Throttle, Cable, Controls, and the Brake System.

I decided this was the time to replace the throttle cable.  It had a couple of cracks in the housing and some rust.  The controls on the handle bar were pretty ruff as well.  So I thought I would clean them up also.



I sanded the surfaces down used compressed air and blew all the trash out from years of neglect. 

Next I taped them off and touched up the buttons with a little paint.  Not perfect but better.

When I removed the throttle tube from the control housing it was at best a stop gap item that had been heavily modified.

I purchased a new one on ebay for cheap.

 

Upon reassembly I discovered why the original was so heavily modified.   Somewhere over the years Suzuki had changed the insides of the controls.  With a little trial and error and the grinder and dremmel I was able to get a much more accurate fit. 

I also took the time to adjust the decompression unit on the head.  A lot of these units have failed on older bikes.  What this does is open the exhaust valve for just a moment during starting.  This takes  pressure of the cylinder and makes starting easier on the starter.   I followed the trail in the Clymers Manual and did the proper test on all components.  Everything seems to be opperating properly.  After adjusting the cable I cranked the bike and watched the decompression lever move as it should.  Success!!

I have never been very happy with the front brakes on this bike.  The real issue is the fact that it is a single disk with a single piston caliper.  I feel sure that the hose and caliper were original equipment, aka 28 years old.  I had replaced the master cylinder with a 2005 unit earlier and have noticed a leak at the caliper.  I purchased a 2006 caliper from ebay and a new brake line from the dealer.  First I drained the system from the master cylinder with a syringe.

Then I removed the caliper and drained the system at the lower end into a bucket.   I leaned the bike over by adjusting the tie downs to get the master cylinder as level as possible.  This would help when I refilled the system as well as with contamination on the lower end.   I was careful to cover all areas with shop towels as brake fluid is corrosive.

Reassembly with the replacement parts.  I made an effort to clean the areas as well as possible.  Looks pretty nice.

Refilling the system is a time consuming operation.  Air is not your friend and getting all of it out takes awhile, one bubble at a time.   As the system is now you pressurize the system and hold the lever in, open the bleeder to allow the fluid and air out, then close the bleeder.  Only after you have closed the bleeder can you release the brake lever.  Releasing the lever with the bleeder open will suck air and dispelled fluid back into the system.   This is complcated on this bike by the fact that the lever and the caliper are on opposite sides of the bike.  You pretty much have to give it a reach around.  Ha!  It takes a good while to get the system to begin to presurize.  It seemed like 15 miniutes that I was not accomplishing anything.  Once it does it is pretty much straight forward.  Speed bleeders make this a much easier operation. I will order one for this bike.  I will let the bike set for a couple of days and let any additional air settle.  Then bleed them again.  Gee, I'm turning into quite the mechanic!

Oil Leak

 

 

 

Oil on the left hand side of the head.  This is the sign of of the oil cap leak on the S40.  The cap covers a hole that allows access to one of the cylinder head bolts.

 

 

Location of the oil leak. I actually took this picture after I had replaced the valve cover. Notice the red line of Permatex. It's the sure sign of an amateur mechanic.

 

Valve cover removal.

 

More card board and a drawing.

 

The engine was in neutral and I was very careful not tho turn the engine over during this procedure.

 

The old Cap filled with oil and some old sealant on and around it.

 

Valve rocker arms. Checked for any lost motion on the rocker arms.  Everything seemed pretty tight.

 

 The old one seemed to be OK but the new one is much more robust.

 

Permetex High Temp Silicone gasket maker.  Lots of opinions online about what is best.  We will just have to see how long this last.

 

A nice bead of sealant.

 

Insert and press.  I did a little clean up around the cup with a q-tip to make things a little neater than this picture shows.

 

A very thin coating of Permatex on the surface of the valve cover.  I don't think there was much if any sealant on this when I removed it. 

 

Torqued to spec.

 

After removing the drive pulley I removed the collar on the output shaft.

 

Remove the old seal.

 

New seal and replace the collar.

 

Retaining ring and bolts.

 

I also checked the valves after installing the cam chain tensioner I mentioned in the last post.  The gap is supposed to be between .08 mm and .13 mm.  All four of mine were .10 mm so I left well enough alone.  For those not familiar with this procedure.  I first inserted a .08 mm feeler gauge which slid in without any problem.  Then I tried a .13 mm feeler gauge and it would not slip into the opening.  I next tried a .10 mm gauge which would slip in but seemed to be fairly tight.  This was the same on all four valves.  Sorry I didn't take pictures but I was kind of excited that everything was in tolerance and didn't need adjusting.  Seriously, I think it might be the first time I didn't need to perform a major procedure after any check on this bike.  Things are looking up!

 

While I was waiting on parts I tacked a few other things as well.  New throttle tube and a new throttle cable.  I 'll cover that next time.

Cam Chains and the Oil Drain.

I had said I needed to change the oil after the gas leak so this seemed like a good time to check the cam chain tensioner.    Removing the right side crank case cover is several bolts and they are all different lengths.

So after draining the oil I removed the cover.  To make sure I get the bolts back in the proper holes I use an old piece of cardboard and make a drawing of the layout and punch holes with a screw driver at the screw locations.

Looks pretty good inside.

The wear point on the tensioner is 18 mm,  Mine was 21 mm!

 

After reviewing my options, Cam chain replacement $120 for a new chain and tear the motor apart and re time.  Modified tensioner from the Savage forum $170, or send mine to California and have it modified, $75.  We're shipping to California.

 

In less than 2 weeks I have a modified cam chain tensioner!  Pretty nice work.

 

Installed and torqued.  The hardest part of this whole repair was removing and replacing the circlip that anchors the tensioner to the case.  Really tedious, on and off!

 

Now pull out the zip tie and see what we have.

Pretty slick actually.

 

One of the first things I did when I got the bike was to change the oil.  Not the filter but the oil.  I rode it a while then changed it again.  Since the gas leak I have ran the bike in the shop hoping to let the oil and gas mixture clean the sludge out of the engine.  Oil filter change and fresh oil. 

 

Old filter yuck!

 

New filter.

 

Button things up.

 

While I waited on the modified tensioner to arrive I decided to tackle a few others issues that had been plaguing me.  I have had a couple of oil leaks that I tackled and that will be in the next post.  Transmission seals and the dreaded

"Cylinder Head Plug Leak"! So tune in next time for more photos and a light nontechnical description.