Couple things I've picked up working on my 700 CFI. All I need to do now is put oil pump, fuel rail, and pull start and she is ready to go back into the sled.
a. Buy a couple of spare circlips if you don't want to re-use one. I had one shoot out into orbit on me.
b. Don't attempt figuring out which side of the piston ring is up without good lighting, eye glasses on, or a magnifying lens. The lettering on top of a piston ring is tiny!
c. Check FSM for thermostat orientation. I didn't know that it has to be aligned a certain way until I ran across it in the FSM.
d. Use a good torque wrench. A 3/8 inch wrench sitting in my toolchest for years let me down meaning it was not accurate. A sled engine is not the place to test an unproven wrench.
e. Yamabond 4 works great on engine cases and was available at my local cycle/ATV shop.
f. If you use a chemical cleaner, make sure none of it oversprays any o-rings. I used a little brake cleaner to clean off shavings from extracting a broken head stud and a little overspray caused my head o-rings to swell.
g. Make sure your gasket kit is complete. Mine was missing a water pump gasket.
h. I installed the new piston with new rings into the cylinder bore first and them lowered it slowly onto engine to attach the connecting rod. It was easier this way for me. Gudgeon pin in freezer for a bit helps it go in easier with a finger push. I put a little grease on the roller bearing to keep it in place using this method. I'm not 100% sure that the grease is a good idea but I've done it before on smaller 2 strokes.
i. Stuff a paper or cloth towel into case to prevent circlip from falling into it when trying to install them.
j. You will find missing hardware, nuts and bolts, after you purchase replacements at the hardware store.
k. Double or triple the time you thought it would take to rebuild your engine and/or top end because life and work seems to like to get in the way of projects like this one.
l. DON'T PROCRASTINATE AND WAIT TILL WINTER TO DO AN ENGINE PROJECT or your time to ride will be hindered. I always seem to think I'll get stuff started and finished between mid-Fall and Winter, NOT!
Additions added 1/27/17
m. Clean and dry all bolt holes on head with Qtips. If you don't, any residual coolant will cause head bolt to shear since fluid is not compressible.
n. Some folks recommend you torque head first then torque cylinders into monoblock. Not sure why but it is a common thing to do.
o. Put sealant on all headbolt flanges or you will get leaks like I did when I added coolant. I used case sealant and it did the trick.
p. Grease new fuel injector washers. Be extra careful as I had two of mine fall off and didn't realize it until later. Glad I caught it.
q. I bled the air in oil pump before engine install. Had someone hold the oil reservoir like an IV bag while it bled air out. Much easier than after engine is installed.
r. I used plumbers grease to hold the head o-ring gaskets. It does not swell or soften rubber o-rings.
s. Gasket tack keeps the cylinder bottom gaskets where they need to be and I think it strengthens the gasket material too.
t. I screwed up and used a file and a dremel bit to file and polish piston ring ends when setting ring end gap. Has worked for me on other engines in past but realize there is a special tool/stone used to file piston ring ends.
