So today i attempted to sync my carbs (whole 'nother story, but i digress).  While listing to the engine there is a clacking noise coming from the cam area that i have not noticed before.  I did open it up last night to check on the valves; 3 were tight but i could still rotate the shim ( my smallest feeler gauge is .038mm) and i though they could wait until next week when my dealer gets them in stock.

It shounds like clack,clack,clack..clack,clack,clack and matches RPM. i cannot hear it over 3K rpm but that may just be because of engine noise. is this just valve noise?

here is a video clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76VL0AUPB8s

cam chain freeplay. it's probably just the chain knocking around, something the GS is known for

i never hear that before.  Can i get rid of it? lol

adjust the cam chain tensioner maybe?  if i rotated the engine against the normal direction of travel, could that have effected anything?

Thanks

the cam chain tensioner is an automatic one, so theoretically it's doing all it can.. if you are SURE it's only just started, maybe you can double check anything it could be hitting by taking the valve cover off again? not sure if timing could affect it but maybe there's an off chance the timing jumped a tooth?

i dont think there's anything wrong with turning the crank the opposite way but that COULD (i have no real clue if it can) have pulled a tooth and changed the timing

Dude! This is kinda what mine sounds like and I was freaking out thinking it was piston slap. It does seem to come from the top of the motor too. Is yours really audible? Like someone walking by would go "oh dear, what is that?"

I'm about to go out and double check my timing, if I jumped a tooth at the crank, TDC would no longer be TDC, so screwdriver in the spark plug it is. Then I can make sure the cams are right. I'm also going to run a compression check, and maybe I can take a cell phone vid and post mine to try and get some more info.

Mine has been making a similar, irregular "clacking" noise for probably as long as I've had it.  When I first took the bike to Buddha he thought I bent a valve... I didn't.  So what was it? I still don't know.  the noise is definitely coming from in the head and sounds just like the lifters that used to tick in my old mazda (car).  The sound is irregular and sometimes isnt detectable.

My theory is this... oil is not reaching ALL parts of the head with correct pressure when idling.  I think it could be from the almost 30k miles on the bike causing the oil pump (or whatever pushes oil up the engine) to wear and thus a slight loss in pressure.  In my case, the bike, more often than not, will stop clacking once I've had it at speed for a few miles.  Likewise, it seems to go away when I rev the engine and hold it there, but that could just be other, louder, engine noise drowning it out.

I would be curious to see what the year and mileage is for others with this problem... mine's a '90 with about 29,000 on it.
   
Also, a buddy of mine who drag races bikes thought my cam chain was too loose  when we were adjusting the valve clearance about 2 months ago...  I haven't checked the tensioner to see if it's maxed out (i know, its automatic) but I don't think this is the source in my case... i don't know that for sure

My video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_zAH1_mUUI



Mine's louder and uglier. Sigh.

EDIT: Forgot to actually add the link, mines definately not end play, something is seriously up.

I think camshaft end-play.

This happens to my bike once or so a month... is the clacking noise constant on yours or does it come and go?

Quote from: SlimKlim on July 17, 2010, 02:24:48 PM
My video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_zAH1_mUUI



Mine's louder and uglier. Sigh.

EDIT: Forgot to actually add the link, mines definately not end play, something is seriously up.

WoW! slim yeah yours is louder than mine! Sorry to hear that

I have noise but not as bad as Slim's i think mine is from the top end

get a section of hose, put it to your ear, and run the bike. move the hose around the engine, listen for the clack. upper left side of head ? cam play. lowest section of block ? lots of things. forget it if it's upper left. ride the bike.

got oil  ?

wow, what a genius Idea... I wish I had thought of that! 

Mine is definetly not the same noise as in Slim's video... I'm gonna go to the hose trick in my apt parking lot so all the neighbors can think I've lost it!

Quote from: ohgood on July 18, 2010, 06:46:31 AM
get a section of hose, put it to your ear, and run the bike. move the hose around the engine, listen for the clack. upper left side of head ? cam play. lowest section of block ? lots of things. forget it if it's upper left. ride the bike.

got oil  ?

LMFAO!!! Well mine is coming from top left so i hope mine is ok.


But for Slim i dont know how much you can spend but i have seen some low mile motors on ebay with less than 2k up to 10k on them. from $500-1500 but hell i pad $1100 for my GS so the thought of spending more than $500-600 on a motor is not a option for me. But if you did have to do a new motor try to find a GS650 motor (more power) and it will drop right in. I was told that Buddha did one in a gs with no problems. While im searching the net i will keep an eye out for you

so after riding the bike today the noise has stopped  

dont know why but im happy it did lol.  i feel this may come back and bite me in the ass later.

Quote from: ameen on July 18, 2010, 07:35:14 PM
so after riding the bike today the noise has stopped  

dont know why but im happy it did lol.  i feel this may come back and bite me in the ass later.

check out goats syndrome, and the others. sounds like you might have a magnet trying to assplode your engine.

My engine has the same clacking sound, only mine is intermittent, happens for about 6 times and then stops for a few seconds then comes back and so on.
I wonder if it's the same problem or something else.

ohgood, wouldn't the clacking sound be heard on the left side, where the stator is, not in the head?

Sebulba

I swear the more you listen for stuff, the more wierd stuff your hear! 

Quote from: importslife on July 18, 2010, 06:17:28 PM


But if you did have to do a new motor try to find a GS650 motor (more power) and it will drop right in. I was told that Buddha did one in a gs with no problems.

I don't think that's going to "drop right in". Although similar to the 500, its a whole different motor and I believe a very tight fit, with mounts etc needing modification. The only thing that would drop right in would be a GS450!

Pretty sure it was a GR650, not a popular model so it might be hard to find. Not worth the swap. GS650 is a much wider 4 cylinder.