FJ1346 from ashes to... Well, we'll see...

[fj11.5]

Bloody nice work mate, glad you found that chain issue, they damage enough going slow    ,, kind of glad I have a fibrerglass fairing

[RichBaker]

Wrap a piece of safety wire around your clip link.  It makes for a very easy thing to see on visual inspection.

If you have the option, a gold/chrome/colored master link is very easy to spot if the rest of the chain is a different finish, as well.

Yep... A good friend has an old Husky, every time he'd back it up, the clip would get pushed off. He finally did the safety wire trick and it never happened again.....

[skymasteres]

Wrap a piece of safety wire around your clip link.  It makes for a very easy thing to see on visual inspection.

If you have the option, a gold/chrome/colored master link is very easy to spot if the rest of the chain is a different finish, as well.

Yep... A good friend has an old Husky, every time he'd back it up, the clip would get pushed off. He finally did the safety wire trick and it never happened again.....

You know FJMonkey had the same comment as well. I'm going to have to get myself some safety wire.
(Sure beats the alternative)

You need to use more zip ties.

You know, I normally don't use that many zip ties. But, if you look at the way instrumentation harnesses are
all trussed up... then yeah, I didn't use nearly enough.   

Actually, all kidding aside, I used silicone insulated wire. This stuff is commonly referred to as "Noodle Wire"
because of its flexibility. The positive with this is it has an extremely high current capacity for it's size. The
down side is it doesn't hold its position at all without help. But, when you tie it together in bundles it starts
behaving wonderfully and you can put it exactly where you want it. It also has excellent fatigue characteristics
when bundled this way, so even after extended periods of being bent and straightened it doesn't break.

On a side note. These are a really REALLY BAD on a less than quarter turn throttle. (A few scary moments of
getting on the throttle when moving it around in the yard and it came right off)

[fj11.5]

+1 on the silicone coated wire, I use it on rc stuff, , I have one of those throttle  control thingo's , never had it come off, you must have different handgrips , as the need friction to stay secure

[skymasteres]

+1 on the silicone coated wire, I use it on rc stuff, , I have one of those throttle  control thingo's , never had it come off, you must have different handgrips , as the need friction to stay secure

Silicone insulated. Although on the jets they sometimes use Pam and spray the wires down so they can fish then through tight spaces.   And I think you misunderstood.  The crampbuster didn't "fall off" I removed it with extreme predgedigice because I almost dumped the bike in the front yard. (I was on the clutch quick enough to avoid disaster)



Okay, so now I have a real problem that I'm trying to get to the bottom of. After pulling the exhaust off and properly torquing all of the oil pan bolts. I don't think I'm leaking oil from engine case anymore, but I'm smoking more now.

I thought I was using more oil because I would get the oil light coming on under heavy acceleration.  But it would also flicker up at 5000 rpm plus in sustained cruising.  Another thing that's bothering me is I have about 6 quarts of oil in the crankcase right now. When it's been sitting on the center stand overnight the oil level is completely above the sight window in the clutch cover. Once I start the engine the oil level drops to below the bottom of the sight window after about two minutes. 

There is also a sort of sharp sounding clackclackclack (really fast repetition) that appears to be coming from number four under the valve cover when I rev from idle to 6k.

The last symptom is that has happened on my last few rides is that the clutch starts to slip at full throttle in top gear at about 8500 rpm. I of course backed off, and I was getting the flickering oil light.  When I got home I checked the oil and it was low, until I shut the motor off and it started to drain back into the case. The oil fill cap was so hot it was just about burning my fingers when I took it off. And there was smoke comming out of the fill port for a while. (I think the clutch was probably REALLY HOT) The oil drain back issue has me really concerned.  That and the new noise.

I don't know what's going on,  but I want to  find out before I ride it again.

[Pat Conlon]

The dropping of the oil level when the engine is running is standard. The low oil level upon immediate shutdown is also standard. Your instinct is correct, the oil needs time to drain back to the crankcase before you get a correct reading. Check your oil in the morning with a cold engine.
Use the correct amount of oil as specified in the manual, unless you have a spin on filter conversion which will hold just a bit more oil (depending on the filter) Overfilling the crankcase with oil causes all kinds of problems along with loss of power.
I can't say why you are using so much oil...a compression test would be a start....perhaps it's just the symptom of normal break in? Dunno.

I know on my 1350, it appears that I had a fuel washdown issue with #1 and #3 causing a lack of critical cylinder wall lubrication which in turn, caused the new unseated rings to gouge the cylinder wall....the oil consumption never got better. I knew something bad had happened at my first oil change when I saw large slivers of steel in my oil.
Randy is fixing it as we speak.

Sigh.....isn't this fun?

[fj11.5]

Sorry mate, I missread it , noticed that when I fitted my own, very touchy throttle with it fited

[JMR]

The dropping of the oil level when the engine is running is standard. The low oil level upon immediate shutdown is also standard. Your instinct is correct, the oil needs time to drain back to the crankcase before you get a correct reading. Check your oil in the morning with a cold engine.
Use the correct amount of oil as specified in the manual, unless you have a spin on filter conversion which will hold just a bit more oil (depending on the filter) Overfilling the crankcase with oil causes all kinds of problems along with loss of power.
I can't say why you are using so much oil...a compression test would be a start....perhaps it's just the symptom of normal break in? Dunno.

I know on my 1350, it appears that I had a fuel washdown issue with #1 and #3 causing a lack of critical cylinder wall lubrication which in turn, caused the new unseated rings to gouge the cylinder wall....the oil consumption never got better. I knew something bad had happened at my first oil change when I saw large slivers of steel in my oil.
Randy is fixing it as we speak.

Sigh.....isn't this fun?

What caused the washdown Pat? Overly rich mixture, bad float needles etc? Were you using the stock 36 carbs?

[skymasteres]

I can't say why you are using so much oil...a compression test would be a start....perhaps it's just the symptom of normal break in? Dunno.

I know on my 1350, it appears that I had a fuel washdown issue with #1 and #3 causing a lack of critical cylinder wall lubrication which in turn, caused the new unseated rings to gouge the cylinder wall....the oil consumption never got better. I knew something bad had happened at my first oil change when I saw large slivers of steel in my oil.
Randy is fixing it as we speak.

Sigh.....isn't this fun?

Well I got the compression test done and this is what I can out with:

#1 188 PSI then up to 225 PSI with 6ml of oil down in the cylinder
#2 149 PSI then up to 200 PSI with 6ml  "  "      "     "  "        "
#3 180 PSI then up to 220 PSI with 6ml  "  "      "     "  "        "
#4 175 PSI then up to 235 PSI with 6ml  "  "      "     "  "        "

Here are pictures of the plugs while I'm at it.

Number one looks pretty good.



Number two looks bloody awful.



Number three looks good as well.



Number four is unbelievably clean.



The thing that really kills me is the change in the intake valve clearance on number 4.
It went from 12 thousandths to 8 for no apparent reason.



So now I'm wondering if that noise is the intake valve tapping the piston...

[fintip]

Well that's all terrifying. Rebuilding an engine is an intimidating prospect. For so many people, it seems to be hit-or-miss. Very hard to hit perfection, very tight tolerances.

Good thing you checked your valve clearances again. Any chance of a wrong reading before? Could it be valve spring wear?

[Pat Conlon]

Loosing valve clearance means that the valve is receding into the valve seat. Time to get a shim and tool from Randy. The Yamaha maintenance specifications say to check your valves at the first 500 mile mark for just such a reason.
The valve is moving further away from the piston crown when the clearance tightens...
The sequence of the tapping, is it 1/2 the crank speed? The cams rotate at 1/2 the crank speed.

Can you get access to a bore scope? Take a look at the cylinder walls of #2.
Perhaps you just need to rehone and reseat your rings but, doubtful with that amount of oil consumption.

[ribbert]

I don't think I'm leaking oil from engine case anymore, but I'm smoking more now.

I have about 6 quarts of oil in the crankcase right now.

The oil fill cap was so hot it was just about burning my fingers when I took it off. And there was smoke comming out of the fill port for a while. (I think the clutch was probably REALLY HOT)

A couple of suggestions. In case you missed this in the body of Pat's text or failed to attach sufficient importance to it, 6 qts is way too much oil and overfilling engines is one way to bring on leaks.
Once you fill it above the sight glass, you have no idea how much is in there.

The clutch shouldn't get hot unless it's slipping and even then should return to oil temperature pretty quickly. Are you sure it's not the oil that's hot? If the heat source was the clutch there should be a very distinctive smell with cap off.

Is there any chance the oil ring expander was not fitted correctly (butted not overlapped) or the gaps sufficiently staggered? I know, it's a depressing thought, but do you remember addressing this when installing the rings?

Noel

[FJscott]

I don't think I'm leaking oil from engine case anymore, but I'm smoking more now.

I have about 6 quarts of oil in the crankcase right now.

The oil fill cap was so hot it was just about burning my fingers when I took it off. And there was smoke comming out of the fill port for a while. (I think the clutch was probably REALLY HOT)

running that much oil in the crankcase you risk the crank webs aerating the oil by contact. this aeration
of the oil results in decreased lubrication in the bearings because the oil loses its ability for hydrostatic lift. it also loses enthalpy, its ability to transfer heat. removing heat from the engine and rejecting heat in the cooler.I hope this hasnt happened, more oil isnt better.
Scott

A couple of suggestions. In case you missed this in the body of Pat's text or failed to attach sufficient importance to it, 6 qts is way too much oil and overfilling engines is one way to bring on leaks.
Once you fill it above the sight glass, you have no idea how much is in there.

The clutch shouldn't get hot unless it's slipping and even then should return to oil temperature pretty quickly. Are you sure it's not the oil that's hot? If the heat source was the clutch there should be a very distinctive smell with cap off.

Is there any chance the oil ring expander was not fitted correctly (butted not overlapped) or the gaps sufficiently staggered? I know, it's a depressing thought, but do you remember addressing this when installing the rings?

Noel

[fintip]

I don't think I'm leaking oil from engine case anymore, but I'm smoking more now.

I have about 6 quarts of oil in the crankcase right now.

The oil fill cap was so hot it was just about burning my fingers when I took it off. And there was smoke comming out of the fill port for a while. (I think the clutch was probably REALLY HOT)

running that much oil in the crankcase you risk the crank webs aerating the oil by contact. this aeration
of the oil results in decreased lubrication in the bearings because the oil loses its ability for hydrostatic lift. it also loses enthalpy, its ability to transfer heat. removing heat from the engine and rejecting heat in the cooler.I hope this hasnt happened, more oil isnt better.
Scott

A couple of suggestions. In case you missed this in the body of Pat's text or failed to attach sufficient importance to it, 6 qts is way too much oil and overfilling engines is one way to bring on leaks.
Once you fill it above the sight glass, you have no idea how much is in there.

The clutch shouldn't get hot unless it's slipping and even then should return to oil temperature pretty quickly. Are you sure it's not the oil that's hot? If the heat source was the clutch there should be a very distinctive smell with cap off.

Is there any chance the oil ring expander was not fitted correctly (butted not overlapped) or the gaps sufficiently staggered? I know, it's a depressing thought, but do you remember addressing this when installing the rings?

Noel

Just making Scott's contribution more readable. He added the bolded part in his comment, but didn't handle the 'quote' code properly.

[RichBaker]

You know, I normally don't use that many zip ties. But, if you look at the way instrumentation harnesses are
all trussed up... then yeah, I didn't use nearly enough.   

We use this stuff a lot...

Here's how http://www.dairiki.org/hammond/cable-lacing-howto/

It makes for a much smaller bundle, and saves a LOT on zip ties.