Complete Disassembly

So I have an XJ650J that is a parts bike to go with the one that runs. It has been stripped of nearly all useful parts at this point (though I have my eye on its oil sensor; see other thread). It is getting to be trouble to keep it on blocks in the basement. I'm worried that my daughter is going to discover it at some point and pull it down on herself, not to mention the fact that it has various very slow oil leaks.

I'd like to disassemble the thing, at least to the point that I can lift any given piece myself. However, on the (very) off chance that I ever decide to re-assemble the thing (or more likely, sell the engine parts), I'd like to store the parts in a way that won't do damage to them.

Any fool - especially a fool with the Haynes manual - can drain out the oil and start taking out bolts until I'm left with just parts. But is there anything I should do to those parts to preserve them or is there any particular way I should store said parts to prevent corrosion or other damage?

The one thing I *do* know is that the piston heads and other such pieces need to be stored such that I can tell which cylinder they came from. Other than that, this is totally unknown territory for me.

 

Not only which hole they came out of, but their orientation also (like which way is "forward").

Marine fogging oil makes a mess, and a good rust preventative.

 

Good call. I have some of that.

What would you keep these parts *in*? I'm thinking that I'll have to find some rubber foam or something that will hold pieces that matter in the orientation I want them (or that I can mark to indicate the correct orientation.

Then basically, stuff them all in a plastic-lined cardboard box until needed. I have shelf space. I don't have floor space. Plus, I want that spare oil sensor and I want to take apart the clutch basket and transmission. Never seen the inside of those before.

 

Bad idea!

Good idea!

 

No foam rubber? I was hoping to get some use out of all this old packing foam from these network switches we bought.

 

The foam is okay, it's just the "not marking them" and only using memory in trying to determine the correct orientation, especially since it might be X number of years before you look at them again!

 

I would suggest you gently, lovingly cover them with fogging oil, wrap them in newspaper or packing paper (the unprinted brown stuff is perfect!) and then pop the parts into ziplock baggies that you have marked. This method has served well for years. Then employ your foam rubber idea in a box and you should be good for years to come.

 

Wouldn't the packing paper absorb the oil and/or make a nasty mess?

The air-tight seal issue did occur to me. I was thinking along the lines of cutting the foam such that each piece could be fogged, fit into the foam, plastic-wrapped, then marked with an old floppy disk label (I have thousands) indicating which cylinder and where "forward" is. I.e. "1" and an arrow. The foam would have a space cut into it for the piece, but the foam would also be cut such that the foam and the piece together would not take up tons of room. So the piece would be protected, but not terribly bulky. Thus I should be able to box them all up without having them 2 to a box and without having them banging into one another and tearing each other up.

Fortunately, this is likely to be a December/January project, so I have a little time to think on this and wait for creative replies to the thread. :wink:

 

first thing to do is get some big eye hooks into the floor joists above the bike and use some tiedowns to support some of the weight
after you see it's stable, your daughter may want to get on and go for a ride

 

I use Plastic "Boxes" that stack and have tops with wings that close.
Magic Marker or Sharpie pieces that are position specific.
Egg crates
Ice cube racks
Muffin Tins
Plastic Baggies
Tin foil wrap and WD-40

System-a-tize the whole process ... so that someone other than you could find everything and re-assemble it.

Make cardboard cut-outs of sections that have Bollt Patterns and stick the Bolts in the correct pattern on the cardboard.

Notebook
Drawings
Photos
Wire together married parts
Wrap cleaned and lubed parts and position them such that a jolt or moving the box won't upset the organized way you place them for storage until time to retrieve them.

Step by step undo notes.
Order and replace parts that need to be new putting it together:
Wrist Pin C-clips
Valve seals
Shims.
Thrust washers ... and the like.

The more detailed you are in doing the tear-down ... the easier it will be putting it together and finding a specific part,, later.

 

The project itself is sound, yes? The engine is questionable, and I need to focus my time, effort, and money on the bike that runs. Even if I knew this engine were sound, the bike is missing so many parts that it would be quite a while before it could ever get on the road.

So the idea is that the engine parts - even if they are viable - are better off disassembled than put together, since I can fog the parts rather than having them sit with various unknown lubricants or gasoline breaking down on them.

(Plus, I might just happen to be able to use some of the parts I pull off, like the oil switch.)

As I'm disassembling, what should I look for that would tell me I'm wasting my time and should just junk the engine for the metal? Cracks? Corrosion? Scoring? I'm told that there may be damage to one of the cylinders. How bad is unrepairable?

 

How bad is unrepairable??

How deep are your pockets?
If you have the dough, you can get the holes punched and do an oversize piston.
The Head is an easy fix at a Machine Shop. Comes back good as new.

Your wallet, and the bottom line of a budget are the two factors in the way of having a Overhauled-like-new engine!

 

Yes, the paper would absorb oil but that also means it keeps the oil on the part! A quick wipe with WD-40 when you pull the part out later and your back in business without rusty parts! A fiber or two of paper isn't going to harm anything so no problem if the paper disintegrates. You could always spring for the plastic/wax backed butcher paper and eliminate the problem entirely as it will not wilt with oil but I'm not sure where to find it and I haven't looked for it.