help whats all the ticking about

[superjet]

Hi all newbie question went out on my 400 ex yesterday fine at the start of the day but after about 3 hours i noticed an unusual ticking noise so i headed for home once i removed my crash helmet i realised how loud the ticking actually was (:( NOT GOOD)it sounds like valve clearance / tappets being a mile out but ive just checked and adjusted them and it still sounds like a bucket of nails WHAT NEXT I NEED HELP

[Bill Fuller]

Sounds to me like you adjusted the valves when the decompression valve was on the decompressor stroke. Make sure that when you are on TDC that the cam lobes are facing down.Sometimes this may require you to rotate the motor another turn.

[n811]

Sometimes a noisy cam chain can throw you off.:ermm:

[dariusld]

Is the bike stock? Do you have a cam? Everyones first guess woudl be Bill's guess. What are you adjusting them too?

[superjet]

Hi sorry for the delayed reply i adjusted the valve clearances as per a previous posting on this site 0.004 exhaust and 0.005 inlet

but im sure this is not my problem the quad was fine at the start of the day.
and ticking VERY LOUD after 3 hours
the valve clearance was done just for peace of mind and to see if it cured the problem
the quad is mainly stock apart from a AMG stage 2 revbox and coil
i cant explain how loud the ticking is but i know its not right and so would anyone if they heard it hope this helps with any further
diagnosis

[Bill Fuller]

Did you ever loosen the cam chain tensioner?

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by superjet
Hi sorry for the delayed reply i adjusted the valve clearances as per a previous posting on this site 0.004 exhaust and 0.005 inlet

but im sure this is not my problem the quad was fine at the start of the day.
and ticking VERY LOUD after 3 hours
the valve clearance was done just for peace of mind and to see if it cured the problem
the quad is mainly stock apart from a AMG stage 2 revbox and coil
i cant explain how loud the ticking is but i know its not right and so would anyone if they heard it hope this helps with any further
diagnosis

are those clearances opposite of what they should be or is it just me..? i always thought the exhaust valves were set at .005?

[GlowBoy]

Check the oil too, I had a friend who's was ticking for the longest time(Yeah he's a moron) turns out he was low on oil. Could be chain parts too.

[XtremelyCrazy]

Originally posted by Pipeless416
are those clearances opposite of what they should be or is it just me..? i always thought the exhaust valves were set at .005?

I too thought exhaust valve clearances were always larger due to heat expansion.

Not that I'm an experienced motor builder.

[DF400ex]

as per the Honda Service manual...

Inlet clearance should be .004
Exhaust clearance should be .005

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by DF400ex
as per the Honda Service manual...

Inlet clearance should be .004
Exhaust clearance should be .005

so maybe its a clearance issue with the exhaust lashes being too tight?

[Sparky_20]

tight valves wont make noise. You should adjust your valves to the correct clearance then re-check. It wouldnt be a bad idea to check your cam chain like everyone else has said. Maybe try running thicker oil?

[superjet]

ok hands up i posted the clearances back to front but i did them right on the quad as stated exhaust .005 inlet .004 i have never touched the cam chain tensioner or the chain its self sounds to me as though i should get a manual getting a bit technical now im no numty round an engine but i do prefer working on two strokes lot less bits to go wrong any further help would be great. thank you all for your replies so far