Cam coupler tilt

[beedub]

Cam coupler tilt is obvious when I fit the couplers into the end of the camshafts. anyone else ever seen this? It is the coupler for sure, when I reverse it it tilts the other way and all sides do this.

see the pic at http://www3.sympatico.ca/brian.weir/Mot ... ertilt.jpg

the odd thing is that the couplers are a snug fit and don't look too worn. It appears as if this was a deliberate tilt on the part of the designer.



Do the aftermarket ones do this? why would Honda do this?

[Tom Neimeyer]

Well, I went and looked at several cams and oldham couplers out in the garage. All of mine seem to not be angled like yours. They do not sit flat aginst the end of the cam and I think that is the way Honda made them. On mine, I can rock them back and forth .002-.003 on each side. I think this is due to the radius Honda put on the inside edge of the coupler. I think that it allows the coupler to achieve a "floating balance" when it is spinning, making it impossible to bind. Remember, the round surface does nothing but hold the "blades" which engage the cams.



Well this is my story and I'm sticking to it. However, if you want, I will send you 2 of mine to try with your cams.



Let me know,

Regards, Tom



P.S. You have a lot of intestinal fortitude for tackling this job!!!

Keep going!!!

[beedub]

Hi Tom & all,

Now the mystery of this bike is why it was taken apart with the head off and camshafts out two or three owners ago. Everything so far (apart from a damaged piston and sleeve from sitting) is good right down to the crank, this is the first anomaly or possible problem I have encountered.

Tom, when you say,



"All of mine seem to not be angled like yours. They do not sit flat against the end of the cam and I think that is the way Honda made them."



I'm not quite clear about that - mine don't sit flat against the camshaft either, that's the oddness I'm describing. There is no play side to side on 3 out of 4, yet If I push them in against the camshaft, they are at an angle relative to the camshaft. http://www3.sympatico.ca/brian.weir/Mot ... ertilt.jpg

the local Honda guys think this is deliberate also.

If I turn the coupler 180 degrees, the angle changes to the other side.

I agree that this could be sort of anti binding arrangement, that would be very important. Do you use oversize or stock couplers?



So maybe the tilt is ok and the play is very low (3 out of 4 sides stay in the end of the camshaft if I dry fit them & turn it upside down, the 4th sticks sometimes). The thickness on the wear areas is .2357",.2357" not varying more than -.0002"on one coupler and .2355",.2356" not varying more than -.0002" on the other.

so my questions to all are:

1)Are these couplers ok?

2) do the oversize couplers include this in their design?

3) how much of an interference fit are they & what is the material?



My speculation, if the oversize coupler does not include this tilt, is that the original honda couplers get so noisy because of the tilt (makes them wear faster?) and the oversize actually are quieter because they don't have it. If the oversize don't have the tilt and also are interference fits then binding is not a problem.

Any other obsessive techies out there?

Whew!

[Land_Shark]

While my cams and couplers are out of a completely dissassembled motor and the head is still at the machine shop so I can't double check mine; what you're describing doesn't sound right at all. I recall (upon teardown) my couplers fitting quite nicely (albeit a little loosely) but were not tilted at all. If I use a square on the both the originals and my new oversize couplers I see no 'tilt' at all.

[beedub]

Land shark, when you get the head back,

(And anyone else who is interested), if you fit them in to the end of the camshaft, and sight across it, is the face of the coupler is parallel to the end of the camshaft? Please see my sketch (if you haven't seen it already) at http://www3.sympatico.ca/brian.weir/Mot ... ertilt.jpg to help clarify what I mean.

Does anyone elses do this?

[beedub]

Well a fellow CBXer has sent me some old ones; they are just fine. no tilt. wonder what the heck is going on with the ones I have. weird part is they are not too worn.