Well, since the last month, I've had my fair share of troubles with my shee.
Yesterday, went to a wonderful sand pit, and the day started with a sticky throttle, and ended with a "broken" shifter and an oil leak. Great place, #$%& banshee!!
The shifter problem was just the "limiting bolt" that unscrewed. I found it intact, but the nut had a little fun slamming into something that him (gears or something like that).

I got the shifting problem sorted out, but the oil leak leaves me confused...and when I started the shee (in the garage, which I usually don't do) I heard an audible knocking noise, linked to the rpm. I was in neutral.

First question...from where could it leak from (from you guys previous experiences)? It's on the left side, and it's not from the shifter shaft.

Second...what could the knocking be??? Could I have messed the water pump gears,and it would make such a sound? Is it normal? Please don't tell me it's my crank bearings!!!!! My shee is a 98...not already!!

Thanks

 

it might be leaking from the case. there are only some many joints it can come from.

the clutch side case, the cylinders, or the big case which splits in half after you remove everything else where you crank is. they dont use gaskets they put some kind of sealer on the joint. it could have worn out the sealer and its leaking from there. maybe you can just put some over it again, some kind of sealer without actually spliting the cases.

i have to split my case because of a worn out crank seal.

i thought it was a 96 or 97 not 98?

 

For the year,it has 97 plastics, but from the VIN, I think it's a 98, and from the date it was made (on the "vertical" frame tube in front of the engine)...it should be a 97 (made during february 97)...I don't really know.

The leak seems to have stopped (maybe it was the right case gasket or case not tight enough)...anyway, that's one thing solved.

But the knocking is still there...loud and sounds very serious indeed
how long do crank bearings usually last?

 

The countershaft seal might be leaking, Mine leaks a bit and stops ones it gets dirt on it (acts as a second seal i guess) the knocking could be a number of things, probably piston slap. Where is the sound coming from? Are you running the right octane fuel (detonation maybe?) Its not hard to take the top end apart and check things out, Not sure but you may even be able to check your crank bearings without splitting the case, while the topend is apart.

 

piston slap??
I don't think it is a piston damage since I still have a fairly normal compression (in the 100psi...I know it's low, but I want to wait until winter to change everything).
It's surely enough not detonation...it's really a knocking sound, like when 2 big stuff hit each other...sounds really like a crank bearing...how do I check this?
Could them kick starter do such a freaky sound?

 

Yup, piston slap. that is my guess. My blaster has terrible piston slap now with normal condition. Does the Knocking settle down a little after it is up to full operating pressure. YOu should last till winter, just change your oil more often to keep the metal out.

 

Piston slap isnt really damage, Its usually caused by worn out rings and\or excessive wear on the cylinder. It doesnt usually affect your compression much either.Slap is fairly audible but I would compare it more to a fluttering\knocking than a clang. Detonation can sometimes be loud, But by pulling your plugs you should be able to tell if its that. Can you explain where the sound is coming from? There are quiet a few different areas of the motor that can cause similar sounds, So without knowing where the sound is from its very difficult to make any sense of what is going on. BTW It only takes about 5 minutes for a crank to become no good. As for checking the crank bearings, You should be able to pull the cylinders off and check free play in the rods and crank without even having to remove the pistons from the rods. Or you can pull the entire engine apart, in which case you would have to split the case (pretty easy to do) and then check the bearings.

Blaster96, what are you refering to?!? Banshee and Blaster cranks\pistons get there lubrication from a fuel\oil mixture, you change the oil everytime you put new fuel in (xcept on blasters which use oil injection instead of premixed fuel)

 

I am saying this. On my blaster when the piston start going bad i cahge the oil and more metal come out each time. That means the oil is getting steel in it from the Crank area. I know how the 2-Stroke works. Just that when my blaster needs a rebuild it just starts throwing metal in the oil. YOu change it because you do nto want oil to float around in the lower end.

 

Zorro, there was a warrior we had that made a knocking/clanking noise, we thought it was an engine related problem, but really it was the rear end axle bearings, thoughs are very common to go on yamaha sport machines.

2000 SCRAMBLER 400 2X4

SCRAMDADDY400

 

Blaster96, i am assuming your refering to the gearbox oil... there is no way physically possible for metal from the crankcase / cylinder to get into your gearbox!!! If there were metal pieces big enough to see coming off of your piston, you would have alot bigger problems than a little metal in your oil, you would have a blown engine!! The lower end of the crank assembly is separate from the transmission... trust me!! The metal you are seeing in your oil is more than likely coming from your clutch or some of the other metal parts in the transmission.