Seized engine

[kip]

Well I picked up a 88 hawk that has many MANY needs. Last ridden in 97 but has been outside since. I am new to motorcycle wrenching, but I am enthusiastic to make an attempt to get this guy running. If not, it was free so not much loss. I am hoping you guys may have some pointers on a few things.

1. The motor is seized as far as I can tell. Rolls with clutch in, does not with clutch out. In gear, sparkplugs are out. I have read a few things on how to attempt to unseize the engine by putting ATF or other loosening agents in the cylinders. I have read other seemingly more brutal wood and hammer style methods. Do you guys have any tips on how I should unseize it and get the top end apart or other things I should look for?

2. From sitting for 8 years or so with gas in the tank that was probably not stabilized... does anyone have any tips on what I should test to see if I can salvage the tank?

I will appreciate any suggestions you may have.

Kip

[Doc]

Hey Kip, welcome to the board.

With the bike in gear and the rear tire in the air can you spin the tire? Maybe try it with the aprk plugs out?

I would squirt some oil down the sparkplug holes (well at least one of each cylinder) maybe a teaspoon worth and let that set, maybe that will help.

Sounds like you better tear the whole thing down anyway. Or hell since it was free send the motor out to HORD and get it done right for about $1000 or so

Hell if you want to make a few bucks I will buy it as is, build it for my race bike and send you my running engine when I swap em.

[joel]

Schnikies - you could try a liberal application of Marvel Mystery Oil.I had good success with it last year in an MG engine that hadn't turned over in 35 years but softly-softly methods might not work.Do you have a factory manual yet?

FWIW,you can easily remove the barrels from the engine without dropping the whole shebang from the Hawk.Of course we're assuming that it was running when parked and there was no catastrophic engine failure...I'd take it apart to check it out regardless:Hawks are simple motors to work on and it's a good time to go ahead and have em bored out and throw some Wisecos in

I'd say there's a good chance that the tank is junk - you pretty much have to just do a visual inspection of how bad the rust is and if there are soft spots.Hawk tanks often leak around the seam at the bottom when rusting out.If it's not too horribly bad,you can do the POR-15 cleaning and coating system- unless the tank is in good shape externally,I probably wouldn't bother and would find a decent used tank - it's easier to repair a ding and have it painted than f'ing with a crappy tank.

Good luck - it's nice to see a Hawk going to fly again.

[kip]

Thanks guys. I am sure I will bug you all with many more questions as this process goes on. The tire doesn't spin when in gear on the center stand, with a sparkplug out of each cylinder. Thanks for swap offer doc, but I am not sure how bad this is yet. It may not be salvageable. I would hate to send you a one piece engine. Unfortunately it was outside near the beach so lots of corrosion on the crankcase covers etc. too. Not very pretty.

I do have a PDF of the service manual. Let me know if you know of anyone that needs a copy. Think I will try some marvel mystery oil, if nothing else it sounds cool. Would you guys try to unseize it by rolling it in gear or a breaker bar on the flywheel or something similar?

Also, is there any possibility the starter is frozen causing the seize?

Thanks again.

[SVHUNTER]

You could call Jd. He could point ya in the right direction!

[isaac]

The piston rings are usually what cause an engine to seize. They'll either freeze against the cylinder walls or rust will get in there and it'll stop them cold. The best thing to do is to put marvel mystery oil or ATF in there and let it sit for a while, then try working the crank back and forth (either manually or by rolling the wheel back and forth). If that doesn't eventually break em free, you gotta break it down.

Like was said, this is a great chance to drop in a set of bigger cylinders and some pistons.

[kip]

I unseized it! I poured in liberal amounts of Marvel Mystery Oil and let it sit for a while. Then rolled it down my driveway in 5th and let the clutch out. It took several times, but it broke free. It puked a lot of nasty looking junk out the sparkplug hole in the front cylinder. The back looked relatively clean. I am going to tear down the top end now and see what it looks like. Thanks again for everyone's help.

[joel]

Awesomeness! Now to see how much varnish is gumming up your carbs

[thesameasyours]

If funds are tight it's completely acceptable to put a hone on the cylinders and throw new rings in there as long as everything measures within spec (piston to cylinder, piston skirt, cylinder roundness and ring land). Given that it's sat outside for so long though....you'll probably need to bore it as rust (which I'm assuming you'll find on the cylinder walls) often leaves pits in the metal.

Good luck
-c

[JR]

Kip,
with ref to your Tank. There are companies that will open up the underneath of the tank and blast the inside back to clean metal and then
reweld it back. Here is an example of the process but it depends on how bad the tank is.

http://www.fueltanks.co.uk/pages/bike.html

[thesameasyours]

Kip,
with ref to your Tank. There are companies that will open up the underneath of the tank and blast the inside back to clean metal and then
reweld it back. Here is an example of the process but it depends on how bad the tank is.

http://www.fueltanks.co.uk/pages/bike.html

good point. Also check out local radiator places. We've got a few here in the SF bay area who will clean your tank and weld up any holes pretty inexpensively (depending how hosed the tank is). You may have some where you're at. Good radiator places can usually handle a job like this.

[kip]

Thanks for the info guys. The guy I got the bike from had someone look at the tank before I got it. Seems like he tried to seal it with Kreem or something similar. Currently there is a little gas in it a lot of junk you can hear rattle in the tank. I have not focused on the tank yet as I am still working on getting the engine out, carbs and some other stuff. I didn't realize some places actually fix old tanks.

[JR]

If the tank is not bad you could use the POR 15 tank repair kit
Google it to find out more. I used it on my tank but you have to follow the instrutions to the letter and do not rush it.