| Author | Message | ||
     Elpanameno |
2000 M2. I did a recent top end about 400 miles ago and everything has been great until today. Rode it about a mile up the road and it started making a clacking sound that would speed up as I give more gas and slow down when I give less whether in neutral or engaged, clutch in/out. I took off the seat to check the oil and it was a little low and a small amount of smoke started coming out of the hole for the dipstick. Any ideas as to whats going on? | ||
| Citified |
I had a sporty that did that. It needed the rockers adjusted. | ||
| Hugie03flhr |
I agree with Citified. That would be the first place I'd go. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Nope, there is no rocker adjustment on these motors. Hydralic lifters, no adjustment needed. That said, you may have a lifter going flat. Is the sound coming from the front or rear cylinder? Figure that out then figure out if it's the intake or exhaust valve. Once you figure that out, you know the suspect lifter. To help isolate where it's coming from, use a stethescope or a wood dowel, even a screwdriver will work. Good luck! Brad | ||
| Zenfrogmaster |
That sound *may* be a loose primary chain slapping against the case. Easy enough to check - half inch upward deflection of the chain should do it. | ||
| Bluesboy |
I think a lifter "has deflated" | ||
| Citified |
in that case I will say debris in the lifter, keeps them from filling. the smoke I would guess is blow by. | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
+1 on the flat lifter also +1 on the primary, its an easy check so do it first. | ||
| Ratbuell |
To narrow noise locations, I usually use a large screwdriver. Cup one hand around the grip and put it to your ear, and put the point in various parts of the engine until the noise is loudest. It may be semantics, but in my mind a lifter is more of a tickticktick noise; a clacking is usually the primary chain. Easy enough to ID - they're on opposite sides of the bike  | ||
| Jos51700 |
I wouldn't rule out a rocker adjustment, I would just modify that to say "depending on your parts combination, you may need a pushrod adjustment." | ||
| Citified |
thats what I meant. i just got done with my hotrod, still in V8 mode. | ||
| Elpanameno |
Thanks. I will definitely check the primary chain before anything else. Here is something I don't know if I made clear or would make a difference in the solutions given: the bike does run. I rode it home about a mile after the clicking started. I was driving to the store about a mile away and I heard it start just as i pulled into the store. I gave it a little throttle to see if I could hear where the noise was coming from and it stopped. I shut off the bike and went in the store. Came out, started it up and there was no more noise. Then about a half mile down the road it started again and I rode it home. It still moves without any noticeable lag, just a lot of noise.. I don't know if that rules out the primary chain or not. | ||
| Jos51700 |
That definitely sounds like a dying lifter. As you rev it, the spike in oil pressure momentarily pumps the lifter back up. Check the primary chain since it's free to check it, but I think I know where this is going. (Ever think about a big-bore? Now might be a good time) | ||
| Elpanameno |
big bore? you mean replace the piston as well... man how much is this gonna cost me? | ||
| Elpanameno |
I started up the bike and the sound is gone. Rode it up and down the street and I cant get the sound to come back. How bad is it for me to drive the bike when its doing this? Am I causing damage? | ||
| Citified |
I am still thinking debris but new lifters might be a good idea, pretty easy job to replace. | ||
| Ratbuell |
+1 on lifter replacement. If you're mechanically inclined...put an oil pressure gauge on to make sure you're not losing oil pressure. The sending unit is on the front of the engine, where the oil filter screws on. Put a tee in there, and run a gauge off one side and the sender for the low oil light on the other side. If you're carrying good oil pressure, you can swap lifters pretty easily. Remove the upper rocker boxes and the rocker arms (middle and lower rocker box sections). Remove the pushrods, being sure to keep them in order. Remove the pushrod bases (allen screws) and slide them, and the pushrod tubes, out of the engine. A magnet can pull the lifters up and out, soak new lifters overnight in oil and drop them in. Install is reverse of disassembly, with new gaskets, O rings and seals where needed. To directly answer your question...no, you probably aren't going to hurt anything if the noise doesn't come back. If you checked the primary chain and it's good...and the engine runs OK...and it hasn't puked anything out that's big enough to have its own part number...I'd change the oil and filter to remove any possible debris and keep a paranoid ear on it while you ride. If the noise comes back..make note of when it happens (hot/cold, high/low rpm, cruise or WOT, etc.), and investigate. If not...just have fun, these fluke-y things have been known to happen. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I just re-read your inital post about the recent top end work. It might not hurt to pull the upper rocker boxes off anyway - I had a rocker plate bolt come loose after a top end job on my Evo a couple years ago. Intermittent taptaptap. Guess I forgot / missed torquing that one, whoops. And as noted above...did you put in standard pushrods, or adjustables? My adjustables kept going out of whack for the first 15k miles or so, then miraculously they stopped fighting back and are now staying locked where I put them. But when they'd loosen up, they sounded just like a bad lifter. | ||
| Elpanameno |
I left the same pushrods that came with the bike. I believe they are standard since there wasn't any way to adjust them. | ||
| Elpanameno |
its not the primary chain. Just checked it and it has about 1.5" upward play. Maybe I need to do another top end because I noticed the back cylinder is leaking oil at the base gasket. I guess I should have had the bottom of the cylinders machined? | ||
| Zenfrogmaster |
One and a half inches of play in the primary? That much slack will cause noise. It should be half that or less. PM me for a picture... | ||
| Elpanameno |
Heres a pic of the bottom of the cylinder.  | ||
| Citified |
Should be about 3/4" inch hot should it not? | ||
| Jos51700 |
How about 3/8" hot, at the tightest point? In other words, less than a third of where it's at now. If it did it all of sudden, it's a tension shoe failure of some sort, but I know it's not because the sound comes and goes. I'm betting lifters. Primary Chain noise won't just "go away". | ||
| Jos51700 |
The base gasket leaking in the photo is an issue, but a separate issue, and not a major mechanical concern. | ||
| Elpanameno |
So if it is debris in the lifter, maybe an oil change will clean it out? | ||
| Jos51700 |
Typically, the debris won't come out with the oil, as it is trapped within the lifter. On a very rare occasion, using a "Mystery Oil" type oil cleaner can dissolve varnish and sludge buildup, but that's usually for motors that sit unused for long periods of time. It may be a gasket bit or other debris, and you can disassemble lifters and clean them out. For me, if I can swing the bills, I will just put new in, since I'm there, unless it's very low mileage. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Loose primary can come and go depending on on-throttle or off-throttle. If on-throttle, the top of the primary is pulled tight by engine torque. If off-throttle, the top of the chain goes slack and can clackity clack. Regardless, 1.5" is waaay too much. | ||
| Guell |
i just pulled my primary cover the other night and replaced the shoe, its cheap insurance and pretty simple. | ||
| Elpanameno |
Noise is gone. Bike was kinda low on oil so I just did an oil change because it needed one after the break in anyways. I will buy a new shoe for the primary, change that oil, and tighten the chain as well. Thanks for all the help. If the noise comes back I will most likely just drop the engine and do a top end for both cylinders and replace the lifters this time. If the bike was low enough on oil, could the lifter have drained and is now filled up again? Bike seems to be running a little rough but I also haven't ridden for a couple weeks. I think it maybe always shook my eyeballs this much. maybe not. Thank you for all the help. |
