88 katana 600 engine not turning over

[SurfinCR]

hello all, i am new to the forums. i picked up a used 88 katana 600 from a friend who had someone he knew work on the engine. i have rebuilt other motorcycle engines unfortunatley only 2 strokes. but anyways the guy did not say what he has fully done to the bike's engine. so far i can tell that he has had the entire motor apart, he put a new clutch in that has 6 bolts instead of the common 4, he claims there are several years of parts in the bike...what years i dont know. he said then upon putting it back together he ran the bike for "60 seconds" turned it off then went inside came back out and it would not start. this is where i came in.... i took the head off everything is free and fine there. looked at the pistons fine there also. clutch is clear of everything. the gear to power the alternator the larger of the three behind that there is a 1mm gash in the case, but the gear itself is far enough from the case that it shouldnt have hit it. after going through all this i broke down and started to split the case after getting all the bolts out and trying (unsuccessfully i might ad) to split the case i got frustrated and decided to pull the sproket off. using the knowledge that the bike was seized i put it into gear and started to turn the nut, then the engine started to turn freely it was rather hard to turn but it turned none the less. then upon tightening all the bolts back up it would not turn again. could someone point me in the right direction of what could be the cause and also how to split the case? i have the repair manual also. thanks for any help that can be given.

[Meikol2]

Sounds like a job for Special K. Good luck, and welcome to KR. If he doesn't chime in, send him a PM. After all that's what I do.

[Mr. Clean]

Ugh, it sounds like something is binding in the tranny. Not good. and did you say there was a "gash" in the case? It might look like the gear is not hitting the case but I'm willing to bet that something was not reinstalled right and a shaft is warped. That would explain the binding and the gash that the gear appears to have caused but isn't close to as you are looking at it. It's also why the engine would have "run for 60 seconds" one time and will not start now. When Keith sees this I'm sure he can add more. I know the top end of the engine pretty well but I'm not 100% on the tranny yet.

[SurfinCR]

yeah that tends to be what i am thinking also. i am going to dive into it again tonight. but i will be checking back here as i go. thank you guys for the help.

[Mr. Clean]

My best advice is to buy a late model 600 engine. It will bolt right in.

[SurfinCR]

i already went out and bought an 89 600cc engine. however the one that i bought supposidly runs but i dont like the way it looks so i want to rebuild this one to have around just in case. but if i can succesfully (sorry having spelling issues tonight) rebuild this one i will put this in and sell the other off. this one has some newer parts. but if i cant then this one becomes the spare parts motor.

[SurfinCR]

ok getting rather frustrated again i have all the crank bolts out. all the bolts around the case is there anything i am missing? because i have a lot of pressure on the case and it refuses to go. i also noticied it is the side that is closist to the electronic timing that when the crank bolts are loosened it moves free

[Mr. Clean]

This might be a dumb question but I have to ask it. You did remove the head and juggs right?

[SurfinCR]

looking at the book it looked to show that that was not necessary. but i am guessing i needed to. also from what i did get to check out and look the gear on the crank has some nice coloration. it also appears that the case was torqued more than it should have been. so as i tightened the case i turned the crank and it continued to spin. i think i am at the point of saying this isnt worthe the time...

[Mr. Clean]

Dude you are kidding right? Of course you have to remove the jugs and head. Even on a 2 stroke engine you have to remove the jugs and head to split the cases.

[SurfinCR]

i'm a dumbass

yeah now thinking about it i did . you can tell its coming to finals week. my brain is fried. wow.... next time i am going to read through just a tad bit better. but for now i am giving up on it. give me wiring or something to weld anyday over this. any suggestions as to what it could be?

[Mr. Clean]

Man if you have a crack in the case I wouldn't waste time and money on it. Because as soon as you fix one thing you are going to discover something else is trashed. Best to work with the other engine that turns over freely.

[SurfinCR]

man the more i think about it the more stupid i feel. lol. the only thing i am worried about is that with this other engine there is rust in the oil window which rather worries me. its why i was trying to fix the other engine.

[SurfinCR]

plus i should probably ad in that the oil cooler was smashed and there doesnt seem to be much if any oil in the engine i just picked up.

[Mr. Clean]

As long as there is some oil in there you should be OK. Drain the oil, and then drop the oil pan. See what kind of sludge is in there, look for the usual crud and anything that might look out of the ordinary. One of the biggest problems with these engines is second gear giving out and falling apart or striping out. If you don't see anything that worries you put in a new gasket (might as well buy a lower end gasket kit) and button it up. Then remove all the side covers and do an inspection. If you find actual water in the oil i would replace the clutch plates. A new set of plates and springs are only about $65.00 from EBC. Replace all three cover gaskets (remember the kit?) and button it back up. Fill it with the official Suzuki Lube and turning it over by hand a few times. The Suzuki oil is best because it is designed for your engine, plus synthetics make the clutch slip. Yamalube is good too if you can't get the Suzuki brand. I would turn the engine at least once a month by hand until you get it installed and running in the bike.