Cam Chain

[olebiker]

Thought while I had the beast apart I better pull the cam chain tensioner. It seems that my cam chain is toast. It looks like it is at the very end of adjustment and maybe the chain is still not tight enough. I am also wondering if I should find another adjuster. This one was stripped and I had it tapped to next size but I am not too sure about the threads on it. On the other hand how do I know if a used one is any better. I also decided that the difference between the new clutch springs and the old is not very much so I am gonna put in new friction plates as well. If the darn thing slips after this I will shoot the old girl.

[trbig]

Just drop an extra steel plate in the thing and be done with it. (Clutch-wise) No new springs, no new friction plates.

If you fixed and tapped the adjuster right, the new threads should be fine until you gorilla the bolt again. It doesn't take much on the bolt... and that's what that nut is there for.. so you don't have to. You can get rid of the gasket and just use Yamabond/Tribond for now, but replace the chain if it needs it.

Clean both surfaces.. head and adjuster... push the plunger in with your hand and tighten the bolt. Bolt the adjuster up to the head... loosen the bolt and listen for the pop against the chain... then tighten the bolt. REMOVE the adjuster as it sits and measure from the mating surface to the end of the plunger button. Loosen the bolt and let it adjust all the way out. If it moves some, it will still work, but if it barely moves, time for a new chain. There is no "Go/No Go" measuement. When the plunger pops out, sometimes it's difficult to see how far it moved since it does it so fast. A measurement will keep you from having to do it all over again.

By removing the gasket, you give it that thickness more to adjust.

Tod

[DiverRay]

I would put in NEW,HEAVY DUTY clutch springs!! It really does NOT take much to let the clutch slip.
Tod has the answer on the cam chain. If you do need to replace it, when it comes time, start with the mark at TDC, NOT CAM!! pull the old chain, with the new chain tied to it, and when you put the new master link on, THEN rotate the crank SLOWLY, WATCHING THE CAMS to make sure the crank gear is fully engaged.
stop at the "CAM mark, and insert the adjuster as per Tod's instructions.

[olebiker]

Thanks guys. I already have new heavy duty springs. I am just getting paranoid cause I don't wanna tear it down again this summer. I used calipers to measure the adjuster and yeah I need a new chain. I didn't do the rethread job as I was on my way to the east rally. It was done by a kid in a car shop. I am not real confident in his work. The threads look shallow to me just eyeballing it.

[Bob Falter]

Just putting in an extra steel clutch plate has solved the clutch problems for serveral people.

Bob

[trbig]

You don't even have to drain your oil to do this to the clutch. Just lean it on the sidestand and you can take the clutch cover off. I guess as far as that goes, you don't have to drain the oil for a cam chain either??


Tod

[CarolynS]

Cam chain

Yeah, replace it! Don't end up like me-8 valves bent and two broken valve guides. The PO never did anything to mine-adjuster was maxed out, and the chain still had enough play to jump the teeth. Ed said that is what caused the whole problem-well that and the fact the PO was an idiot. He cleaned the adjuster up, did some magic to it(I have no idea what)and says it's good as new.
Z1 enterprises had the chain and link for under $25, and I got it in two days! I ordered it on June 6th.
Good luck with it.

[olebiker]

I have bent valves. I thought that it was from the kid doing the rethreading job not backing the tighting screw off far enough but now I believe it may have been that the adjuster was at it's full length and the cam chain was still loose enough to jump a tooth. The fricton plates are ordered as is the cam chain and link. I ordered them from partsnmore as they don't charge shipping in Canada. I already have the springs. Once the new head is set up I will reassemble it all. If I haven't broken the bank I will decide when I see how it runs if I want to good all new exhaust or clean the headers and refinish plus some new slipons. I just hope I don't mess up the reassemble on the heads as that would make for a very bad day.

[olebiker]

I have already drained the oil. I am sure it will be hard enough to thread the new cam chain without doing it under the oil. Plus other people have access to the building my bike is in and if the bike was moved at all the oil would make an awful mess.

[trbig]

Just read again what Diverray wrote. While installing cams on a '78 head, I rotated the crank without watching the cams. There is a possibility of the cam chain sitting NEXT to the crank gear, not on it. You can shine a light down the center of the motor to actually see and verify that it is on the crank sprocket.

I still have that head with bent valves in my garage... The crank turned, but the cams never did.

One other thing, when installing the cams and getting them on the timing marks, if you keep the chain tight on the back side of the motor, loose side to the front, it will keep the cams in time. The back is the side the crank pulls the cam chain down. If it is loose, it will pull the chain some and get the slack out before it starts moving the cams... making you one tooth off on your cam sprocket which puts it off of timing by over 20 degrees.


Tod

[olebiker]

I have read your experience as well as others. I like to read. That might be why I am a bit concerned. Man when I think back to bein a kid tearing down engines splitting the bases working with no manuals no tools and a garage with a dirt floor. I usually had a few parts left over even if I had been in a couple of times. Now I worry course things do cost a bit more now.

[dbeardslee]

Gotta agree with Trbig on the clutch replacement - use the kickstand and you won't have to mess with the oil. I will add this - take a piece of relatively stiff wire and attach it to the kickstand so that it cannot move back. You have to put a fair amount of force on the nut that holds the basket on, and you don't want the bike moving forward and falling over. TC has an excellent post in the tech tips for clutch replacement.

I put in a partsnmore cam chain a couple months ago, and it works fine. It may stretch a bit at first, so for the first several hundred miles you may need to retention. Do not crimp the rivets on the link until you are sure you are on the marks - timing plate set to "T" and the dots lined up on the cams. It's very easy to get it one tooth off, and with a new chain they should be pretty much dead-on the dots. Also, make sure the chain is on the lower sprocket before you crimp.

[Bigleo]

Hi Carl,
I just did the cam chain thing myself. Being paranoid about bending the valves, I loosened all the cam bearing caps so all the valves were closed before proceeding. I then cut the chain, then temporarily linked the new chain to it using the new link and plate with duct tape wrapped around it for added insurance. Slowly cranked the engine by hand as I fed the chain through. No problem at all. Then line up the crank on the correct mark. Then rotate the cams so the small hole on the cams line up with the arrow on the middle cam bearing cap and tighten the caps down. The cam chain tensioner should be removed. Hang the chain over the cam sprockets and install the link. If the chain is really tight, you may have to loosen the exhaust cam sprocket temporarily to get it on. Then do the cam chain tensioner procedure and you are finished. Good luck.
Leo

[CarolynS]

This is why I cried 'Uncle'...

Just reading this thread is enough to make you nervous.
So many things to remember to do when putting it back together. I had a PM from another member to go step by step in the disassemble, so I didn't miss anything and I knew where the pitfalls were. I am new to this after all. That was nerve-wracking enough. I was petrified to try to put it back together, so I called in the 'expert'. Someday, I'll do it all myself...
I'll ask Ed what he did to the tensioner to refurbish it, and see if it's anything that could be of help. You should see what he did with the air valves on my forks so I could lower the bike even more...Brilliant!

[trbig]

You should see what he did with the air valves on my forks so I could lower the bike even more...Brilliant!

Hmmm....

With a few pics.. we actually could!


Tod