Removing Valves to Clean Them

[MattW]

As others have said the 15 minutes is not even in the right ballpark.

Last time I took a head off my 1100 it took me an hour to get the exhaust off (snapping a stud in the process) - that said if you had BMW do the other head recently, the exhaust should be pretty straightforward as they'll have already had the fight with the header clamp and flange studs.

Taking your time with the correct tools and a decent manual, I'd say give yourself a day to do the whole job.

Or do the easy stuff (head removal and refitting) and give it to a local engineering company and let them do the technical stuff and refurbish / clean it (probably less than £200 if no parts are needed).

And you absolutely *will* need to reset the valve clearances.

And whoever suggests that you save the cost of a single use head gasket by reusing it is giving you very poor advice - do you really want to have to pull the head again when it leaks?

 

[JJH]

Yes my formula shell moment was an Opel record. Cast iron head and all. JJH

 

[JJH]

Bike went into BMW stealer as previous indi mechanic could not diagnose fault. After a while BMW said it was a broken exhaust valve in left cyclinder. As well as replacing this they cleaned up the valves and other bits on that side and got get the bike running. Cost ... just under £1K. They suggested cleaning the valves on the other side as the ones they did had a build of thickish carbon on them - they showed me them to prove this. Cost to do the other side ... they said not far off £1K.

Now you might understand why I am enquiring about doing it myself.

I can't understand how a compement mechanic could not spot a broken valve. Jjh

 

[JoeC]

I can't understand how a compement mechanic could not spot a broken valve. Jjh

That's what I thought but you live and learn.

 

[monkeyboy]

As others have said the 15 minutes is not even in the right ballpark.

Last time I took a head off my 1100 it took me an hour to get the exhaust off (snapping a stud in the process) - that said if you had BMW do the other head recently, the exhaust should be pretty straightforward as they'll have already had the fight with the header clamp and flange studs.

Taking your time with the correct tools and a decent manual, I'd say give yourself a day to do the whole job.

Or do the easy stuff (head removal and refitting) and give it to a local engineering company and let them do the technical stuff and refurbish / clean it (probably less than £200 if no parts are needed).

And you absolutely *will* need to reset the valve clearances.

And whoever suggests that you save the cost of a single use head gasket by reusing it is giving you very poor advice - do you really want to have to pull the head again when it leaks?

A DAY? Are you serious? Jeesus. OK - you've seen mechanics at the Dakar or on rallies strip things down in no time. I used to take a Lancia to a bloke in Farnborough that took things to bits in the time it took me to blow my nose. If you know what you're doing these things are straight forward and quick.

As you say - the exhaust will come straight off as it's been off recently. 5 minutes max. Rocker cover off - 30 seconds. Front cover couple of mins to take off and lock the engine at TDC. Say 2 mins to undo the cam sprocket and secure with a cable tie. 2 mins to take off the valve gear. What's that? 6 M6's? Then a couple of mins to take the head off - again, from memory, maybe 4 bolts. Bit longer to put back on but not much in it I don't suppose. Maybe it's just because I've done this so many times now trying to trace a rattle - but if I'm in a hurry it really doesn't take long.

If you don't think that's reasonable, what sort of time frame are you thinking about for removing a head? Ignoring the well known problems with the manifold. I dismantled my 175k 1100s and the manifold had never been off. I put a groove into the stud nuts with the dremel and put 5 in 1 in to soak. The nuts came straight off.

I'm no master mechanic by any means but I reckon 30 minutes absolute max for a simple job like that.

As for leaking gaskets - these engines are so low compression and with oil and no water that I think leaks are unlikely. I know I'm going to be proven wrong but I can't remember ever reading about anyone having a head gasket blow on an 1150.

Anyway - the reality for most people is somewhere between 30 mins and a day by the looks of it.

 

[JJH]

Low compression? Really? One thing they are is not low compression. Did u ever try bump starting one? Jjh

 

[Smug]

How easy is it to remove the valves and clean them?
I recently had BMW do my left ones as a valve had broken (long story - long price ) but they advised to get the other side done as the ones they did were fairly carboned.
Just wondering if easy for a home mechanic who can do the basic stuff.
I was told by a mechanic that the valves clearances would not need to be reset afterwards.

Thoughts please.

Thanks
Joe

I still say if you need to ask then don't even think of doing the job on your own.

A job like lapping in the valves is dead easy if you know what you are doing and how to test that you have done it properly. As an example I've even had experienced mechanics tell me how they lap valves in using an electric drill. If they don't understand the principal then you won't stand an earthly.

 

[MattW]

A DAY? Are you serious? Jeesus. OK - you've seen mechanics at the Dakar or on rallies strip things down in no time. I used to take a Lancia to a bloke in Farnborough that took things to bits in the time it took me to blow my nose. If you know what you're doing these things are straight forward and quick.

As you say - the exhaust will come straight off as it's been off recently. 5 minutes max. Rocker cover off - 30 seconds. Front cover couple of mins to take off and lock the engine at TDC. Say 2 mins to undo the cam sprocket and secure with a cable tie. 2 mins to take off the valve gear. What's that? 6 M6's? Then a couple of mins to take the head off - again, from memory, maybe 4 bolts. Bit longer to put back on but not much in it I don't suppose. Maybe it's just because I've done this so many times now trying to trace a rattle - but if I'm in a hurry it really doesn't take long.

If you don't think that's reasonable, what sort of time frame are you thinking about for removing a head? Ignoring the well known problems with the manifold. I dismantled my 175k 1100s and the manifold had never been off. I put a groove into the stud nuts with the dremel and put 5 in 1 in to soak. The nuts came straight off.

I'm no master mechanic by any means but I reckon 30 minutes absolute max for a simple job like that.

As for leaking gaskets - these engines are so low compression and with oil and no water that I think leaks are unlikely. I know I'm going to be proven wrong but I can't remember ever reading about anyone having a head gasket blow on an 1150.

Anyway - the reality for most people is somewhere between 30 mins and a day by the looks of it.

Read what I said, superstar

I said 'give yourself a day for the whole job' - exhaust off, head off, dismantle cam carrier, remove valves, clean everything up, reassemble, do valve clearances and test.

Not unreasonable given the OP's lack of experience and the fact it'll be his first time for every part of the procedure (given the questions he's asked) - sure it might go quicker but why rush - it's not a fecking F1 pitstop!

And yes, I had both heads off my 1100 twice so I have 'been there'.

Low compression? How do you work that out?

And yes, you're talking bollocks about reusing the one-shot head gaskets - I tried that and had it leak - they're a multi layer compressible matrix that only seals reliably once.

 

[monkeyboy]

Read what I said, superstar

I said 'give yourself a day for the whole job' - exhaust off, head off, dismantle cam carrier, remove valves, clean everything up, reassemble, do valve clearances and test.

Not unreasonable given the OP's lack of experience and the fact it'll be his first time for every part of the procedure (given the questions he's asked) - sure it might go quicker but why rush - it's not a fecking F1 pitstop!

And yes, I had both heads off my 1100 twice so I have 'been there'.

Low compression? How do you work that out?

And yes, you're talking bollocks about reusing the one-shot head gaskets - I tried that and had it leak - they're a multi layer compressible matrix that only seals reliably once.

I'm not trying to start an argument, or be a superstar, thanks. You take a day, that's fine. I do it in 'my own time' which is not a day which is also fine. You can do this quickly and properly, that was the point of contention. Just because you don't do things in that time doesn't mean it's not possible, or that it's a shoddy job. I'm not advocating that it's done at that speed, and sure, you'd take your time if you don't know what you're doing, or you've never done it before. We all take a lot longer when we're learning. Fact remains this is a relatively simple and straight forward job compared to a lot of others. As for the gasket. My bike had 110k on when I did it then I went straight on and rode it another 10k to Bangkok with absolutely no issues, and it's done a few more k since then.... so it's clearly bollocks.

We're obviously both very different and will have to agree to differ on these things. I'm obviously a tight pikey running the bike on a shoestring and I'm happy to acknowledge that