heavy duty cam chain?

[Pipeless416]

hey guys, i don't post in the z, kfx, dvx section much, but anyway my dad has an 04 z400 and recently it has been knocking a little bit. my first thought was that the cam chain is stretched out, but since im at school and not home, i told him to take it in to the dealer for a valve adjustment. they did the adjustment, and the knocking was still there. turns out, my first guess was correct, the chain is shot, along with the cam chain guides. do any companies make a heavy duty cam chain for these engines, or do any other models chains fit that are thicker? im only asking because my brother and i both have 400ex's and the crf450 cam chain acts as a heavy duty replacement.. any thoughts? btw, they're charging $850 to do this..:rolleyes: seems pretty steep to me, but i guess it always is when the cases are split. i wish i were home so i could do it with just the cost of parts... thanks for any advice

[Jimbo M]

I bought a cam chain from Advantage Cylce in Indianola, Ia. for $65 plus bought the right side engine case gasket for approx. $12. I paid $180 to have it installed from a small motorcycle repair shop. No more engine ticking.
I'm an EIU grad '82. Go Panthers!! Jimbo

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by Jimbo M
I bought a cam chain from Advantage Cylce in Indianola, Ia. for $65 plus bought the right side engine case gasket for approx. $12. I paid $180 to have it installed from a small motorcycle repair shop. No more engine ticking.
I'm an EIU grad '82. Go Panthers!! Jimbo

haha small world! so on a z you do need to split the cases to change the cam chain, correct?

[Pipeless416]

ok after doing a search, i found that DID makes a 4/5 pitch cam chain, which is "wider than stock," and isn't considered a direct replacement. they also have a 3/4 pitch chain, which is considered a direct replacement.. anybody have any knowledge of the the 4/5, or any other heavy duty alternatives?

[Jimbo M]

You do not have to split the cases if I'm correct. Just the right side engine case and drop it down from above. Do a search on this forum, I know there is a ton of info on this. I printed it up and brought it to the shop that did my engine work. The 4/5 pitch chain is not for stock internals - only for highly mod motors. Call the guy at Advantage Cycles. He is a very decent guy to deal with. You should be fine with the DID 3/4 chain. Its much better than stock. Jimbo

[Pipeless416]

thanks for all the help jimbo, thats where i was looking at for the cam chain, but we decided to just have the work done by the dealer, because if we just tell them to stop and we pick it up in pieces.. well there goes another dealer down the drain, and we're running out! lol. honest dealers are hard to come by in my area. after we get it back with the new chain and guides, i'm going to get a manual cam chain tensioner, after figuring out that the stock tensioner is what causes the premature wear. again, thanks for all the help, and go panthers!:muscle: :p

[sprocket226]

Jimbo's correct, you don't have to split the cases. Just pull the clutch cover, clutch and primary nut. If you're changing both sliders, you have to pull the head. My engine was ticking pretty bad, and had like 1 or 2 clicks left on the ACCT, so I put the DID 3/4 in mine. Nice and quiet now. Cost me less than $100 and one afternoon.

[Pipeless416]

so its the exact same setup as a 400ex as far as cam chain routing and guides go.. and i can work on those with my eyes closed now, figures.. oh well, whats another $700-750 on top of what it should cost for parts, right guys? :o :ermm:

[Limited Z_400]

my z needs a timing chain too.

[ltz440rider]

me too a dealer said they would charge me like $260 to do it but ima try to find a friend.