Boxerworks.com

Hi guys - finally doing some work on the bike.

I'm replacing the rusty valve springs in my heads.

The springs in the heads show no paint stripe, but the salvaged ones I have do still have the paint.

Does the orientation of the paint on the spring matter, up or down?

These are heads for a Nikasil R65 engine, FWIW.

From my Haynes manual -
"Install valve springs with paint-marked coils towards the cylinder head".

Thanks Doug. That is what Robtg told me in a email a little while ago.

Trust me, taking them apart is WAY easier than putting them together! At least with a home-made spring compressor.
An extra pair of hands might make the job easier, but the cat isn't offering.

#1 went together too easy.
#2 was tougher as one of the collets was out of place. (whoever suggested using grease for a glue - THANK YOU!)
#3 went together very fast, and I thought "I'm getting good at this!".
#4 - well, here I am, taking a break and walking away from it for a while.

Perhaps if my tool had a larger diameter to fit over the keeper better it would be easier, but if I was able to do 3 I should be able to do one more.

Say a prayer for me.

justoneoftheguys wrote:#4 - well, here I am, taking a break and walking away from it for a while.
RE: #4 Put down the valve spring and step away from the bike.

Perhaps if my tool had a larger diameter...
Well we could all use that!
Say a prayer for me.

Praying for you Rob...

Hey! I just got an email saying they had some pills that could make my tool larger!

justoneoftheguys wrote:Hey! I just got an email saying they had some pills that could make my tool larger!

Yeah. I think they are blue?

dougie wrote:

justoneoftheguys wrote:Hey! I just got an email saying they had some pills that could make my tool larger!

Yeah. I think they are blue?

No, those just keep your tool hardened.

Now I understand that RealOEM can be wrong sometimes.

This is about valve spring upper spring plates.

The engine I am working on is a Nikasil R65 built in 9/1981.
The engine I am scavenging some of my parts from is a iron-sleeved R65 built in 6/1980.

I have been putting the springs, upper and lower spring plates and collets from the 1980 heads onto the 1981 heads.
Everything was fine until working on the last valve, when the clamp slipped under pressure and parts went flying.
I couldn't find the upper spring plate.
So I used one of the plates from the 1981 engine without really paying attention to it.

After getting it put together, I noticed the collets were protruding from the plate by 1 mm or so, while the others were all flush.
Looking closer, I noticed the upper spring plates were not the same, even though RealOEM assures me that the same part # was used across the range of R65 production - all the way to the end of production in 1988.
RealOEM also lists the same # for the collets for both engines I am working with.

Check out this picture.
The one from the 6/80 is on the left, the one from the 9/81 is on the right...



Also, some of the collets are smaller in diameter than the others.

I just measured valve stems, and it seems that while BMW increased the valve diameter on the later models, they decreased the valve stem from 8mm to 7mm!

So, I guess I will be taking them all apart again to use the proper upper spring plates and to make sure I have the proper-sized collets in all of the valves.
I thought I could get by with using the collets from the older engine since the newer engine had signs of rust. I think all I really need to eliminate are the rusty springs, though. And of the 4, all I found was one that had any signs of rust.

Oh well! I've certainly come to appreciate those that work on these heads!

BMW didn't let little things like part numbers keep them from making changes in a part.

I thought all R65's had 7mm valve stems.

Major Softie wrote:I thought all R65's had 7mm valve stems.

Bob Grauer confirmed that R65's had both 7 and 8mm.

And it seems someone has worked on these heads before (on the Nikasil engine).

I just came in from the garage again after working to put the correct upper spring plates on all 4 valves.
I completed 1 head (two valves, 4 collets), and then I started on the other head.
Then the Vicodin (left over from hand surgery) that I took for my back pain kicked in and I had to quit. That stuff doesn't agree with fine work.

Anyway - I was measuring my collection of collets by putting them up against one of the 8mm valve stems I have sitting from the old engine. If they fit, I put them in the "junk" pile. If they are too small for the 8mm stem, I know they will work on the new engine.

It turns out I only have enough 7mm collets for three valves!
And I have enough 8mm collets for five valves.

I suppose it is possible that a too-large pair of collets will work on a small-stem valve O.K., but I don't want to run an engine that I know is not as correct as possible.
I've had enough grief in the last few years...


It does feel good to be working on it again, though.