring seat. That is the only place it calls for molybdenum grease. Molybdenum grease is easy to find, as most engine assembly grease is just that, but molybdenum oil is more difficult. I did find a quart of Honda motor oil that contained molybdenum but I doubt if was very concentrated so I mixed my on blend of molybdenum oil and grease to make a liquid about the consistency of syrup. My blend of moly oil and grease



After all valve assemblies are installed and before the cams were installed, I installed the old sparkplugs and did a leak test. This consisted of leveling the head with combustion chambers facing up and filling each of the four chambers with kerosene.

This tests the quality of the valve seat to valve face seal (how good was the lap job). All the valves on mine leaked a little after ten minutes and showed a noticeable drop in the liquid level after an hour.

Finally I installed the cams and adjusted all the valve clearances, following the instructions in the service manual, chapter 3-16. To turn the cams I used a fabric strap wrench on the cam gear. My biggest challenge was locating the correct Pad sizes. My dealer didn’t have certain sizes in stock, but the Pads are fairly standard amongst metric street bikes so I was able to locate what I needed from other bike shops.



Once all valve clearances are set to specification I removed the cams so that I could access the head bolt holes prior to installing the head to the block.

Re-installing the cylinder head to block Before re-installing the head bolts, I made sure that the head bolt threads and holes were clean. The bolt holes are blind, meaning there is no way for any oil or gasket material that may have dropped into the bolt holes when I were cleaning the block to escape. I found some of the bolt holes had considerable oil in the bottom. I used a long stemmed queue-tip to soak up the oil. I then used a head bolt and made sure it would screw all the way to the bottom of the threads with no resistance. Once the bolt was all the way to the bottom, I measured to make sure that was below the depth required by the cylinder head.

I cleaned both head and block gasket surfaces with alcohol and examined the new gasket for any imperfections and then proceeded according to the service manual.

Note The first head gasket I received from the dealer had a blister in the rubber coating. I sent it back.

Once I torqued the head bolts to spec for the second time as the manual says, I tightened them an additional 180 degrees using the Torque Angle Gauge I purchased earlier.

This is where the head bolts are stretched. A new head bolt is 4.305 in long; the old stretched head bolt is 4.330 in long. In fact as you tighten this last 180 degrees it will feel like you have stripped the threads. This is normal, as what you are feeling is the bolt yielding. I was tempted to tighten this final 180 degrees in stages, 60 degrees all around, then another 60 all around and a final 60 degrees. Don’t do it. Do the full 180 degrees as one step.

My final step was to install the cams with the timing chain and crankshaft in proper orientation. This was somewhat challenging, but following the service manual and the timing marks on the crank and cams, I got it done.

My last note that deviates from the service manual is when to install the chain tensioner. Of course you install the cams without the tensioner installed to give the timing chain enough slack to position the cam gears in relation to the chain. But once you have the cams installed with all the timing marks aligned, do not turn the crankshaft until after you install the chain tensioner and released the spring tension. If you do, the chain will jump a tooth or more on the crankshaft and you timing will be out the window. The book says to turn the crank several times to insure you timing is correct, then it says to install the tensioner. That will not work in my experience.

Once all timing was correct, I turned the crank several times, then re-checked the valve clearances. I found minor changes were needed even though the settings were correct on the bench. Evidently bolting the head to the block had some effect on the valve adjustment.

Once the valve and timing covers were installed, I was ready to re-install the engine. I used the same procedure in reverse to get everything back together. The biggest challenge facing me now (assuming the head gasket held) was water, fuel and oil leaks. I had a leaking water hose that connected the thermostat to the radiator. The hose had



ruptured the inter lining and had to be replaced. Of course it was the most difficult hose to replace. Murphy’s law.

Expense and Time My cost for this project is high based on what I know now and how I would approach it if I were doing it again. I wanted everything new without question. I know now that several items could have been reused. Part of the problem was I ordered parts before I disassembled the engine. I did not need new intake valves the original ones showed no sign of wear. Also, valve cover gaskets were re-usable but I replaced them. I ordered several parts from my local dealer, and then later I found out about University Motors. I could have saved at least 25-30% on parts just by using University. Hind sight is 20/20.



The list below is my cost based on invoice receipts

Part # Description Qty Comments My project 5JW-11193-00-00 Gasket, Head cover 1 Required $ 13

5JW-11181-00-00 Gasket, Cylinder head 1 Required $ 29

90119-10004-00 Head bolt with washer 10 Required $ 52

93210-18417-00 O-Ring, coolant tube to head 2 Required $ 3

93210-23787-00 O-Ring, thermostat 1 Required $ 1

5JW-15456-00-00 Gasket, oil pump cover 1 Required $ 3

93210-32172-00 O-Ring, oil pump inspection 1 Optional $ 3

4FM-14613-00-00 Gasket, exhaust pipe 4 Required $ 22

ACC-Y4020-40-12 Yamalube 20W40 Oil 4 Required $ 16

5JW-13440-00-00 Oil Filter element 1 Required $ 10

33M-12119-09-00 Valve stem seal 16 Required $ 57

5JW-12213-00-00 Gasket, chain tensioner 1 Required $ 1

1AA-12118-00-00 Valve, cotter clips 32 Required $ 38

3LD-12168-?? Valve adjusting pad 16 Required $ 80

RC-051006-G Kibblewhite valve guides 16 Required $ 297

GPR-051006-001 Kibblewhite exhaust valves 8 Optional. $ 382

Machine work Decarbonize Cyl. Head 1 Required $ 27

Machine work Reface valve seats 16 Required $ 128

Machine work Install valve guides 16 Required $ 160

Machine work Hone guides, lap valves 16 Required $ 80

Machine work Resurface head, only if needed 1 Optional $ 37

e-bay Valve spring tester 1 Optional, not required $ 60

Lube Engine assembly lube 1 Required $ 11

e-bay Torque angle gauge 1 Required $ 21

e-bay Valve spring compressor 1 Required $ 50

Miscellaneous Opional parts

91317-06065-00 Bolt, head, chain side 2 Optional $ 4

90201-06016-00 Washer, for bolt above 2 Optional $ 2

CR8E Spark Plug NGK 4 Optional $ 20

5JW-12111-00-00 Intake valve 8 Optional, could re-use $ 89

5JW-14451-00-00 Air Cleaner element 1 Optional $ 25



3XW-14714-00-00 Gasket, muffler 2 Optional, could re-use $ 21

4KG-1111G-00-00 Rubber Valve cover bolt gasket 8 Optional $ 27

5EB-12153-20-00 Valve lifter, only replace if worn 1 As needed $ 12

Total $ 1,781



It took about two weeks to gather all the parts (custom guides and Yamaha parts), two days to remove the engine, two days to inspect head, one day of cleaning block and head, four days for machine shop turn around, and two days to assemble, adjust valves and install head, and three days to re-install engine, adjust and tune. This does not count a day here or there to find the right size valve pads or get miscellaneous parts. I ordered the parts May 16th and finished June 12th.

Final impressions After a five hundred mile shakedown (two rides) close to home, I departed on a three week, 5,400 mile trip to the east coast. The bike worked flawlessly. Power was back and so was gas mileage. I checked mileage at every fill-up and recorded a low of 40 to a high of 49. The low was across the desert (110 Degrees) at high speed (80 MPH +). Mileage was generally better at higher altitude, in the Rocky Mountains I got 47-49 MPG.

Noticeable impressions after the re-build: The engine valve train noise is much quieter than I ever remember, even when it was new. Heat on my legs from the engine is cooler, but I noticed this after I installed the Power Commander. The engine water temperature indicated on the instrument panel is slightly hotter. The temperature normally runs at two bars just as before but will more quickly move to three bars if slowing down for traffic or extreme outside temperature for extended period of time.

My theory is that the new valve guides are conducting more heat into the head than the stock guides and thus increasing the water temperature. The new guides are 81% copper, 10% aluminum, 5% nickel and smaller portions of iron and magnesium. Both copper and aluminum are much better conductors of heat than the powdered metal of the stock guides.

Only time and mileage will tell if this is the permanent fix. I certainly hope it is as I really like the FJR. It is the best all around bike I have owned. Parting shot. Near Bryce Canyon, UT, after the overhaul

fjr1300 c head overhaul with custom valve guides · pdf filethat has already been done in the...

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