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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Cylinder head covers /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1248789391 Message started by spacepirates on 07/28/09 at 06:56:31 |
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Title: Cylinder head covers Post by spacepirates on 07/28/09 at 06:56:31 Is it necessary to have them? If I say... completely removed them, would anything bad happen? I want easy access to the spark plug, and am considering doing the spark plug door mod (which is really just removing one bolt), but thought it might be an interesting look for the bike without the covers at all. I ride in the rain, so i don't know if that would factor into things. Also i thought someone mentioned if you take them off you have to buy all new bolts or whatnot to put it back on (which i would like to avoid...) |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by verslagen1 on 07/28/09 at 07:02:11 They're only for looks. I took 'em off long time ago. There's one bolt that's captive, cut a length of vac line to put over it and a washer then the nut. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by spacepirates on 07/28/09 at 07:26:38 i don't understand what a "bolt that's captive" means. it needs to be threaded in/out a certain distance and so the vac line serves as a spacer? And i'll be glad to get rid of the covers... just more weight. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by Moofed on 07/28/09 at 08:04:49 He means there's a bolt that is trapped in its hole by the engine. If you take the covers off then it rattles around. You can secure it in place with vac line like he says, and then next time you have the head cover off (to retorque the head bolts or fix a plug cap oil leak) you can get the bolt out completely. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/28/09 at 08:35:08 I did the plug door mod & put a "stub" in the bolt hole, poking up far enough that the door cant swing open while the other bolt is even still snug at all. I also hacked the backside of the hole the hose goes thru on the other side, so I dont have to rassle that thing. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by serenity3743 on 07/28/09 at 09:06:44 706F696E73744575457D6F63281A0 wrote:
Hey, I did that too the other day, just hadn't remembered to post anything about it. It seems to be just as stable as it was before. Should have done it a long time ago because invariably while "rassling" with the cover and the hose clamp, I would lose one or both of the little rubber dampers underneath the cover. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by Digger on 07/28/09 at 21:17:36 465542435C5157555E01300 wrote:
I think you should probably put a shorter bolt in there and torque it to spec the next time you have the cylinder head cover off. It is one of the cylinder head cover bolts. Also, is there a chance that the decorative covers aid in air cooling? |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/28/09 at 22:37:56 IDK if theyd help or hurt. Those rubber mounted things Look like they would help cool, but Id say not, because of the rubber. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by spacepirates on 07/29/09 at 06:57:23 Now, I've never had the covers off, so I can't say for sure their internal geometry, but a block of metal on top of the piston isn't going to cool nearly as well as a finned design. Also, i'd imagine if it were necessary for cooling, it wouldn't be bolted on with rubber mounts, which would restrict thermal conductivity. with them off, it would allow for more air to pass over the top of the cylinder and possibly around the top fin too. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by bill67 on 07/29/09 at 07:40:55 If you drill a 1/2 hole on the front of the covers and put a funnel in there,You will have forced air cooling ;)Look cool too. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by serenity3743 on 07/29/09 at 09:07:59 416C62626077050 wrote:
I think you should probably put a shorter bolt in there and torque it to spec the next time you have the cylinder head cover off. It is one of the cylinder head cover bolts. [/quote] The bolt in question has only one function: to hold half of the decorative chrome cover in place. It doesn't have any value as to holding the "cylinder head cover" (i.e. cam assembly) in place. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by Digger on 07/29/09 at 19:38:13 544B4D4A5750615161594B470C3E0 wrote:
Justin, I was thinking convective cooling vice radiative/conductive cooling. Perhaps the decorative covers funnel the airstream across the top of the head cover more efficiently than what occurs with a "naked" head cover. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/29/09 at 19:47:54 Well, Digger, yes, YOU were thinking,, apparently, I WUZNT!!! ::) Whatever the level of functionality, Im keepin mine.. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by Digger on 07/29/09 at 19:48:18 627463747F78656822262522110 wrote:
I think you should probably put a shorter bolt in there and torque it to spec the next time you have the cylinder head cover off. It is one of the cylinder head cover bolts. [/quote] The bolt in question has only one function: to hold half of the decorative chrome cover in place. It doesn't have any value as to holding the "cylinder head cover" (i.e. cam assembly) in place.[/quote] Serenity, I respectfully disagree. I just had the head cover off of mine (see signature) and the bolt in question was situated right on the edge of the sealing area of the head cover. The FSM calls for this bolt to be torqued along with the other head cover bolts that are in close proximity to the sealing area. If you look at the following picture, the bolt in question goes in the hole just below and to the left of the numeral "13": http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee201/Digger109/HeadCoverBoltTorqueOrder-2E.jpg You can clearly see that the bolt we are discussing is as important to a good seal as any of the other bolts are. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by verslagen1 on 07/29/09 at 20:01:01 Digger, the bolt we are talking about is to the left of #13, but it is the forward most bolt hole above #8. It is inserted from the underside of the head cover and is loose when the head cover is installed and remains that way untill the chrome head cover is in place. This bolt only holds the chrome head cover in place. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by Gort on 07/29/09 at 20:42:45 Removing the covers gives the engine an old school look. Suzukis are easy to ID with their chrome head covers on, from a distance. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by serenity3743 on 07/30/09 at 05:13:04 584B5C5D424F494B401F2E0 wrote:
Yeah, Digger, what he said! 8-) |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by voldigicam on 07/30/09 at 15:55:37 I am going to pull the !@#$(% things off. All I want to do is check the #$#%* sparkplug to see how the mix is working. Who thought up the $%$*%& things, anyway!!!! I imagine real mochanics have priceless things to say about them, too. Just ranting. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by Skid Mark on 07/30/09 at 17:00:13 Engineers had a good laugh when they designed these chrome covers |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by spacepirates on 07/30/09 at 18:45:22 ... I'm an engineer... Funny how you can take any item found in everyday life that is hard to use and kind of think that some engineer must have been frustrated as hell when he (or she, though you don't see many female engineers) designed the thing. I'm guessing some engineer designed the engine, then some jerk-off industrial designer said he had to add a cover to make it look a certain way, so the engineer made it a pain in the ass. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by Skid Mark on 07/30/09 at 20:18:37 I stand corrected! Darn Industrial Designer must have has a good laugh :P |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by Digger on 07/30/09 at 20:46:46 7B687F7E616C6A68633C0D0 wrote:
Ver, We may be talking about different bolts. I'm talking about this one: http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee201/Digger109/PortDecorativeHeadCoverBoltE.jpg The bolt shown is a bolt that serves double-duty as a head cover bolt AND a decorative chrome head cover bolt. The FSM calls for it to be torqued the same as the rest of the numerous head cover bolts. If you look closely, you can see that this bolt is situated right at the area where sealant is applied when replacing the head cover. You can clearly see that the bolt passes through a hole in the edge of the head cover. Of the four bolts that hold on the two decorative chrome head covers, the bolt in question is the only one that actually serves as a head cover bolt. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by verslagen1 on 07/30/09 at 22:20:16 Nope, that's it. Terrible waste of thread. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by Digger on 07/31/09 at 20:27:45 776473726D6066646F30010 wrote:
Well, if you remove it altogether, you'll be missing one of your head cover bolts....and possibly be flirting with an oil leak. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by Phelonius on 08/02/09 at 17:11:24 The only functional thing is that the left one, Portside, helps keep dirt and debris from getting in the deep well of the spark plug. Phelonius |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by spacepirates on 08/03/09 at 06:58:01 well, both chrome covers are off. BurnPgh graciously helped me remove my tank and rejet my carb, during which we removed the chrome head covers. I'm inclined to say digger is right on this one. Burn and I noticed several subtle differences between his '95 and my '02, one of them is that his cylinder head is different from mine. The cover will stay off for the time being, although it leaves with that bolt rattling around there... no way to get it out without cutting it apart... now way to easily get it out that is. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by Digger on 08/03/09 at 20:07:37 5457464442574E5546534254270 wrote:
Space, Maybe you could find yourself a section of small diameter steel tube or pipe and cut it to the correct size to "replace" the decorative head cover. It would look strange, but you'd be able to torque the nut down and perhaps prevent an oil leak in that area. Just thinkin' out loud. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by Boule’tard on 08/03/09 at 20:56:50 Shoot, why not just cut the bolt off at the head with a dremel tool, and replace it with a shorter one with the nut on the bottom? That's what I'd do if I removed the whole cover. I got in there to do a valve adjustment last weekend and decided not to remove the covers. The bolt does put some downforce on the (important) head cover through the decorative cover. Instead I did the plug door mod (http://ls650.info/SparkPlugDoor), replacing the unimportant bolt with a rounded stub. But it doesn't seem like you'd be able to move the "door" much at all with the other bolt at its original torque. So I left it as a half-mod. The door will open after the front bolt is loosened a tad, and doesn't move at all with the bolt re-tightened. |
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Title: Re: Cylinder head covers Post by spacepirates on 08/03/09 at 21:18:53 i don't have a dremel tool, and even if i did i think it would be wicked hard to cut off that bolt... it is maybe 3/4 of an inch into the fins. I will try the steel tube idea... maybe a short section of 1/2 pipe with a washer and nut up top would do the trick. now, the leak isn't bad of course, and you can really only tell because my bike is dirty as sin (i ride in the rain too much...), but it is there. anyone know if the actual cylinder head has changed much between say a '95 and an '02? BurnPgh had his bike over here to help me with my carb, and his didn't have a spark plug access or another random hole drilled in it. could it be that in an older savage that bolt isn't needed to actually hold the head cover on? |
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