Swapping 1600 into an 03 1500cc Nomad

[colin]

Ok, I'm back. I hadn't abandoned the thread, but definitely took my time to wrap things up, mainly due to laziness and cold weather.

So, she fired up, started, and idled well. However, I took her on her first ride around the block, and she kept popping out of 3rd. :( I'm hopping to GOD that I didn't end up with a bum engine, but another thing I noticed was a little bit of noise coming from the linkage area when it was off. Almost like a rattle, or like something wasn't tight or something, as the lever had a little bit of rearward play. Does that sound normal?

Is there anything other than damaged gears that could cause the bike to pop out of 3rd? It's pretty much immediate. Almost no acceleration can be done in 3rd without it popping into 4th.

Also, the shifter seems to have more play in it now than it did on its 1500 engine. Almost like it'll move back and forth about 1/4". Does that sound right?

Obviously, this wasn't the way I wanted to start the week, or potentially wrap up an engine swap. :(

[colin]

Ok. Popped off the side cover, and saw that the shift linkage didn't have a bolt through the rear connection point, so that explains the noise and extra play. I'm going to put it all back together, and fingers crossed that it's all good to go.

[colin]

Well, I'm 99% sure the engine is borked. Tightening the shift linkage made no difference, and it shifts and stays in gear perfect in every other gear, so I obviously got taken.

I've shot the seller a message, but being that I let the engine sit for a few weeks before even starting the install, I'm sure I'm way past the return period.

When I eventually get another engine (god knows when), at least I'll know how to do the install I suppose.

[MAS Tequila]

That’s definitely a bent shift fork.

I’ll guarantee you that the previous owner was having issues for quite a while.

It takes a good bit of time to get to that point.

And there’s no way to check for it.

[colin]

Yeah, this has been pretty terrible news. Still waiting to hear back from the seller, which I likely won't until Monday, but this has definitely been a kick to the balls that I didn't need right now.

Got 2 engines sitting in my garage at the moment. One with a bad 2nd gear, and one with a bad 3rd. Yay.

[colin]

Ok, so I got my first response from the place I bought the engine from (a motorcycle salvage yard). They apologized profusely of course, but offered to send me an inspected transmission to try to help me out. It's not a new engine or a refund, but it's something. I'm thinking that if I accept his offer, that I'll take the transmission down to the Kawasaki service center down the street, and have them inspect it before I install it to ensure everything is within spec before I dig in again.

Before I respond to this place, I have to ask... Is this doable with a shop manual? Are there any special tools I'd need? I've never had a problem undertaking difficult mechanical projects, but once I get the engine out of the frame, does it strip down and go back together pretty much the same way? I've heard repeatedly that the reason more people don't do this is due to expense rather than complexity, as the gears and shift forks add up quick in cost, which I can avoid if he sends me a good transmission.

The last, and perhaps only important question - assuming I have proper replacement parts that are within specification, is there any reason the backyard/home mechanic should be waved clear of this?

[alwhite00]

Isn’t the motor/trans a single unit?

You might as well fix the shift fork in the one (ones) you have.

.

[MAS Tequila]

Tell them to replace the entire unit.

Swapping the trans means splitting the cases, or completely disassembling the engine.

Is it possible with a shop manual, yes, but it's not as simple as a trans swap on a HD.

[colin]

Well, unfortunately, I'm not sure I'm going to have much of a choice. This thing is way past this guy's ebay return policy, and I don't have the time or money to lawyer up, so at this point, if it's possible to do, I'd rather not spend time wishing I had better options and instead spend the time working. My mindset at this point after sleeping on it, is that I'm going to be moving forward on a rebuild, so I might as well embrace it.

As far as the other engine, yeah - if things go well rebuilding this one, I'll likely rebuild the other too. My ONLY concern is that I get 95% of the way through this, and find that I can't complete it without a machine shop or special tools. If someone can answer that question for me, I think I have what I need to confidently move forward. :) Like I've mentioned before, I'm mechanically inclined, so I'm not scared of the complexity.

[alwhite00]

I’m just wondering how they would send you just a “inspected transmission “ when it’s part of the engine. Probably a coffee can full of gears. ☹️

[colin]

When I've looked at transmissions previously on ebay and whatnot, usually you get a couple of shafts with the gears already on them, with the shift drum and the forks. For the most part these things come mostly assembled on a couple of shafts.

BUT... it's a good point, and I'll need to ask before I proceed further.

[colin]

They actually had the transmission up online: https://www.ebay.com/itm/2004-KAWASA...9au9WF&vxp=mtr

I spoke with a mechanic over there, and it sounds like there isn't any real special tools needed to do the swap. Just time, patience, and a flywheel puller (which I actually didn't when I was parts swapping the first time around).

All in all, I think this is very doable, and like I mentioned, when the parts arrive, I'll take them down to kawasaki to get someone to take a look at them just to be sure, although I think certain signs of abuse will likely be obvious just by looking at them if the videos I've been watching are accurate.

[MAS Tequila]

You don't need the whole transmission, just the FORK-SHIFT,INPUT 3RD 13140-1292.

Follow the link to see what it is nd where it is:

https://www.ronayers.com/oemparts/a/...m-shift-fork-s

[colin]

Much appreciated, MAS. The replacement tranny actually came in, and the gears and forks actually look pretty damn good. So far, I've gotten the engine ripped back out of the frame, and have gotten about as far as taking off the rocker covers, and gotten as far as removing the cam chain tensioners, and have removed the cam shafts. So far, I've been reading ahead in the service manual, and it all seems pretty doable.

I've got a couple of questions about the process as a whole though, as it's been a while since my mechanics class back in high school, so there's a bit I'm hoping to confirm.

1 - When the engine is being reassembled, do I need to rehone the cylinders and replace the piston rings? I've really been wondering about this as I've always been under the assumption, that once piston rings have worn themselves into place, that if that piston needs to be removed from the cylinder and put back in, that the rings won't seat as well as they had previously. I also imagine that if the rings are replaced, that I'll need to go through the factory break-in procedure again, correct?

2 - Would it be advised to replace the cam chains? I'm guessing the cam chains would need to be measured to ensure they were still in spec.

3 - Same question for the head gaskets. Reuse? Or replace? I'm GUESSING replace, but figured I'd ask.

From as far ahead as I've read in the rebuilding process, it all looks doable, but these are really the big questions I had that I still haven't had answered. If I needed to re-ring, re-hone, replace the cam chains and the head gaskets, we're only talking another 325-350 and change, but if it's money that would be needlessly spent, I'd rather keep it in my pocket.

Thanks! :)

[DragonLady58]

Well, if your totally going into it, to replace the bent shifting fork, gears, get a complete gasket set, your chains if less than 50,000 miles on the engine and you haven't had to install the cam Chain adjuster extenders, you can reuse them, if they. If it has extenders, I would go with new chains. If you are going into the engine, best bet is to get some new rings....run a glaze breaker thru the cylinders so the rings will seat correctly.
Your engine will be as fresh as you want it to be.
Use your rebuild manual to clean all your parts, cases, HLAs, get all your gasket surfaces good and clean. Take your time, be extremely clean and organized going back together with it. If you can rebuild a small block chevy, the 1500/1600 Vulcans will pose no problems....
Just pay attention to the details.
The glaze breaker bottle hone, just get a good cross-hatch as the manual says, wash the bores down really good, oil them up good, go back together with it all.
Also, when you go back together, check the cranks bearings, and both big end and small end on the rods, replacing as needed.
IF I were you, going to this extreme, I would also put new bearings into your angle drive, too. These things take a real punishment...
The Vulcan 1500/1600 engines are rugged, the transmissions have only 1 weak spot, the shifting forks. Do NOT FORCE SHIFTS or STOMP HEAVILY on the shifter, or you'll bend these forks!
The 1500/1600s are rugged, super precision engine and trans units, keep them clean, oil changed, clean filters, and treat them good, they'll pratically last 250,000 miles + or until you trade off for a Vaquero/Voyager, or get too old to ride....
Hope this helps....