Cylinder barrel base nut, access?

[Dibnah]

Evening All,

My Matchless 350 (with AJS 500 engine) is running well, although a few challenges.

Investigation of oil leakage at the base of the cylinder barrel revealed that the fixings were barely more than finger tight, I'm struggling to get a spanner onto the front offside fixing, obscured by the mag. I initially thought the fixings were nut / locknut with lots of paint, but it appears not, so probably designed for restricted access (?).

Hints and tips gratefully received!



P.S. Mature Brit singles are wonderful!

[1608]

Well worth sacrificing an old spanner and shortening it for that specific job.

[Rob Harknett]

It is a bit tight, but you do have a choice of spanner size. The hex heads are also apart so you can get bit of a turn on one size then a bit on the other and so on. The nuts are not a problem when dismantling/rebuilding the engine

[Dibnah]

Thanks for the replies. I found a spanner (1/4" Whit?) with thinner jaws that enabled me to get the fixing tight but not too tight. 30 miles or so this morning and the oil leakage seems to have stopped.

Onwards to the challenge of the clutch drag now!

[Rob Harknett]

Clutch drag is usually due to springs not adjusted correctly. How I do it, go by the book. Adjusting springs and thrust rod, having first loosened the clutch cable adjustment. By adjusting the trust rod you still have plenty of cable adjustment left. Now work the clutch lever and observe the clutch opening. Plates should open evenly all round. In the area where the plates do not appear to separate as much, due to a slightly stronger spring, loosen that a little, keep checking until the plates open evenly. At this point I usually tighten all springs by the same amount say half a turn. Check for slip, maybe tighten springs a bit more. It is important to adjust the trust rod , also make sure the rod is not sticking. So remove the rod and clean it .

[1608]

Being a pesimist, there are other causes of drag worth checking if spring adjustment isn't the answer.
Buckled plates ( usually plain plates).
Sticking plates, oil contaminated or too thicker oil.
Badly notched clutch centre preventing plates from separating properly.
Too much play in push-rod adjustment.

[Dibnah]

Thanks again for the replies, I'll start a new thread about the dragging clutch to avoid confusion.

[56G80S]

Not done this with a mag behind the barrel but I use a ring spanner which has a very thin "shaft".

Johnny B

[Dibnah]

Thanks Johnny

Although the bike is a Matchless, the engine is an AJS hence mag at the front. I've tried a couple of ring spanners from my varied collection but either the spanner ring wall is too thick or there is too much offset. Leakage has stopped, so that's good news. I'm building up to checking valve clearances in case I've pulled the barrel down a bit, only two clearances to check though!

[Dibnah]

.... six years later, the nuts have loosened off again; shame on me for not checking regularly. I'm not comfortable using an open-ended spanner on these nuts, particularly the nut with the worst access (by the magneto), so I've spent some of my hard-earned on a double-ended cranked ring spanner.