Suzuki Eiger 400 2004 Rear Wheels Locked (Next Restoration Project)

[Gwbarm]

I decided to take a closer look at my eBay winnings Kie Hin carb.. Took the bowl off and up on first glance it was pretty clean, no white powder. Jets looked clean needle looked new. Diaphragm was in good shape, and then I spotted it. Someone probably dropped it while cleaning it, did a descent job repairing it so it may be OK, but I don't like it.

 

The jets all had the right numbers on them for that year Eiger, just wish I had some way to measure them, I will compare them with the ones in the kit.

This is kind of sad and annoying I actually had to take a photo of the jet and zoom it up to be able to read the numbers. Age is not kind to your eyes.

 

 

So I got bored with that and decided to take the seal holder off the case and prepare for the new seals, I always use an air hammer to get those bolts out I know they are in there tight, and corroded but this one wasn't having it, the ones from the old case came out OK but thats not doing me any good. Ill let them soak in PB Blaster overnight and try again tomorrow.

I know I post a lot of useless pictures and information for most of you, but I do it to help other people that might be working on similar projects, and having similar problems 

 

 

 

[Gwbarm]

It came right out this morning, that Air Hammer is a great tool for getting out stubborn screws and bolts, and fitted with the Eastwood attachment it  works well , the handle makes it nice, you can put some real torque on it with that.

[Mech]

Is that emulsion tube soldered up is it ? Is that what you are saying had been dropped or damaged..

I've got the bad eyes too..

[Gwbarm]

Looks like JB weld on the body just to the left of that CVK

[Gwbarm]

I was looking around on Craigs List and this came up:

 

 

When it comes to Craigs List if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, most of the others I have seen in my area for sale have been 2500 +.

[Gwbarm]

Not much going on with my project waiting on parts and as i was contemplating getting it back together, and finishing, it hit me, im going to have to do this all over again.

I have another Eiger it actually runs and drives, but when i got it the previous owner told me it didnt run very well, the guy that had it before him had drilled out the jets, aftermarket carb running too lean, i know why he did it , but he missed by a quite a bit, it was flooding so badly and gas was leaking everywhere, so i ordered another aftermarket carb for it, put it on and it ran better, not perfect but better, i wish i would have went ahead then and bought a OEM and rebuilt it, but live and learn, , i was blaming not top notch performance on the aftermarket carb, but it occured to me, that the magnets are probably loose just like this one was, and if they are not loose they will be. So i will go ahead and replace them while its fresh on my mind. I think the magnet issue was probably the downfall of this model. 

[Mech]

Oh yeah I see the glue now.. Ha bad eyes Gw..bad eyes.

And don't you have enough to do already ? !!

I better speak to your wife about this compulsion of your's..  I've seen it before and it doesn't end well.

[Gwbarm]

Yeah, i know she already told me  "what does a grown a** man need with three 4 wheelers".  

[Mech]

Yeah.. And ?

[Gwbarm]

Your right ,i like big boy toys, and if i thought for a second, that the one i posted for sale was really selling for 600 it would already be at my house, but it was perfect, not really what i look for, and its not about the money, restoring them is what i like to do, it keeps my ageing mind active, i have as much fun doing that as i do riding them. 

[Gwbarm]

Seriously, this is probably my last one, running out of space, and for some odd reason they are getting harder to haul home and push around than they used to be.

Plus i need to get back to my motorcycles.

[Mech]

Ha.

[Gwbarm]

All my new seals arrived today, got them installed on the new(ebay) case. Getting the gasket on wiped the surface down with paint prep, then i noticed one of the alignments pins were missing from the engine, went back to the old case and found it , got it out and it would not fit in there from corrosion and gunk, worked on that for a while got it to go in good. Case went on good just a couple of light taps with a rubber mallett and it went right home. Everything looking good buckled it up hand tight, then i thought i for got to check to see what position to put the shift lever, i think i remember it was lining up with the center dent, so working on hooking that back up, just going to the manual now to see how to set that up correctly. Im fairly pleased not much fight at all. Im glad i got the new case the bearings were better than the ones in the old case. 

[Mech]

Just read the last post over the page..  Fair enough.. We gotta have fun.

That's always been my attitude to work, I used to love figuring things out, helping people, making things right or better.. It was never about the money.

And looking good there Gw..  Nice work.

[Gwbarm]

Thanks! It was looking good , i had to pull it all back off, as careful as i was about everything, when i got it back together good enough to test, hooked the shift cable back up and it wouldnt shift, i thought of everything, maybe its deeper and this wasnt all of it, maybe, maybe, maybe and then decided i could maybe all day just pull it back apart. It faught me a little more than i anticipated, Its one of two thing the shift drum has a pin in it, that goes into a hole, i didnt check that after i took it out last time, i dont think that was it , because it felt like it seated good, I think i put the forks on the wrong end of the drum run,  But i couldnt verify that after i took the drum off again. A real rookie mistake, and didnt check it before hand, but i sure checked everything else over and over especially the washers. But it will look this good again tomorrow. I was lucky, didnt tear the gasket getting it back off.

[Mech]

Never hesitate to back track..  Better earlier than having to do the job again.

[Gwbarm]

Got it all back together again, while i had it apart i examined everything shift forks change gear checkked for all the washers went through the manual to make sure everything was back where it was supposed to be, and i found i missing washer on the shift shaft. Went to order the washer and it was on back order until august, i didnt want to wait for 1 washer, went to the hardware store got one but it wasnt exactly right, i think it will be OK it was only on the shift shaft. I will get the correct one when i have more stuff to order not paying 7 shipping for 1 washer.

 

 

It is now shifting correctly hope this gets it. There are 3 positions along the run High, Low, and reverse, i can see and feel, i have the wheels off the ground, high, and low, not really sure about reverse yet.

 

 

 

[Mech]

Bit late now but engineering supply places have stocks of shim washers, in different sizes and thickness.

Why not reverse yet ?  If you put it in reverse and turn the wheels you'll be able to tell if it's forwards or reverse by the way the sprag/over-run clutch works. In forwards you can't push it forwards, in reverse you can't push it backwards..

Edited July 24, 2023 by Mech

[Gwbarm]

Hadnt really spent a lot of time on it after i got it back together, its so hot out today i had to get something to cool off.

Affter the sun went down a bit i went back out, put it in low the wheels would turn either way, put it in high the wheels would turn either way,  high felt no different than low, put it in reverse and the wheels would turn forward but not backward, and it felt like it was lower geared, but i dont have the foot shifter hooked back up yet to see if that made any difference.

[Mech]

Yeah that's all as it should be. It had no drag in low/high because it wasn't in any gear.

Ha.. looks good.

[Gwbarm]

 I thought it was working normally, but always value your opinion, I havent really buttoned it up yet just got the cover on and  attached the shift linkage. Thanks for the tip on Engineering supply, i will see if we have one around. 

[Gwbarm]

Interesting day, checked the transmission again all was shifting good through all the gears smoothly everythings good, so time to button it up refill with oil, get it started. Checked the torque specs for the case bolts, 9.5 ft pounds got my small inch pd wrench converted to 114 inch pds, set wrench to 100 going along good and one snapped, so i dont know if these torque wrenches are that inaccurate or bad bolt, none of the others broke. Luckily it was one of the top bolts probably wont leak. I triied to ignore it all day, but i couldnt unknow that it was broken. Got to get it out but not today. Im thinking i may be able to drill a small hole and use the smallest eas out with taking the case back off, but sometimes my ingenious plans dont work out that well ,we will see.

Hooked up lawn and garden battery to get some power to things, it ran when i first got it but thats been a year ago.

Got power but no neutral light

Everytime i tried to start it i would hear a pop and all power was lost, i checked all the fuses ,all good , soloenoid was very crusty cleaned that, no differnce, traced it back to a bad battery connection. This is by far the most abused and rustiest one i have had. It has red clay dried on it so long i cant even pressure wash it off.

 

 Fixed the problem and even got my neutral light back, everything is good i think, will try starting it tomorrow.

 

 

[Mech]

Bugger about the bolt.

Good stuff otherwise.. I don't think I'm as patient as you. I'm a patient mechanic but I'd be busting to start that bad boy up..  haha.

[Gwbarm]

Yeah the bolt, the thing that bothers me the most is, i knew it didnt feel right and was going to break even though the wrench hadnt clicked i even got off that bolt and got on one next to it to see if it would click and it did and there was one other bolt that was doing the same but it finally clicked but i felt it was going to break also im really unsure about this torque wrench, i may get a snapon. I know, i wanted to start it today i still have to clean the old gas out of the tank and carb, i have another  carb for it, havent rebuilt it yet, but i think im just going to try it with the on thats there. I do take my time, I dont let them get me flustered anymore i used to, then its not fun.

[Mech]

Could you have got the wrong bolt , or two, in the wrong holes ? That would do it and sounds a bit like it the way you say you got a bit of warning.. Bottoming out I'd suspect.. The dowelled holes need longer bolts. I always poke all the bolts into the cases first with the case in place and check they all have the same ten mills of bolt showing. Might have been needing a break and a coffee Gw..

If they did bottom out then they will be tight in  the bottom of the holes and won't come out easy, but if they were buggered bolts and snapped suddenly then they will unwind out of the threads easily. Perhaps even a screwdriver tapped into the end of them if they are soft bolts, which the 8mm hex head ones often are.

And the wrench won't be so far out as to break them.. Push in button is it ? Not a giving at torque type .. I've been caught out with low torques with them, they go off before you are paying attention and then you carry on waiting for the click.

That's where that loctite is so good.. Easy to clean off and just a few cents worth of goo from on the shelf and it's all redone..

[Gwbarm]

On this case they were all the same except the two that hold the shift cable on, so i couldnt have gotten them mixed up, but im glad you mentioned it, because there is a really long one in the middle of the case that i always forget, its 12mm and i forgot to torque it. i screwed them all in with a hand held nut driver and they all went in smoothly, then torqued to 60, 80, and then 100 inch pds. 

[Mech]

All else being equal, there are always two that are a little longer so they get to the bottom of the dowel holes..  It's the norm.

The easiest way to be sure you get them in the right places is to fit the case up and then slide the bolts in till they touch, then check they all have the same eight mills proud.

The last owner might have muddled or swapped some..

[Mech]

Gw, I owe you an apology.. for casting aspersions about your skills as a mechanic. I'm sorry. It was an unworthy suggestion.

I wandered off last night wondering how that bolt could have got broken and then it came to me.. The last owners had strained it cranking that cover down as they had. It's obvious you are a very careful and competent mech and I should have though before I spoke. Even if they had bottomed out they wouldn't break at that torque.

It's quite likely that all those bolts are suspect. If you do take the cover back off it would be a good idea to measure them for stretch. Or inspect them for "waisting", getting skinny in the shank.The parts list might say how long they are meant to be.

[Gwbarm]

No Sir, you dont owe me an apology, all of your suggestions, i appeciate and welcome. The screws on the Big Bear were like you decribe they can be used in the wrong place , there were several different sizes. It just so happened that all of these were the same size except for the 2 obvious one that hold the shift cable. I think you are right about them being stressed when the original side cover was installed with the gear on backwards.

Still havent worked on getting the screw out, wanted to start it first, to see if i have to take the case back off. Did that today. Started it i mean. Checked out the air filter housing about 2 inches of water, iv had it covered since i have had it, and any water that was in it prior should have evaporated, plus the lid was on tight and latched , not sure how it got in there, possibly air inlet tube. This is what was in there for an air filter. I guess it would kinda work.

 

Got that sorted out

 

Got it started still havent cleaned the carb, but not bad, it certainly runs better than it did with the roaming magnets, even with the Niche flywheel.

 

 

 

Even took throttle fairly well cause i dont know whats in the carb havent taken it apart yet. It cant be good i have had it a year and who knows how long it sat before that.

 

 

 

[Gwbarm]

I havent really done a whole lot to my project lately, been busy with other things but i did go out today and started putting it back together to get it to where i can test ride it.

 

Plastics look much better.And got all side cover accessories back on pull start , footrest, etc.