SOHC.co.uk Forums > CB350/400
CB400/4 ENGINE STRIP, ASSESSMENT AND REBUILD BY JULIE - NOW COMPLETE
Nurse Julie:
LINK TO THE CB400/4 DETONATION THREAD
http://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,14609.msg122071/topicseen.html#new
OK, here goes
XMD650T.
A bit of history. 1978 ‘T’ Honda CB400/4 F2. Name ‘ Hettie’. Owned by myself for just over 3 years and ridden regularly. Clock shows 46,838 miles, I don’t know if this is genuine mileage or not. It looks like the engine has been apart before sometime in its life. I have done about 4,400 miles on her since purchase. She has been regularly serviced at about 1000 mile intervals. She had a leaky oil pump which was due to brittle ‘O’ rings, so new rubber parts fitted. Sump gasket changed twice as I originally thought it was the gasket leaking. Had a problem with rising revs when the engine was hot which has been resolved by fitting non resisted spark plugs in place of the resisted plugs Dave Silver says are correct for this bike.
Last year she had a rattle develop somewhere in the engine, to me it sounded at the top end possibly on the left side. The rattle only lasted a few miles and then disappeared and did not return all last year. This year, half way through this summer, the rattle returned, intermittently, both under load and de accelerating. The rattle stopped if I kept her under about 5,000 rpm but still very intermittent as she would go for weeks without any undue noises. As I have plenty of other bikes to ride I took her off the road at this point.
She has always burnt a bit of oil and smokes a small amount under load but no more than any other old bike and I have oil vapour blowing back into the air box.
Everything else on the engine sounds fine, no knocking noises or clunking and the clutch and gearbox are great. She starts first time, every time. I do not pussy foot around on this bike. I ride her quite hard and she performs really well for a CB400/4.
So, now to the plan.
Engine out, strip and assess and rebuild replacing any parts that need to be and having any machine work done that is necessary. Engine casings will go for acid stripping and then she will be prepared and repainted using Triggers tried and tested methods.
At the same time, I will be having the clocks refurbished with new clock faces and I need to drop the forks out and give them a good looking at as they bottom out and get ‘stuck’ sometimes.
I am aiming to do the strip, assessment and rebuild of the engine myself and Trigger will do any machine work that is needed but, I would like to do as much of it as I possibly can.
Hettie is now on the ramp and I will start unbolting the exhaust, carbs and ancillaries tomorrow. I plan to remove the top end whilst the engine is still in the frame and then lift the engine out. I will post updates and pictures as I progress. I will not be offended if no one comments throughout the process as I know for many of you, engine strip and rebuilds are old hat but, for me it’s the first time for doing a 4 cylinder engine. I have taken the top ends off my old Brit bikes in the past but that is the extent of my engine experience.
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kevski:
I will watch this with interest, i have never stripped one of these tiddlers so it's also a first for me, think it will be a few years before my 350/4 will get this treatment as she only has 5 and 1/2 k miles on her, as for the rattle my Z1000 has an intermittent rattle but i know what it is, end float on the cams quite a frequent problem on gs's as well, so plenty of pictures please.
Johnwebley:
I shall enjoy this thread,
always willing to learn from the experts
Laverda Dave:
Good luck with the rebuild Julie. If you need a new cam or the rockers redressed I can recommend Newman Cams.
Don't touch the carbs!!! :(
hondarc166:
I will watch with interests and learn more
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