starting issues

And the saga continues-

So after putting the new rings on the pistons and buttoning everything back up, upon first start I found that in the process of everything I had jarred the rear main (crankshaft) seal and oil was coming out from behind the clutch. That has now been fixed with the new modified friction disk (avail from Beemer boneyard, longer spline sections on it) plus the pressure plate. In the process of putting everything back the gear selector position switch for the transmission was slightly pinched between the rear frame and main frame, identified this and got the wires out. Also in the process a new battery has been emplaced.

However at this point, when I go to start the bike I continue to get the same response- The starter will kick and the engine attempts to turn over (really strongly) but will not fire up.

At this point I have three theories as to the why (it had previously fired up which is how I discovered the oil leak off the rear main seal):

1. Side stand switch went bad in the process -haven't checked it out with a voltmeter yet

2. Gear selector switch wires were irreversibly damaged when pinched, bike is in neutral but no pressure behind clutch lever when pulled at the moment.

3. Compression issue within the cylinders- put them back together fairly clear of residual oil in the barrel- could easily lead to the problem due to lack of building compression therefore not able to draw oil higher into the engine.

Any suggestions are welcome as to what the problem may be or if I am missing a detail.

And the saga continues-

 

So after putting the new rings on the pistons and buttoning everything back up, upon first start I found that in the process of everything I had jarred the rear main (crankshaft) seal and oil was coming out from behind the clutch. That has now been fixed with the new modified friction disk (avail from Beemer boneyard, longer spline sections on it) plus the pressure plate. In the process of putting everything back the gear selector position switch for the transmission was slightly pinched between the rear frame and main frame, identified this and got the wires out. Also in the process a new battery has been emplaced.

 

However at this point, when I go to start the bike I continue to get the same response- The starter will kick and the engine attempts to turn over (really strongly) but will not fire up.

 

At this point I have three theories as to the why (it had previously fired up which is how I discovered the oil leak off the rear main seal):

 

1. Side stand switch went bad in the process -haven't checked it out with a voltmeter yet

2. Gear selector switch wires were irreversibly damaged when pinched, bike is in neutral but no pressure behind clutch lever when pulled at the moment.

3. Compression issue within the cylinders- put them back together fairly clear of residual oil in the barrel- could easily lead to the problem due to lack of building compression therefore not able to draw oil higher into the engine.

 

Any suggestions are welcome as to what the problem may be or if I am missing a detail.

Afternoon jelake

We need more info from you.

Are you getting a spark when cranking? (will tell us if side or trans switch is possibly the problem)

With bike on center stand & key on does the dash look change when putting side stand up & down?

Lots of possibilities from no spark, to no fuel, to no compression, to ???????

DR,

Thanks for the reply, as to your questions.

I believe it is getting the spark as it has managed to backfire a couple of times but not fully catch.

All of this has been done on the center stand, with the side stand both up and down in an effort to rule that out- no change either way.

It is getting fuel, almost thinking that the right side is plugged as the left is almost filling with fuel (pooling in the throttle body and dripping out. As I said, it did fire up and was running which is how I identified the rear main seal leak as oil was actively dripping down from the clutch area, as a result I believe that the spark plugs are good- the electrical signal to the plugs may be in doubt though if a wire was pinched I didn't see (thinking out loud).

DR,

Thanks for the reply, as to your questions.

 

I believe it is getting the spark as it has managed to backfire a couple of times but not fully catch.

 

All of this has been done on the center stand, with the side stand both up and down in an effort to rule that out- no change either way.

 

It is getting fuel, almost thinking that the right side is plugged as the left is almost filling with fuel (pooling in the throttle body and dripping out. As I said, it did fire up and was running which is how I identified the rear main seal leak as oil was actively dripping down from the clutch area, as a result I believe that the spark plugs are good- the electrical signal to the plugs may be in doubt though if a wire was pinched I didn't see (thinking out loud).

Afternoon jelake

You still should verify a good bluish colored spark.

You might remove the lower spark plugs to see if they are fuel fouled or if anything runs out of the cylinder through the spark plug holes.

With that pooling fuel & rear main leaking, MAKE DARN SURE that your crankcase isn't full of gasoline (I'm not sure how a person could dislodge a rear main seal).

If that rear main seal started leaking & you didn't damage it yourself & the crankcase isn't over full, or full of fuel, then make sure the crankcase venting isn't pinched shut, or plugged off, & is functional.

If you have spark, at the correct time, have enough fuel injecting, & have compression then it SHOULD start -- so what is missing or incorrect?

DR,

Only logical thing I can come up with for the rear main is when I had initially taken the flywheel off before in order to access the pins for the timing chain rail guides, I had used my cordless impact drill which possibly jarred the seal loose. It was the only place leaking oil from inside the housing and it wasn't doing that prior to coming apart (at least not in the amount I was able to watch coming out). Both the inner and out seals have now been replaced, used a bottle to guide the seals over the Bearing since I didn't want to spend the 300 on the BMW Special tool. Took care to ensure they were at the correct depth and that both the top and lower breather holes were open.

The left throttle body is the one that seems to be pooling with the fuel, the right side doesn't seem to be getting nearly as much which is why I am leaning towards a plugged line in regards to that system (have a new set on hand but haven't installed yet- didn't want to pull everything back apart just yet).

When trying to start, she sounds strong, just wont catch. Tried jumping it with my truck when I still had the old battery and got the same response (could even hear it drag the idle down on the truck when trying to start) which is what lead me to replacing the battery. The starter seems fairly clean, broke out the brush on the dremel and cleaned while the tranny was off.

I am leaning towards the compression issue being the main culprit which I intend to rule out tonight once I get home by inserting 5 cc's of oil into each chamber. That should be enough to relube each barrel and get the compression ratio up- if that is truly the issue.

DR,

Only logical thing I can come up with for the rear main is when I had initially taken the flywheel off before in order to access the pins for the timing chain rail guides, I had used my cordless impact drill which possibly jarred the seal loose. It was the only place leaking oil from inside the housing and it wasn't doing that prior to coming apart (at least not in the amount I was able to watch coming out). Both the inner and out seals have now been replaced, used a bottle to guide the seals over the Bearing since I didn't want to spend the 300 on the BMW Special tool. Took care to ensure they were at the correct depth and that both the top and lower breather holes were open.

The left throttle body is the one that seems to be pooling with the fuel, the right side doesn't seem to be getting nearly as much which is why I am leaning towards a plugged line in regards to that system (have a new set on hand but haven't installed yet- didn't want to pull everything back apart just yet).

When trying to start, she sounds strong, just wont catch. Tried jumping it with my truck when I still had the old battery and got the same response (could even hear it drag the idle down on the truck when trying to start) which is what lead me to replacing the battery. The starter seems fairly clean, broke out the brush on the dremel and cleaned while the tranny was off.

I am leaning towards the compression issue being the main culprit which I intend to rule out tonight once I get home by inserting 5 cc's of oil into each chamber. That should be enough to relube each barrel and get the compression ratio up- if that is truly the issue.

Afternoon jelake

If you drove that lower chain rail pin out then drove it back in then there is a chance that you forced the crankcase apart in that area breaking the seal between crankcase halves allowing oil to leak out there.

Once engine is started be sure to check the crankcase in the pin area & between the pin area & the rear main seal cavity for oil seepage before fully reassembling the bike.