2001 xt 350 20000 kms and new to 4 strokes. ive noticed this bike has like a timing chain tick after 45 min hyw then decel will tick like a valve lifter in a car. i checked valve adjustment there ok. so i pulled the timing chain adjuser and ordered a new one. my question is how much movement should i have in the cams with the adjuster out? i can move them about a tooth adv or retard of tdc without moving piston. i have a clymer manual on order as well but hoped someone could help please.
One tooth travel sounds like a lot, but that depends on how much travel your adjuster mechanism actually has. On most European bikes, the spring can be removed from the tensioner, then the tensioner assembly can be removed to look and see how many clicks are left on the tensioner stem before full travel is achieved. This is an easy way to judge cam chain wear. Is there any way to do this on your engine? Can you access the plunger to see if it will push in farther? Or is it just spring loaded without a ratchet system? Some older bikes had a locking bolt that was undone periodically to let the spring push in, then tightened again to hold it at that point. With the tensioner set correctly, there should be no movement to your camshafts.
there is absouly no movement when tentioner in place i removed it and it is about half way through its spring travel. but when i was messing with it i found i could get it to stick in a few spots unless i really taped it it would hang up. the only time the tick shows up is after abuse (hard accells) and hot. i would think valve noise shoud always be there hot or cold. so my thought is that the adjuster is sticking loose after a hard accel. only other odd thing i saw was cam bearings have an oil port through them and a kind of blowoff cap that sits in the bearing cap(looks like its meant to hold oil for bearings then let it spill over if presure gets high) these little caps have the rims chiped off i ordered those as well. I know without seeing impossible to help with diag just wondering if this sounds feasable Thanx in advance for any comments. trying to make the bethany ride but all parts must be ordered so if i need a chain im outta luck
