[tabeyta]

We have a 74' CJ360 Cafe Racer, got it 2 years ago, it has never run good for more than 10 minutes, it always runs hot, we see smoke coming out of the top breather hole and one time it made "snap noise" while riding home, the spark plugs look pretty normal not like it is running too lean, a certified mechanic rebuilt the carbs, I was told that the voltage regulator, rectifier and battery were bad so I replaced them, it was making 13.3 volts so I was sure that I had fixed the problem.

I took it for a test ride, it ran great for 1 mile, the died and skidded to a stop, I could not move the kick starter pedal so it was seized up, the next day I was able to use a 14 mm socket to turn it over without much effort, I looked into the spark plug holes and did not see anything unusual, I watched the valves open and close so the cam chain and valve train seem to be okay.

I suspect that the oil pump was not pumping oil up to the top end, how can this be checked, there is no oil pressure gauge, can I just remove a tappet cover and look in there? this bike only has a side stand, I read that on the early models the oil sump filter would not suck up enough oil when on the side stand and would let air get into the system and thus damage the top end, this motor is CJ360TE-210115 and any motors after #2000001 are supposed to have the new improved oil filter assembly so that should not be a problem on this one.

Do I dare try to start this motor to check for oil flow to the top end, or is that a bad idea as I may do more damage, I assume it needs to be bored, honed and have oversized pistons and rings installed already, those parts are hard to find and expensive

I am not sure what to do at this point, please give me some advice.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[cb360j]

Pistons and rings actually aren't to hard to find. Wiseco makes a set of pistons and rings for the 360, expensive, but worth in my opinion if you actually need to go oversized, You can take the top of the engine off and spin it over with a drill, will cause oil to flow through the engine, I did it with my cb360. I'm not sure if you would see oil moving if you only removed a tappet cover, but could be worth a try (someone probably knows better to this than I)
Here is a link of someone doing it really well.

Black Knight..Seat and rack Re-DONE

 

[middletons]

Do not start it. If it was me, i’d Just pull the motor and figure out what went wrong. Sounds like the pistons seized, but you won’t really know til you dig in to it.

 

[ancientdad]

^^^+1 on tearing down the engine - you can guess all day but may not ever know the reason, and if it is a piston that temporarily seized, it will need repair. Seized pistons that come loose always have aluminum galling on the cylinder and would never be right no matter how well it ran afterward, and would smoke and lose compression soon after

 

[tabeyta]

Hi Guys, thanks for your replies to my post, I have some parts in stock at Common-Motor.com, Ebay and David Silver Spares
Tom