What do I check?

[mike the bike]

Don't worry about the specks of rubber,  it's just excess gasket material.

[JustcallmeMrT]

Got to disagree. Quite a lot of debris in the sump IMO, the reason it's in the sump and hasn't been captured by the oil filter is because it's probably too heavy for the oil to keep suspended, lots of little flecks of what are clearly alloy, most probably from the crankcases. Some are to be expected as small areas will be lost over time as flashing from the casting process dislodges. However I'd check the primary chain as the main reason for large amounts of alloy to show in the sump is because the chain is grinding it's way through the oil tunnel directly under the chain. As there is no tensioner fitted to the 500/550 when the chain starts to wear it droops, when it droops enough it starts to hit the oil tunnel, hence why at tickover a lot of 500/550 engines sound noisy.
The small rubbers bits aren't excess gasket material, gaskets from that era are almost always made of paper, paper would be held in suspension so would be caught by the filter. It could be excess gasket glue, like Hylomar etc, however they look a little large for that. I suspect they are either damping rubber bits off the primary drive hub or bit's of the cam chain guide or tensioner slipper.

The good news is that it's fairly simple to check the camchain tensioner without removing the head, if it requires renewal I'd advise changing the chain at the same time, again no need to remove the head or barrels, just pop the bottom case off and if your that far in then change the primary chain and damping rubbers at the same time.
If the camchain guide is worn then you will need to remove the head, however in most cases the tensioner wears well before the guide gets trashed.

Oddjob, the primary chain can slip side to side a bit, but doesn't seem to have any slack so that it should slap.  Is the side to side movement normal?

[JustcallmeMrT]

Got to disagree. Quite a lot of debris in the sump IMO, the reason it's in the sump and hasn't been captured by the oil filter is because it's probably too heavy for the oil to keep suspended, lots of little flecks of what are clearly alloy, most probably from the crankcases. Some are to be expected as small areas will be lost over time as flashing from the casting process dislodges. However I'd check the primary chain as the main reason for large amounts of alloy to show in the sump is because the chain is grinding it's way through the oil tunnel directly under the chain. As there is no tensioner fitted to the 500/550 when the chain starts to wear it droops, when it droops enough it starts to hit the oil tunnel, hence why at tickover a lot of 500/550 engines sound noisy.
The small rubbers bits aren't excess gasket material, gaskets from that era are almost always made of paper, paper would be held in suspension so would be caught by the filter. It could be excess gasket glue, like Hylomar etc, however they look a little large for that. I suspect they are either damping rubber bits off the primary drive hub or bit's of the cam chain guide or tensioner slipper.

The good news is that it's fairly simple to check the camchain tensioner without removing the head, if it requires renewal I'd advise changing the chain at the same time, again no need to remove the head or barrels, just pop the bottom case off and if your that far in then change the primary chain and damping rubbers at the same time.
If the camchain guide is worn then you will need to remove the head, however in most cases the tensioner wears well before the guide gets trashed.

How do I check the cam chain tensioner?

[mike the bike]

I was referring to the snobs of gasket goo interested sump; nothing to worry about.   The particles of alloy are a different matter.   It's more likely that the cam chain tensioner (the horseshoe part) is sticking causing the camchain to rub the sides of the camchain tunnel.

[JustcallmeMrT]

I was referring to the snobs of gasket goo interested sump; nothing to worry about.   The particles of alloy are a different matter.   It's more likely that the cam chain tensioner (the horseshoe part) is sticking causing the camchain to rub the sides of the camchain tunnel.

After reading up a bit on the cam chain tensioner, I'm pretty sure mine is broken.  The screw does not twist and spring back, it grinds and sticks at various places but will rotate 360 degrees.  So.... time to get back into the engine.

[JustcallmeMrT]

Got to disagree. Quite a lot of debris in the sump IMO, the reason it's in the sump and hasn't been captured by the oil filter is because it's probably too heavy for the oil to keep suspended, lots of little flecks of what are clearly alloy, most probably from the crankcases. Some are to be expected as small areas will be lost over time as flashing from the casting process dislodges. However I'd check the primary chain as the main reason for large amounts of alloy to show in the sump is because the chain is grinding it's way through the oil tunnel directly under the chain. As there is no tensioner fitted to the 500/550 when the chain starts to wear it droops, when it droops enough it starts to hit the oil tunnel, hence why at tickover a lot of 500/550 engines sound noisy.
The small rubbers bits aren't excess gasket material, gaskets from that era are almost always made of paper, paper would be held in suspension so would be caught by the filter. It could be excess gasket glue, like Hylomar etc, however they look a little large for that. I suspect they are either damping rubber bits off the primary drive hub or bit's of the cam chain guide or tensioner slipper.

The good news is that it's fairly simple to check the camchain tensioner without removing the head, if it requires renewal I'd advise changing the chain at the same time, again no need to remove the head or barrels, just pop the bottom case off and if your that far in then change the primary chain and damping rubbers at the same time.
If the camchain guide is worn then you will need to remove the head, however in most cases the tensioner wears well before the guide gets trashed.

So I can remove and replace the tensioner through the sump?

[tom400f]

Not sure, I doubt that could be done but the suggestion is you take the bottom crankcase off, so you can lift the crank out (avec pistons etc) and put a new cam chain on. At the top end you would only be taking the rocker cover off.

At least then you are not disturbing the head and barrels.

Is this your new engine of the one that came with the bike?

[JustcallmeMrT]

Not sure, I doubt that could be done but the suggestion is you take the bottom crankcase off, so you can lift the crank out (avec pistons etc) and put a new cam chain on. At the top end you would only be taking the rocker cover off.

At least then you are not disturbing the head and barrels.

Is this your new engine of the one that came with the bike?

Unfortunately it's the "new" engine.
Sorry for being so new here, but I haven't read the manual yet so just picturing what is necessary to do the job.  Is it easier to replace the chain from the bottom?  I thought I could do it all if I pulled the cam cover off - does the head and barrels have to come off to if I go from the top?

[tom400f]

MrT if I undertake a full sohc resto your threads will be my point of reference... 

You need to pass the chain over the crank/cam shafts because it is endless so these need to be removed. You can lift the crank out from the bottom with the barrels/head still in place. Take off the cam cover as per. No need to disturb your gaskets/o-rings. Careful not to drop anything into the cylinders and not notice while the engine is inverted  stuff em with rags.

[Bryanj]

You cant get the pistons out downwards through the crankcase but you can undo the rods,

To be honest, considering the normal oil leaks at the head gasket and the fact that,apart from gasket surface cleaning, you are only talking about 1 1/2 hours extra its better to do a complete stip

[tom400f]

You cant get the pistons out downwards through the crankcase but you can undo the rods,

Ok that's an assumption on my part. What is stopping you from doing that?

[Bryanj]

The casting shape which narrows below where the barrel spigots get to mate

[tom400f]

#boohoo MrT. It's all coming apart 

You know it's for the best 

[JustcallmeMrT]

#boohoo MrT. It's all coming apart 

You know it's for the best 

Oh dear oh dear... well, perhaps I can just get away with replacing the tensioner... guess I won't know till its all in bits anyways. 

[mike the bike]

You need to split the crankcase to get at the tensioner as it's bolted to the top crankcase.   How, you don't need to remove the barrels or cylinder head.  Undo the top securing bolts, then urn it upside down and remove the rest.  You also need to withdraw the primary shaft via the oil pimp side first, as well as removing the gearchange bits and the clutch.  Best get a manual.