T500 crankcase splitting tutorial?

[sbaugz]

I have searched this forum and other forums as well. Cannot seem to find the info I need. I was hoping to find a step by step tutorial on splitting the crankcase on my T500. I have the shop manual but was hoping to find a post somewhere with more real world, first-timer advice and pictures.

I wasn't going to split them, but I changed my mind. Tell me if I am crazy or not. I picked up a running T500 that had previously been sitting outside for a decade or more. Totally covered in grime and rust, but it actually ran. I tested compression and it had 150 PSI on both cylinders. The cylinder fins were so caked in grime that i decided to pull top end off and send to Bill Bune for honing and bead blasting. Got a call from Josh at Bune yesterday and he said the pistons and cylinders are not within spec. I bit the bullet and had them order up some first over sized Wiseco pistons and rings, and they are boring the cylinders up a size.

I am thinking since I am dropping $400 on the top end, I might as well spend some coin and make sure the lower end it going to be good. I don't know of the seals are bad or not. I couldn't drive the bike in its state that I bought it in, and I only started it up and ran it in garage. I cannot tell if its burning transmission oil, and I cannot tell if its sucking in air anywhere. Obviously I can't do a leak down test with the cylinders off. I figure I can't go wrong having the crank rebuilt? I figure those 40 year old seals are bad (or on the verge of bad) since it was sitting outside, unused for so long anyways.

Am I crazy to go ahead and crack the crankcase and address this now? Its only money right? My biggest worry is that I will discover I need crank bearings, which i understand are nearly impossible to find. My other worry is that i will be in over my head. I have done lots of top end engine work before, but I have never split a crankcase.

[titan performance]

Don't worry too much, these are simple lumps.
At 150 psi per pot, it sounds like the top end was pretty good?
We all have different ideas, and differing bank balances.....I'm a cheap skate, so I would have used the bike first to see how good/bad it was, but that's me. Pulling it down to renew everything can't be wrong if you have the cash.

[sbaugz]

Don't worry too much, these are simple lumps.
At 150 psi per pot, it sounds like the top end was pretty good?
We all have different ideas, and differing bank balances.....I'm a cheap skate, so I would have used the bike first to see how good/bad it was, but that's me. Pulling it down to renew everything can't be wrong if you have the cash.

I know, frankly I was surprised by the call from Bune. The only reason I sent it to them was to have them check it over and to have the cylinder cases media blasted because they were so nasty. I figured a simple hone and new rings would be fine based on the compression readings. He called and said they were off spec and needed boring. I was debating just leaving as is, since I had such good compression- but obviously I decided to rebore and get new pistons. With that being said, my goal isn't to throw endless money at the project. On the other hand, I am taking the rest of the bike completely down and re-chroming, powder coating and/or refurbishing everything else. I was just thinking how pissed I would be if I got it all back together and discovered it needed a crank rebuild or if it leaked.

[titan performance]

You are right....it would be a shame to build it up only to have to tear it down again...that's why I would have run it first tbh.

[sbaugz]

You are right....it would be a shame to build it up only to have to tear it down again...that's why I would have run it first tbh.

understood. Normally, I will get a bike running well before I tear it down too. Unfortunately this bike was completely not ride able when I got it. The tires were rotten. The brake cables and throttle cables were broken and rusty. The entire front hub and drums were rusted together, etc, etc. Basically, there wasn't a single aspect of this bike that was roadworthy. There was no way this thing was going to drive down the street until I put some serious work into it. Yes, I suppose I could have gotten it road worthy first prior to tearing apart the engine, but that probably would have been more work than doing what I did.

While writing this rambling paragraph above, I realized that cracking the crankcase is probably the best thing. After describing above just how bad this bike was, it makes me realize that chances are the seals are pretty crappy inside the crankcase anyways.

Anyways, I think at this point I will simply crack the crankcase and see what I have, because yes, it would be "a shame to build up only to have to tear it down again".

Thanks for input.

[titan performance]

Will you be building a standard bike, or a custom?

[sbaugz]

Custom. I managed to split the crankcase. It went pretty well without any issues.

[titan performance]

What type of custom are you planning?