Day 1 of rebuild

[dav]

G'day all...

First day of putting the MK3 back together, painted the frame last week, the old man had a look at the engine & discovered no oil was been pumped up to the top end (all the valve gear was bone dry), lucky we only ran the motor a few times before starting the rebuild. Anyway it turned out there was a blocked oil channel half way up. So today we started putting it all back together & so far so good

http://s598.photobucket.com/albums/tt69/gsx1400aus/Ducati%20rebuild/

Still waiting for the chrome work to come back & bits from overseas to arrive, but its all coming together!!!

[DewCatTea-Bob]

" discovered no oil was been pumped up to the top end (all the valve gear was bone dry), lucky we only ran the motor a few times before starting the rebuild. "

____ I especially dread to learn of that occurring with a Mk3 engine (since that cam is so great)!
Were the cam & rockers scored very badly?
__ During my many years of experience with DUKEs, I came across more cases of that lack-of-oil to the top-end, than I care to recount! ... In the majority of such cases, the oil feed-line had been blocked-off due to the careless installation of a cylinder-base gasket (having been installed incorrectly -[either up-side-down or backwards) !
__ So exactly how was the oil-passage blocked-off in this case of your's?


DUKE-Cheers,
-Bob

[dav]

Hi Bob, when i say "ran" the motor it was only for a few minutes each time, there was no scaring at all (thank god), that was the first question i asked the old man when he told me about it. The blocked oil feed line was just some "gunk", the motor has't ran for many many yrs after he rebuilt it the last time about 8yrs ago. Hope he did't put the gasket up side down, wrong way round, but i doubt it as he has rebuilt more engines then ive had days on this earth, but you never know, i'll ask him about it when i speak to him next, i may have a black eye after it but....

[DewCatTea-Bob]

" The blocked oil feed line was just some "gunk", "

____ Whatever the actual blockage was in the oil-line, it would be interesting to know just where the plug-up was located,, crankcase, cylinder, or head. ?

" Hope he did't put the gasket up side down, wrong way round, "

____ Sorry, I should've mentioned before that whenever a cyl.base-gasket is not installed the one correct way that it's meant to go, then a small bit of it can be seen sticking-out from between the cylinder & crankcase, (near any of the [4] main cylinder-bolt locations other than the left-rear one!) !

____ While on the subject of oil to the top-end,
it's always a good idea to check & be sure that oil is indeed getting to the cyl.head after a rebuild, (or any-time ya have any other reason to be sure that oil has been getting pumped up there.
__ To do so, I prefer to remove the bevel-cover & hold in place a small pane of glass over the cover's place and run the motor for 10 to 30 seconds. _ A neat way to be assured!


HappyCheers!
-Bob