2005 FE550e Rebuild time

Hi guys, time to pull the motor apart as it is making some horrid metallic grinding sounds like a collapsed bearing , so I'm just after some advise on what to look out for and perhaps what are some good upgrades that i can do while the old girl is apart, was thinking about maybe going the 650 kit if it is possible do you guys know? maybe a rekluse clutch for all the tight technical track we do. your expertise is very much appreciated.


Cheers

Shoey

shoey85 said:

Hi guys, time to pull the motor apart as it is making some horrid metallic grinding sounds like a collapsed bearing , so I'm just after some advise on what to look out for and perhaps what are some good upgrades that i can do while the old girl is apart, was thinking about maybe going the 650 kit if it is possible do you guys know? maybe a rekluse clutch for all the tight technical track we do. your expertise is very much appreciated.


Cheers

Shoey

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can't go 650 as said (in an email)

550HC piston
DVSK
jetting kit
exhaust
top end cam
ported head
bellmouth and cone filter for the ashphalt

regards

Taffy

I fix them but im on the other side of the country to you, i have done some for WA customers they just boxed the engine and sent it over. I wasnt over expensive to do so.
Whatever you do just dont use genuine mains. I have the brand i use for sale.
Sounds like your mains are gone just hope you caught it early enough and did no other damage.
ORANGEBERG

ORANGEBERG said:

Whatever you do just dont use genuine mains. I have the brand i use for sale.

ORANGEBERG

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I haven't had any trouble with original mains Orangeberg. Is it race engines that get through them?

and if you attack me you'll get it back John OK?

I'M ASKING YOU.

so don't get sh*tty.

regards

Taffy

Race engines ? WTF check this little bit of light reading viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6195&hilit=550+main

Cheers guys, Orangeberg can you price me a rebuild kit bearings seals and gaskets and I need new water pump shaft while I'm in there, my brother is good with engines so he will do the work, I want to replace all the bearings if we can, your help is greatly appreciated!!

berglsmerg said:

Race engines ? WTF check this little bit of light reading viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6195&hilit=550+main

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pleasant aren't we.

yes but I've had no trouble? not one. I've never had one roller main engine come back.

lovely man

Over here they let go it's not just race use either. I know of a few engines that have gone to OrangeBerg that haven't been raced, I think us Aussies are the only ones that can ride them properly, if ya just putt around on them they last for ever.

never seen the name: TEAM MOTHBALLED?

legends!

they have a 100% reliability record! :twisted: :wink:

Taffy

shoey85 said:

Cheers guys, Orangeberg can you price me a rebuild kit bearings seals and gaskets and I need new water pump shaft while I'm in there, my brother is good with engines so he will do the work, I want to replace all the bearings if we can, your help is greatly appreciated!!

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i have most of the parts except the shaft and im waiting on head gaskets and rings, i can get you a shaft if you can wait. I will PM you with details later.
ORANGEBERG

Taffy said:

ORANGEBERG said:

Whatever you do just dont use genuine mains. I have the brand i use for sale.

ORANGEBERG

Click to expand...

I haven't had any trouble with original mains Orangeberg. Is it race engines that get through them?

and if you attack me you'll get it back John OK?

I'M ASKING YOU.

so don't get sh*tty.

regards

Taffy

Click to expand...

Ive tried twice to reply with a nice calm small story but keep loosing the message and it wont load.
ive had enough of writing now, you have a weird way of starting conversations do you think it might provoke attack.

Cheers Orangeberg, doubt she will be back together by end of winter but that would be nice all the best riding here is after winter, probably going to replace piston depending how it looks, do you know of any improvements or upgrades we could drop in while we are in there?

shoey85 said:

Cheers Orangeberg, doubt she will be back together by end of winter but that would be nice all the best riding here is after winter, probably going to replace piston depending how it looks, do you know of any improvements or upgrades we could drop in while we are in there?

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the piston may be ok they are a good quality item and you can often use them again, hopefully metal from the bearing has not scored the piston and the cylinder so be prepared to replace both, i can obtain these parts.
I dont do much with the engine to increase performance as they are normally fast enough for most punters my aim is to keep them running with the right parts.
I have the weephole kit if yours is leaking oil from the telltale hole in the waterpump.
You will need 2 new inlet valves replaced so find a reputable head place who can cut the seats.
Replace the cam chain and cam bearings i have all these parts in stock.
Get your repairman to obtain a magnetic dial indicator and make a metal plate to bolt on the ignition side to attach it and set your crank endfloat to .5 mm (this is critical) if your engine is making a crunching sound i will bet you have crushed the bearing on the balancer side due to insufficient crank play. The 2005 model was popular for this as some were assembled at the factory that year incorrectly and we had to recall all the sold units to check them and fix under warranty if required. Maybe yours was not checked. If this has happened it will have damaged the balancer bearings which are not sold individually, $700 complete balancer, Taffy has some replica bearings made so we could use them.
Other than that just do the other gaskets and gearbox bearings and it should be sweet.
ORANGEBERG

Cheers Orange that sounds promising since I didn't ride for too long with noise maybe 7km back to the ute, only wanted more power cos my bro was gonna bore his 525 but Spose it's enough for me for now I did notice a loss of power also does that sound right?

shoey85 said:

Cheers Orange that sounds promising since I didn't ride for too long with noise maybe 7km back to the ute, only wanted more power cos my bro was gonna bore his 525 but Spose it's enough for me for now I did notice a loss of power also does that sound right?

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7km is good as its early stages , 2 hrs is bad. cant explain the power loss but ive had the flywheel touch the stator due to excessive play when the bearing goes, even heard of them catching on fire but that bike was stolen and rode to death. 550 by the way. and in WA.
ORANGEBERG

7km is good as its early stages , 2 hrs is bad. cant explain the power loss but ive had the flywheel touch the stator due to excessive play when the bearing goes, even heard of them catching on fire but that bike was stolen and rode to death. 550 by the way. and in WA.
ORANGEBERG

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LOL typical mate, hope mine is ok, my brother was concerned and said "don't think we will make it back to the car" when i told him there was something wrong and he rode it.

So we have Split the case, the gearbox bearings are shot and the crank bearing is surprisingly good, they will still be replaced tho. next the 525 when my bro returns from his swing.

so the rebuild is complete, i have some photos on Tumblr link here http://shoey85.tumblr.com

plan to put more photos up, it was a complete rebuild from the frame up, all bearings seal and gaskets, parts sourced from all over the world, must say BIG CHEERS to Boss Offroad, they are extremely helpful and about 1/2 of the price of australian distributors.

Youtube vid of the start up:

http://youtu.be/79dk9HyDmXI