light ticking noise in a 99 yz400

[getdrunk]

my 426 makes alot of ticking/rattling. maby its normal.

aslo are raptor660 quad started ticking. thought it was valves but nope. couldnt find the problum so kept driving. then 5 hours lator of driveing a whole blew on the bottom end. what happend was a piecs of clutch plate broke off and got into gears and that what did the ticking and lator caused a 800 dolar repair bill.

[rdefonce]

so i went to another yamaha dealer, and he said it probably was the rod or the crankshaft or something there.. what should i do..this sucks..

oh and he started ranting right away, that YZFs were only for racing.. that they are torn apart after every race (lol.. yeah, it's like a 2 stroke but with 2x the strokes..)..

he talked about my bike as it were the most unreliable bike ever.. lol..

"oh yeah rod problems are common!".. lol..

It's amazing what crap some dealers will dish out . . . torn apart after every race??? I have a '99, bought it new, (admittedly don't ride it a whole lot, got maybe 6 or 7 MX races on it, ride it ~5 times a year) and 1.5 years ago check my valves for the FIRST TIME (my bad!); they're STILL WITHIN SPEC.:-) Most reliable bike I've ever had.

[Shawn_Mc]

Check the key way in the counter balancer drive gear on the crank. The OEM key is too short and just barely wide enough. I hand fit one in my 426 and never had another problem with it. You'll probably have to do the same. You can buy some ket stock and hand fit it with 320 wet or dry. I also made one that was almost twice as wide as the stock one. Youve got more slot, go ahead and use it up...

[LJ]

Update: I finally got around to pulling the cams, flywheel, and timing chain. I just happened to look in my flywheel and noticed two good size chunks of metal (1/8" x 1/4") and smaller debri stuck to the inside of the rotor (it's magnetized, so it sucked up a lot of debri). Not sure if this is related to the ticking, but I'm guessing it probably is.

I haven't pulled the cylinder yet, that will probably be tomorrows project if I have time, but I'm guessing I'll find a destroyed rod bearing, broken piston, or whatever...

I fried the clutch last spring, maybe it might be clutch fragments, but I'll have to check my old clutch disks to see if there are any pieces broken off, but I doubt that's where the debri is coming from.

The thing is, it ran so good!

[LJ]

Okay, I said I would post my findings if I solved the problem, so here it is. I found one of the intake valves on the looser side of the spec. I went the next size thicker on the shim. I also changed out the timing chain and tensioner. I'm happy to say the ticking is now gone.

On the metal debri issue, it turns out the springs in the clutch basket (not the springs that clamp the clutch, but the springs that are mounted in the clutch basket that take up shock from the drive train) were falling apart. I matched up the pieces I found in my flywheel to the damages springs. I'm not sure why the springs are so badly damaged, maybe from over heating and getting brittle.

Hope this helps with anybody else having similar problems.

LJ.

[grayracer513]

They're like that because they are the springs "in the clutch basket that take up shock from the drive train" in a 6 year-old dirt bike. They not only get coil bound regularly, they get slammed into coil bind, and rather often, too. Tough job. TDLF.

Bummer that they aren't replaceable, though.

[LJ]

Yeah, a new basket set me back about $200. Heck, I like the bike, so it's worth to me.

[RideRaceLive123]

They're like that because they are the springs "in the clutch basket that take up shock from the drive train" in a 6 year-old dirt bike. They not only get coil bound regularly, they get slammed into coil bind, and rather often, too. Tough job. TDLF.

Bummer that they aren't replaceable, though.

Do Hinson's have the springs in back of the basket?

[grayracer513]

Yes, Chopsticks, they do. Hinson and other aftermarket baskets are used by removing the stock basket from the primary gear/torsional cushion unit and screwing the new basket on in its place, so the stock springs remain. This obviously means that buying a Hinson, or whatever, won't fix a problem of broken cush springs.

[RideRaceLive123]

Yes, Chopsticks, they do. Hinson and other aftermarket baskets are used by removing the stock basket from the primary gear/torsional cushion unit and screwing the new basket on in its place, so the stock springs remain. This obviously means that buying a Hinson, or whatever, won't fix a problem of broken cush springs.

LOL. I have been laughing for like the last 2 minutes(chopsticks was a inside joke from another thread). But doesn't hinson make cushion springs? I would think they could be more reliable.

Now what should I call you? Anyone have any suggestions?

Gray old man who knows everything about yzf's? hmmm..maybe...just maybe

[grayracer513]

They don't list them.

[RideRaceLive123]

I thought I saw them somewhere. But it must of just been the cushion kit they have.