hey guys..i was browsing a forum and z400's and some guy was talking about a ticking in his engine and it made me think about my bike and my bike ticks too but I dont know if its normal or do I need to re-shim my valves..So i took a video and posted it on youtube..If you can please take a look and tell me if its normal or if I need to do something about it..thanks I will post the link when it finishes proccesing

 

heres the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3On6ke2Qkfc

 

From my experience in a 4-stroke when you hear a tick-tick-tick sound it can be an indication of a valve issue as opposed to a tock-tock-tock sound which can mean a rod or wrist pin bearing is starting to go. These sounds can be indicators of what to look for and should be supplemented with what you know about your ATV's maintenance sked as you may be way overdue for a valve clearance check which if left undone can result in burned valves as it is much more normal and likely they will wear tight, lose clearance and burn, then wear loose. The only way to know for sure is to crack that service manual, pull the valve cover off and get measurements with a feeler gauge and if they are out of clearance pull the shims and do the math for the proper replacement. Shims are more tedious and labor intensive to replace then tappet adjustments but the trade off is shims usually have much longer periods between needed adjustments. But there is no way one can tell what really is going on until you perform the right diagnostic measurments and test. Hopefully they are just out of adjustment and you haven't burned a valve seat and losing compression, something a pressure test gauge will tell you. If you cant work on it then you need to have it serviced by a good ATV specialty shop, however I never recommend a dealer as there is a conflict of interest for them not to fix your old ATV, but to sell you a new one.

 

hey quadcraz3d12,
From listening to your video, my '04 Z400 sounded almost like yours, just not as loud. I had the tappet clearance adjusted and replaced the cam chain tensioner, I didn't hear that noise anymore. Mine had about 60 or so hours on it when I bought it and put another 20 or on it after that. That's when I noticed the chattering. P.s. Before I took it to the shop, I bought the service manual off the I-net then looked in the "trouble shooting" chapter 1st. The book was only $ 52.00 from "albasports.com" good luck

 

Here is a great example and testament to the Z400 engine's legendary reliability and low maintenance which is very typical of this engine. Most people don't realize that the average 450z or 450x would have had to be completely overhauled 2 times before reaching 60 hours, not to mention countless more man hours in routine maintenance.

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: quadzilla1973

hey quadcraz3d12,

From listening to your video, my '04 Z400 sounded almost like yours, just not as loud. I had the tappet clearance adjusted and replaced the cam chain tensioner, I didn't hear that noise anymore. Mine had about 60 or so hours on it when I bought it and put another 20 or on it after that. That's when I noticed the chattering. P.s. Before I took it to the shop, I bought the service manual off the I-net then looked in the "trouble shooting" chapter 1st. The book was only $ 52.00 from "albasports.com" good luck</end quote></div>

 

Mine's ticking pretty bad too. I pulled the cam-chain tensioner out, and there's no more clicks left. Which (I guess) means the cam chain is stretched too much. DID makes a heavy duty chain for around $60, looks like I'm tearing into the engine next week-end!

Short video

cam chain tesioner pic

 

I would consider myself lucky to be able to ID the warning signs and would stop riding and get the worn chain replaced before it jumps, skips, or brakes causing catastrophic failure damage to the pistons and valves. A $100 worth of prevention now is worth $1500 in damage which can and will happen at any moment that your engine is running from here on out (barrowed time). So actually the ticking your hearing is the damage countdown clock, sort of like a ticking time bomb. One secound your listening to it go tick-click-click, and then clack-clunk-clap-crunch-screech-slam. Game over man!

 

so if this is the problem should I immedietly change the cam-chain tensioner or can I go on a couple of rides...and is this a big project that I should leave to the dealer to fix or can I do it in my own garage..thanks for the posts

 

Checking the valve clearance is easy, so is checking the tensioner. If you grab a manual, it gives you the step by step instructions.

 

Sorry, I cannot hear any ticking noise from the vid. What should it be?