I have noticed that my Wolverine is blowing a little smoke lately, mostly when first started. I am led to assume that it may be time for a fresh top end.

The motor is a 96 and has served me well , but it may be on it's last leg.

I have a few questions for those of you that have done top end work.

1) What size overbore would you recomend on the Wolverine/Warrior motor. ( I might as well bump it up while i'm in there)

2) Should I get a high compression piston? maybe a Weisco?

3) any tips or tricks when working on the Wolverine/Warrior motor

4) Is there some other reason that it may be blowing smoke?
(smoke is pretty thick and white, strong smell)

 

If it's just blowing smoke when you first start it then it's just the stem seals. $5 each, but you do have to tear it down to do them.
Eventually you can get alot of carbon build up, which will require getting your head done. Any machinist can do it, and it's pretty cheap. I doubt you'll need to rebore the cylinder, just a hone and a fresh set of rings will do the job.
Like you said though, as long as you're tearing down, you might as well have some fun with it. I strongly recommend a Wiseco piston. It makes a lot of difference in the low end power.

As long as you're replacing your piston, you could go with an over size. Piston price is the same, it will just cost you some more to get it bored. Bring the new piston to the machinist with the jug so they can check the specs.
Powroll offers a 365cc kit (85mm piston) which is as large as you can go with out resleeving. To resleeve you also need to machine your deck, which is why no one offers a piston kit larger than 85mm without a stroker kit.

The only thing I don't like about going with a larger piston is that if you ever score the cylinder you won't be able to punch it out, but will have to replace the cylinder. Then again, the chances of that are pretty slim, and a cylinder is fairly cheap.

Do you have a manual? If not, I can scann the torques and sequences for the head for you.

It's really a pretty simple job (the great thing about an air-cooled 2-valve motor). It's a good idea to put the piston at TDC when you start, and be sure to put a safety wire on the cam chain. You don't want it to fall down into the case.

Of course, at this point you may want to think about changing your cam chain as well.

 

Thanks thenewfiebullet


I do have the Yamaha sevice manual, but wish now I had gotten the Clymer. I guess I will have to do some reading as I am not sure what the valve seals are exacly.

I did see and like the 85mm kit from Powroll. If I do ever score my jug with this bore could I not just have it sleeved? I plan on eventually doing the 446 stroker kit from FST, I just did not want to dump $1200 in it right now.

Why would you sugest a new cam chain? old one stretch? What do you think I could expect to pay for machine work?

What will this do to my jetting?

Did you swap cams? I run 23" tires so I really need strong mid range power, and not so much low end.

Sorry for all the questions, but I am looking forward to doing this myself and don't want to screw anything up or forget to replace something while I am in there.

 

Hey,airwolf,

I am right in the middle of doing a rebuild on my 95 Wolverine,I ordered the piston/cam kit from highlifter,I went with the .040 over piston and the 88 grind cam (low and midrange)The cylinder is out being bored now,and I'm also having the valves ground and head ported and polished while it is all apart. The kit comes with a base and head gasket,you will need to order some orings and seals to complet the top end rebuild,but the price isn't bad , $379, 279 for the kit,10 bucks shipping and 90 dollars for core on your old cam,which you get back when you send it in. Parts won't be ready until Monday or so next week,but as soon as I get it running,I'll post the results and let everyone know how it compares to the stock setup. Later ,guys !

 

95wolf, sounds like you've got a nice project going there. Be sure to let us know what you think of it once you've tried it out.

Airwolf, I don't think there is a Clymer manual for the Wolverine, at least I've never seen one. I'd like one though, cause the Yamaha one SUCKS!!

The great thing about a high comp piston is that it boosts power across the entire rev range, just as a jump in displacement does. It's known as "free" power, because there's no loss in power anywhere.
In contrast, a cam "costs" power. In order to boost on the high end you give some up on the low end. Boost the low end,the top will suffer, and so on. Pipes, valves, carbs and, (on a 2-stroke), porting are like this this too.

I would suggest a new cam chain because if you run at high revs alot you WILL wear it out, and then bad things can happen. But you'll know when you take it apart. Look at the cam chain tensioner. If it's near it's limit replace the chain. Check the chain itself. If it's worn there will be stiff links in it.

I've thought about doing the cam, but I use teh quad for alot of trailering in the summer, and I'm alittle worried about losing low end power.
I've also thought about going with the 365 kit. I was so impressed with what the high compression piston did to the low end power that I'm tempted to do anything that will help it even more.
But I'm expecting a bunch of expensive repairs to be coming up any time now, so I don't want to spend the money on mods. I use the bike pretty hard for both work and play, and it shows. This will be my third summer with the bike and so far I've done
all wheel bearings twice
Front u-joints twice
Rear u-joint once
Rear output seal once
Cam chain
Reseat valves
pick-up coil
battery
brakes about a hundred times.

Next up I'll need to do the limited slip diff assembly and the rocker arms and shafts. When I do the rocker arms I'm going to put in aftermarket valve springs (which you REALLY should do if you change the cam).

Good luck with the rebuild. Just take your time, don't rush, keep everything neat and tidy while you're working and have a good time doing it. That's really the secret to doing a good job, and to wanting to do stuff like that again.


My Pictures

 

i have a 95 wolverine. i sent my jug to wiseco. they bored it and mached it up with a 10.25 piston, and gaskets. with shipping and insurance it was about 210 bucks. i am very happy with the work.