Engine Problems Again!

[jackhillis]

hey fellow yam owners

you may have read a few of my posts about the troubles i have had to deal with my 2003 wr450. previously i have posted a thread about 3 of the 6 rotor bolts coming loose and trashing the lower half of my engine costing me a fair bit of money to repair, that was the first problem, just wait there is more, i also sheared the crankshaft woodruff key which threw the timing out and luckily didnt bend or destroy and valves. so after replacing all the electrical generating parts, all the starter clutch components, 10 engine flushes, numerous oil filters trying to get rid of all the copper dust, and a new woodruff key. Is it fair to say my bike is a lemon??? so i got my bike back after 3 months of being in and out of the workshop, i fire it up today ride it for a couple of kms and discover there is a hideous noise coming out of the engine, its sounds like something has come loose and rattling around in there. just when i thought all my troubles are over, there is more shit going wrong with this bike. i bought it in september and dead set have riden it three times since i purchased it and thats not because i havent had any time. im open for advice, im lost and dont no what to do, i bought the bike for $5500 and it already owes me seven. im tempted to contact yamaha australia and tell them what is going on with this dog of a bike. or just fix it and sell it, im sick of constantly having problems i just want to ride. has anyone else had this many problems with one bike.

thanks

Jack Hillis

Australia

[William1]

Sounds like to me that when the engine was done, it was not COMPLETELY disassembled, cleaned and ever single internal part carefully inspected. This must be done when parts inside fail and bits pf metal are travel through the engine. Flushing does not necessarily get rid of it.

Even when I buy a used engine, this is the first thing I do. You have to know it is clean, you can never safely assume.

[PBDBLUE]

The rotor bolts and the woodruff key were caused because you did not do the upgrade to the '04 starter drive. This is a widely known problem with '03 WR's and an easy fix if done before damage occurs. Do a search in this forum. As for what's wrong with it now who knows but it's probably related to the earlier work. The WR450 engine once upgraded is about the most reliable power plant out there.

[face_plant]

The WR450 engine once upgraded is about the most reliable power plant out there.

+1 9000 miles and all i did was put new rings in and change the oil

[djv5]

Not all 2003 WR450's were affected by the starter issue, only a limited batch of first run bikes. I have over 10,000 miles of trouble free street & dirt riding.

Check your VIN # and call Yamaha to see if your bike was part of the small few that had the starter problems. I had the free recall done on my 2003, even though I had already accumulated 2,000 miles and 1 year of use.

[Appalachian DR]

Not all 2003 WR450's were affected by the starter issue, only a limited batch of first run bikes. I have over 10,000 miles of trouble free street & dirt riding.

Check your VIN # and call Yamaha to see if your bike was part of the small few that had the starter problems. I had the free recall done on my 2003, even though I had already accumulated 2,000 miles and 1 year of use.

Hmmm, I've got close to 2000 on mine and it back fired quite a bit during starting when I first got it due to poor jetting. I thought if it was going to happen it would have done it by now.

So, Yamaha can tell me if I got the bad parts by the vin? Why did they change the starter in 04 then? I'm not trying to be smart, I just don't know what to do/believe about this starter issue.

love the button

don't want to be stranded in the middle of no where

$400 in parts for button....not anytime soon:thumbsdn:

[djv5]

Hmmm, I've got close to 2000 on mine and it back fired quite a bit during starting when I first got it due to poor jetting. I thought if it was going to happen it would have done it by now.

So, Yamaha can tell me if I got the bad parts by the vin? Why did they change the starter in 04 then? I'm not trying to be smart, I just don't know what to do/believe about this starter issue.

love the button

don't want to be stranded in the middle of no where

$400 in parts for button....not anytime soon:thumbsdn:

If it has not been a problem by now, you are probably in the clear. Did you buy your '03 new from a dealer?

When the recall was publicized, I got notice to bring the bike in to a Yamaha dealer for the free upgrades/inspection, and they placed a notch by the VIN # to indicate that the recall had been done.

But as I stated before, I already had about 12 months and 2,000 miles of riding in, and no problems. On mine, all the dealer did was loctite and re-torque. No problems in the last 5 riding seasons, and I always use the button.

[PBDBLUE]

There is no batch of bad bikes. All the 2003's are susceptable to this problem. Look at the mechanics of the design and you'll see the problem. Anytime the engine kicks back something has to take the force. Eventually something will give.Could be the starter clutch, bolts, key, etc. Yamaha didn't spend the money to redesign the drive just for fun. The loctite fix was a band-aid and a bad one at that. Could break tomorrow or maybe never but if it does you're walkin. BTW - Take a look at the TT store or Zanotti - Parts ~ $185.

[dirtysouth]

Sound like you might want to buy another running bike, swap the motor/trans and part the other one all the way out. Might take several months but at least you'll be able to ride soon plus by the time you buy all of the tools and parts you may end up needing to rebuild you'll be deeper in the hole with a maybe motor. The bike you got is likely scarred up inside. Seals, shafts and gears in there need to be slick tight. Yamaha ain't gonna budge. Sorry to hear about that and sound so grim but you gotta do what you gotta do. Keep your eyes peeled. Somebody will be selling an 03 at a good price if you dig really hard.

[450high]

my 2003 was a dog to start with . 1 week old sheared the flywheel key 35 degree hot day in a very deep valley.Starter motor sh1t the tin.other annoying things.May be the 04 mod hasn,t been done.The noise could be a crack in the housing behind the starter gear.There is a good page with great photos maybe someone can post a link.Where in aus are you ? if your near geelong i might be able to help.

[PBDBLUE]

It's easy to tell if the '04 mod has been done with a quick visual. If the idler gear cover is flat it has the '03 drive. If it's domed then it has the '04 stuff.

[Appalachian DR]

Hmmm, I've got close to 2000 on mine and it back fired quite a bit during starting when I first got it due to poor jetting. I thought if it was going to happen it would have done it by now.

I got my bike back from the shop today. I had the service bulletin done and he explained the 03 starter problem to me.

The mechanic said the key on my bike had been taking a real beating so he replaced it. I consider myself lucky because it could have been the next backfire or stall that was going to take it out. Even though I had 2000 problem free miles of woods riding on it

Ever notice the hard CLANK when the 03 stalls out? It used to make my skin crawl it sounded so bad. I knew something was taking a hit in there. I pulled the idler gear out when I got home and stalled it on purpose a couple times. The infamous CLANK is gone

Not all 2003 WR450's were affected by the starter issue, only a limited batch of first run bikes. I have over 10,000 miles of trouble free street & dirt riding.

Not so. The 03 was a bad design. Thats why they changed it. Some owners have just been more lucky than others.

There is no batch of bad bikes. All the 2003's are susceptable to this problem. Look at the mechanics of the design and you'll see the problem. Anytime the engine kicks back something has to take the force. Eventually something will give.Could be the starter clutch, bolts, key, etc. Yamaha didn't spend the money to redesign the drive just for fun. The loctite fix was a band-aid and a bad one at that. Could break tomorrow or maybe never but if it does you're walkin. BTW - Take a look at the TT store or Zanotti - Parts ~ $185.

I should have listened to you dude. At least I know I have a new w-key and the potential problem is gone.

[jackhillis]

thanks

i bought the bike second hand, im on a tight budget. im from australia and when i took the bike back with the stator problems yamaha dealer didnt even mention a mod. did yamaha superceed the parts? i cant really afford to be constantly fixing the engine. Im in wagga Wagga nsw thanks

[PBDBLUE]

Well the cheap way to fix it is to remove the idler gear (the one under the small round cover) and kick start it. Yamaha didn't supercede the parts and never offered any compensation to the '03 owners other than the "loctite" fix which is worse than no fix at all. They just quietly came out with a redesign on the '04. If you look at the parts fiche for the '03 you'll still find the old drive system.

[jackhillis]

hi im in wagga wagga nsw. im on a tight budget so i cant really afford to buying another bike to do a transplant. i just recently bought all the parts to fix the others that were trashed when the rotor bolts came out. i bought the 03 parts not knowing about the 04 mod. why wouldnt yamaha have superceeded the parts so that you cant buy parts that are going to fail. i have to now go and buy all the same parts again but for the 04 just so they dont fail. i bought the bike second hand off a local guy who said the bike had been running like a song till i got it then all the shit went wrong. the bike has 4500kms on it. i dunno i just bought the wr because i knew that it was the most reliable engine, all i have had is trouble. i want to split the engine to make sure there is no debree in there still, is there anything i should do while i have got the engine split to make sure my bike is going to be trouble free?

thanks