Bad Sound

[ToddG]

On the way home from work today, the GS started making a high-pitched squeel when idling A smal amount of revs amd the sound goes away. I check the oil when i get home and its below the dipstick! I just changed the oil and filter less than 200 miles ago and checked the level less than a 100 miles back! I added about 1.5 quarts to get it back to normal. The sound did not go away and appears to be coming from the cam and head area. I assume this is a very bad thing....

[GeeP]

Sounds like you ran out of oil, or came very close.  As I recall, about .4 quarts aren't reachable by the oil sump pickup.

The screeching noise is likely a camshaft bearing, assuming it ran without oil for any significant period of time.  You won't know for certain unless you remove the cam caps and inspect them for damage.

If the engine ran out of oil, the red oil light should have been on with the engine running.  You can check your oil light bulb by turning the key on in the garage.  The red oil light should light up with the engine off.

[ToddG]

Oil light never came on and does work.

[ToddG]

Also, bike has only 1800 miles on it. It runs great!

[ToddG]

How hard is it to change a cam bearing? Are they ball bearing or other?

[The Buddha]

Cam bearings cannot be changed. They are like ... non existent, they are the head.
If you need a cam bearing, either replace the head or the whole motor.
Oil starvation is probably your cause of death, and yes cams are the first port of call on that ship. though I have seen crank bearings and rod bearings die from oil starvation, cams were not that far behind. Logic dictates cams should go first, but you swap the head and 100 miles later the cran bearings go ... not a pretty situation.
Cool.
Buddha.

[The Buddha]

Oil light never came on and does work.

It is set to trip at ~0 psi. Or 2-3 psi. You see that light while riding, its adios. Now yamahas will trip that light based on level. A sudden hard acceleration especially when its not fully hot will trip that light, but in effect its an indication that the oil pump is working.
Cool.
Buddha.

[ToddG]

NOT good news

[The Buddha]

OK so the motor ran after that ?
How about you take off the cam tower caps and put a pic up.
Cool.
Buddha.

[ToddG]

The motor actually runs fine but makes the high-pitched noise. I'll pull the valve cover tonight and post a pic. I bought the bike with 1700 miles on it and it had sat for years. I changed the oil and filter before I tried to start it of course. I'm wondering if the long rest had something to do with the oil problem.

[The Buddha]

Long rest - Maybe not. Low oil, definetly ... and screeching is indicative of a galling type wear ... lower ends will start making a tapping sound usually at trailing throttle, followed by all the time, followed by a louder banging followed by either stuff locking up from weird pockets of heat, or having so much slop it makes no compression, does not start and makes banging noises while attempting to.
You sure its not a chain rattling type ... cos that prolly is CCT or a guide getting worn ... prolly not oil related though ...
Cool.
Buddha.

[ToddG]

No rattle, bang, clang or whoop. Just a "nails-on-chalkboard" bearing-death sound.

[The Buddha]

Yea sorry does sound like stuff is galling and tearing itself up ...
I haven't heard the cam bearings go but yea I know they do. Maybe you can make a sound clip and we can add it to the FAQ.
Then you inspect it and maybe document what you do to fix it.
Cool.
Buddha.

[ToddG]

Wierd. After I started it up tonight no noise. I let it idle a while and heard the noise starting to come back. I blipped the throttle and it disappeared. Now it doesn't do it no matter what i try. I let it idle for 20 minutes figuring this would be the hardest on the oil flow and nothing. I know this is a temporary thing as these things just don't "go away".

[The Buddha]

Cam chain tensioner ... somehting in the guide or somehting ...
CCT noises are insanely hard to figure out. OK now CCT if the guide was getting eaten, it will leave chunks of rubber in the oil. Drain it and look for it.
If the guides are worn, the chain will show scrapes and signs of wear too. Take off the valve cover and look.
I had a moron friend that had the CCT fail on his savage and had the cam chain cut a near trench in the side of his motor - it was a 1 cyl so its on the sdie ... It left fine aluminum powder in the oil though. Drain and search the oil, like panning for gold.
Cool.
Buddha.