how are all of you doing out there. sorry i havent posted in a while but i decided not to sell my 83 ironhead and keep it ..
and now that i saved it from never seeing it again i have rebuilt the engine and the thing runs great. the oil leaks have stopped, it doesnt make that ol rattling sound and it runs like a raped ape! it only took me about 600-700 bucks to buy all the parts and tools to fix the ol gal but that was time and money well spent.
when i pulled the jugs off, i found my rattlin problem was piston slap cause the rings were completely worn down, not even makin contact with the cyl. walls.
and that spittin and sputterin at highway speeds that i posted a while back: a sticky valve. the guide had a bunch of carbon and crap in it and the valve was pretty gummed up too. and to top that off, whoever rebuilt it last failed to install valve guide seals on the things so the valves had about 3/4 " carbon and soot on top of them.
now that the ol gal is back together, im ready for a long and adventerous summer. just hope the road is ready for me!!!!

take care all and ride safe
-83 ironhead-[sm=gears.gif]

 

That's Great News!!!

Congratulations...

 

I am thinking about doing a rebuild on my '75. Can you post how your did your rebuild? I have never done one before and I do not trust another mechanic to do the job and want to do it right myself. What tools and parts do I need?

 

Rebuilds on these motors are not hard, and you can do them mostly yourself, with exception to the machine work if needed (boring the cyl, and valve work) and the crank is press fitted into one side of the case, something you might want to take in and have someone rebuild if youve never done one. The only tools I can think of off the top of my head for tear down/reassy are.. first a puller used for pulling the clutch hub, and pulling/reassy the cover that holds your 2 big springs down over the clutch assy, and second piston ring compressor, not needed, but makes it easier, and 3rd, a spanner wrench or socket to pull the compensating sprocket nut and springs, and 4th a valve spring compressor if you gonna pull the valves yourself. Those are just off the top of my head.

 

hey there skjold. i dont belive it will be too hard for you to rebuild the motor. i recommend getting a good manual to work on your bike if you dont already. i do recomend having a good place to tear your bike apart at like a covered carport and a good bench to store parts when you pull the motor apart. its a pretty easy job, and for the stuff you cant do yourself, like machine work you can find a machine shop to bore the cylinders and fit the pistons for you and also put in new valve guides and valve seats. have faith in yourself and your abilities and the job will be a sinch! and you will have more working knowledge of how your motor works
i didnt get the case apart on my ironhead, didnt seem anything needed work down there. the only thing i done was replace the pistons, rings, lap the valves myself . cylinders were not worn enough to warrant a bore, so i just honed it myself. now it doesnt use any oil and runs very well. after breaking in the engine i took the ol gal on a 350 mile round trip. no problems except for when i took the bike over the mountain passes. elevation was about 5600 feet, and had some carb problems. but i just kept on ridin and had a good ol time. had the bike up around 100-110mph on the long straight stretches with a little throtle left to go.
so just keep us posted and we will try to help you out as you go along and good luck!!