cb350 four complete tear down and fix

[dos]

hey guys so today I'm starting the tear down of my CB 350 four.

History: when I originally got her she ran great. after 5000 miles( bought her at 6000 miles) I started to hear rattling and eventually it ended up with the cam needing replacement..which is what I will be doing soon.

Today: after taking her out of storage I started her up and it sounds like little hammers are beating inside the engine and not in the good way. It seems like she is struggling and white smoke is coming out but it is probably the stabilizer fuel.. I have a full tank with stabilizer and I want to run it out before I take the tank off and the carbs, etc. This is my first time taking apart a motorcycle specifically my CB 350 four. If anyone has any advice or videos or tutorials please link them. I will be documenting everything I do and I'll be around the forums a lot. If anyone lives around New Jersey New York or Pennsylvania and wants to help out and get some extra cash let me know as well I am in northern jersey in Essex county.

She has 11,000 miles on her and she is still in great shape. The engine definitely needs to be cleaned out and looked at. I will probably have to buy some new parts as well as clean up the carbs and resyncing and doing things I do not know how to do but it is a learning process and I cannot wait.


when I took her out of the shed there was quite a big puddle it seemed to be gas and oil I know the very first carb on the left leaked a little .there may have been some stuff in the carbs and tubes before I winterized her.

Here is a video i just made. make sure to watch it in 1080p because the audio will sound better.
I am afraid to run the tank through because i feel the sound she is making is NOT GOOD. hopefully it's the carbs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW0VwdsLLSc

 

[Sonreir]

Get the basic maintenance stuff done, first.

On a cold engine, make sure the valve lash is appropriately adjusted and then do the cam chain tensioner adjustment.

Ignition timing comes next.

Doing a quick compression check might give you an idea of general engine health, too.

 

[carnivorous chicken]

Get the basic maintenance stuff done, first.

On a cold engine, make sure the valve lash is appropriately adjusted and then do the cam chain tensioner adjustment.

Ignition timing comes next.

Doing a quick compression check might give you an idea of general engine health, too.

Yep.

Hard to tell from the video, but might be a cam chain rattle. There is an adjustment procedure that might make it go away, but these things are also a little notorious for that rattle. Some bikes will go for years with a noisy cam chain, but eventually it'll skip a tooth.

 

[Sonreir]

Some bikes will go for years with a noisy cam chain, but eventually it'll skip a tooth.

Or feed a shredded tensioner into the crankshaft. ;D

 

[dos]

thanks for the feedback guys the cam chain tensioner bolt is snapped off I'm no longer going to run the bike I'm currently debating doing this myself or bringing it to a guy Adam at Liberty vintage motorcycle in Philadelphia. Have you guys heard of him?
http://www.site.libertyvintage.com
most of the people that I talk to about this ask around a thousand bucks( ridiculous) I figure if I bring my bike in for a thousand I could get the carbs cleaned and the motor completely cleaned and redone with new parts..

 

[Sonreir]

How attached are you to the bike? $1000 is like half its value.

 

[carnivorous chicken]

Around a grand isn't too ridiculous for an engine rebuild at a shop, depending on where you are, IMHO. You could save some money by getting the engine out of the frame and putting it back in yourself. If someone's offering to rebuild it for short money, definitely look into their experience; spending $500 for a shitty rebuild job could come back to haunt you. Don't know anything about that shop though.

Your bike looks like it's in good shape, which is a consideration. And a rebuild with new tensioner parts and chain should keep you on the road for years to come. The 350Fs have gone up in value lately too... and they're great little bikes.

 

[Tim]

Does the engine need to come out of the frame? The 500/550 SOHC4's can be done in-frame. Not sure about this one.

Labor on a top end tear-down / reassembly would be in the 6 hour range I'd imagine for someone reasonably familiar with the engine, and that would include removing the cylinders.

So $1000 is reasonable, if that includes a valve grind, new gaskets/seals/tensioner parts and if the cylinders need to come off. If that's labor only, and it could get worse (it usually does depending on what they find) then it's too much money.