my son has a 99 400 ex that he bought and ran fine for a while. the other day he was riding and it quit on him and couldnt get it to turn over again. all it did was just click at the seleniod by the battery. i think something locked up inside the motor. when he tried to push start it i think it un locked it and now it will start but has a rattling/pinging sound coming from inside the engine. he says it has just as much power as before but the sound coming from the engine has me worried that something is broke in it. anyone care to tahe a guess as to what it might be that can cause this. im a 2 stroke guy as far as working on motors and i never been inside a 4 stroke...thanks in advance,Brian

ps im downloading a service manual as i write this

 

Sounds like the clicking is a dead battery. The bump start allowed it to start. But the engine noise sounds like it's time for a valve adjustment and/or timing chain. If the engine was locked up, I seriously doubt you would be able to unlock it by push starting. Once an engine seizes, it's pretty much done moving until you tear it apart.

 

ps im downloading a service manual as i write this[/quote]
Were can I get the link to down load the service manual.

Thanks
Mud

 

I'm thinking the same as sprayedgt. If it locked up, I doubt you would be able to free it up again so easily. Alot of the 400ex's make a ticking noise and it's most always the timing chain or valves. Check the chain as well as the guides. I had an experience where the timing chain guide was actually broke.