mikesail

Redbird, the deal is that the carbon is everywhere except where the valve seats. If there was carbon on the seat, it could not seal and you would have a big problem. I have heard old-timers talk about a chunk of carbon getting stuck in a valve seat, but I think that is more of a urban legend. After a valve burns you will see lots of carbon around the gap. The actual valve seat will ALWAYS be clean in a working valve. All the varnish and gunk is just on the stem. It might hurt the air flow when it gets bad, but it won't change the clearance. yea, I meant .001 as the accuracy, not the actual clearance. J., I admit I've not analyzed shim material. I did spend quite some time with shims from a lotus 907 and saw the issues I discussed. My understanding is that for the extremely high hardness needed you can only get a surface hardening, otherwise the shim would be too brittle. But I don't really know facts here. :oops: Mike

Two comments on the valve clearance issue. First is that the advice about sanding shims is dubious. Shims are surface hardened, and this treatment does not go very far into the metal. It is crucial to have the proper hardening else the valve will punch a divot into the bottom of the shim. Secondly, any clearance of less than .001" is hard to improve upon. you will find that the shims vary by quite a bit when you measure a few that are labeled as identical. If you've got all winter and a shop that will let you trade shims till you get exactly what you want then you might achieve "perfection". As to the carbon buildup changing the clearance, that is hogwash. The clearance changes because the sealing surface wears on both the valve and the valve seat. That is why valves get tighter over time. They get looser when the cam lobe and/or cam follower starts to lose material from wear. Loose valves clack and change timing which slightly affects engine power. Its not the worst thing in the world. Tight valves get tighter as the engine heats and the valve shaft expands. This is why the hot and cold numbers are different.if the clearance gets to be too small them the valve will not seal and this is when you get a burned valve. If you really care to have the valves right then the hot number is the only one that counts. The cold number is there to get you close. Mike

Thanks for the assist Todd Can you tell if it is just a solid collar sort of thingy, or is it rubberized? If it is just metal I can fab it easily here. the other issue about the copper washers is figuring out if it is really ok to remove those bolts with the motor in place. Assuming that is the leak. Mike

I hope someone can help me today. Was replacing the cct because its getting too cold here in So-Cal to ride, last night was in the 40's !!! Anyway, I pulled off the right side slider that the dealer installed for me when the bike was new. This is a slider that mounts to the motor mount just above where the cct is sitting.It would appear that there is a missing spacer between the frame and the threaded hole in the motor. There seems to be about a 1/2 inch gap extra. I'm guessing there was a spacer which was lost when the dealer pulled the old bolt to install the slider. My second issue is with some oil leak I appear to have. There is a very small amount of oily dirt behind the starter, on the top of the transmission case. I noted that there are two bolt heads showing in the area of the oil which have copper washers underneath. I don't see any other likely areas for the oil to come from. 1. Is there a apacer or other mount between the motor and frame on the right side? 2. What is the story with the copper washered bolts? Can they be taken out and replaced one at a time to reseat the sealing washer? Is this a known leak that anyone else has seen? Thanks, Mike

Hi y'all. As I do not possess a shop manual, can someone please describe how the engine timing relationship to the ECU is set. Where is the pickup located? Also need to know if there is only one timing source for the ECU only, or does the ignition have a seperate input as well. Also would like to know what is the proper procedure for setting the engine timing on a FI Bird, assuming that it is adjustable. My suspicion is that the poor mileage I get, (about 31 regardless of how I ride), is due to a substantial retarding of the ignition. I believe this for a couple of reasons. One is that the bike runs rather hot, and the second is that it has never shown the slightest hint of detonation even with the cheapest gas on a very hot day. Finally it is suprising that the mileage is always the same whether I am on the freeway or riding in the hills. I welcome any other comments that are relevent. Thanks, Mike

Eric, inquiring minds want to know!!! What is the story with your improved mileage???? I'm guessing that you changed the timing to the ECU I'm very interested as my '03 only gets about 31 mpg, regardless of how I ride. From the various members reports there does seem to be a poorly controlledengine parameter somewhere. Mike

I would participate in a group buy, BUT there is one concern I have. From the website : in October 1999, McCulloch's North American operation was purchased by Jenn Feng Industrial Co., Ltd, a Taiwan based manufacturer. A new headquarters/distribution facility, located in Tucson, was also acquired and the company moved in November 1999. Jenn Feng Industrial Co., Ltd., founded in 1975, started doing business as an auto lighting manufacturer and expanded into the power tool and outdoor lighting categories in the mid 1980s. *************** McCulloch used to make two stroke engines, then chainsaws later on. Those produts were pretty good at the time. I've never before heard of Jenn Feng, and don't know if they have a well designed part. Do any autos use this brand? I know that there are other HID vendors supplying both Denso and Phillips, both of which have good reputations as aotomotive suppliers. In particular I woiuld be inclined to trust Denso over any Taiwanese company. My .02, Mike

I bought it in New York so it is a 49 state model. The hose didn't look like it would route up to the tank. Where does the tank vent dump into for the 49 state version?

Hope someone knows the answer to a dumb question I have. Pulled up the gas tank to install the wilburs a week ago. This was the first timethat I've been " under the hood" in the year and 12k miles I've had the bird. Noticed that there was a small , about 1/4 inch, brown vacuum hose not attached at one end. This was just below the injectors, about in the middle of the engine, with many other hoses in the area. Is there a hose which vents to the atmosphere down there or did it fall off something I didn't see? Thanks, Mike