Do I see a light at the end???

[rd2005]

Just got to vent about my poor bike. :( The darn thing is still down & I only rode it 3 times before she just stopped. I got it in January & it's sucking my wallet dry. I have had 3 different electrical issues including replacing the stator because of previous owners stupidity, replacing the kill switch/starter on the handle bars, a blown head gasket, over torqued/stripped head bolts, bolts that were broken in the top cylinder, an eaten cam chain guide, now I found the bolt that holds the black chain tensioner inside the right side crank case is wallered out! How it didn't come out & chew up the gears is luck & beyond me! Darn the previous owner! You had NO CLUE what you were doing! I have different sized bolts everywhere that makes it more frustrating. So I bought a new cam chain for no reason. Here is a pic of my bike basically in pieces.
<a href="http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/ff282/EMT_DIVER/?action=view&amp;current=DSC05916.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff282/EMT_DIVER/DSC05916.jpg" border="0" alt="400EX"></a>

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff282/EMT_DIVER/DSC05918.jpg
But just maybe I see a light at the end of this tunnel??? If I find no other problems in the engine the next thing that I suspect will happen is problems with the carb air screw. The wire is all messed up & is practically non functional so I wonder how will I fix that??? Oh well. Ok I now feel better that I vented! :D I return you to your regularly scheduled forum!

[Stark]

man that sucks! Ever think about just buying some new cases and a new cylinder?

[honda400ex2003]

no offense here but why buy something that had so many issues? I feel your pain but it could have been avoided by purchasing one in better shape.

it sounds like you would be better off to scrap the whole motor and drop a different one in there that runs.

the frame is in good shape it looks like so it is worth fixing up a bit.

keep your head up, sooner later it will be a great machine.

steve

[AtvKid4Eva]

^^ agreed. Unless you got that thing for basically free.

[2001400exrida]

i don't think he knew it had these issues until he got into the motor.

i bought a cheap beater and fixed it up and there were a couple things messed up that i would not have known unless i took the motor apart before buying.

it comes with the territory. the good thing about my purchase was that i knew nobody had gotten into the motor besides putting a cam in. so was working with a stock piston and lower.

[rd2005]

Honestly I had no idea it was this messed up. There is also some ingnorance on my part when it comes to buying an atv. But with that being said I rode the thing before I bought it & it shifted smoothly & ran/started fine. The only thing I knew that did not work was the kill switch part & other very small things lije light bulb blown & so on. He said he had done some stuff like changed piston, rings, cam chain, & had local Honda dealer hoan the sleeve. It was just a ticking time bomb so who knew??? After it quit & I got into it then the problems surfaced. By the way I did get a good deal on it! Thanks for the comnents. I just had to vent! LOL! I'm going to keep her though. Put to much time & money not to. I'll get it there & will get to ride it at some point this summer...I hope! ;-)

[honda400ex2003]

bummer man!

you will have it fixed up nicely in no time though, keep your head up and keep plugging away when you can.

:D I look forward to seeing some pics of it making progress.

steve

[Tyler01]

Sounds like u just need to keep that for parts and just buy another one or just buy another motor

[rd2005]

Originally posted by Tyler01
Sounds like u just need to keep that for parts and just buy another one or just buy another motor

I should but I just can't.
Well I just left the garage discusted. I have been working on this bike since 12:30pm today & it's now 10pm. Put it all back together & guess what...SOS!!! Turns over but never runs just this gulp sound. So I am going to have to break down & take it to the stealership :-( Its doing the same thing that it was before I changed everything. The motor looks good now. I wonder if timming is off. I aligned the cam chain sprocket with the center mark...blah blah. I get a great blue spark, the spark plug is gapped correctly, & so on. Oh well it just will have to eat more of my wallet up :-(

[honda400ex2003]

that would be my guess on the timing.

I would def check that out again after taking a break for the rest of the night.

theres no need to take it to a dealer yet, we can get you through it. take a break for the rest of the night and come back to it tomorrow refreshed instead of wore out and irritated. you will get it going, it just takes more time sometimes.

steve

[CJM]

Timing chain and or tensioner is bad or the timing itself is off if it makes the gulp sounds. Been there done that have the t-shirt already 2x!

[rd2005]

Originally posted by CJM
Timing chain and or tensioner is bad or the timing itself is off if it makes the gulp sounds. Been there done that have the t-shirt already 2x!

Hey Thanks Steve!:)
Regarding the tensioner it is good. Inspected it & I am unable to push it in. The only way to move the post on tensioner is to turn the inside adjustment with a small flat head screw driver. I fixed the other tensioner (long black rod) by drilling new hole for that & putting the spacer/dowel back on with it. It is now functional. How can timming be off???
I turned the flywheel to the T mark (TDC) in the peep whole, cam sprocket set to out with marks center on top & a mark on left/right side even with jug. The cam bars are facing down. What more can I do to put it in time??? Is there something i'm missing??? Combing thru book this morning & looking thru old posts. Thanks

[WoodTRD]

Does it have a stock cam? If so make sure the spring and plunger is in the hole under the compression release mechanism, it won't run without it. The guy I got my ex from had put mine back together without it and it took a while to figure out. Without it everything checks out fine, it just won't run.

[rd2005]

Happy Happy, Joy Joy!!!! I found the problem & she's up & running. Went for a joy ride & ate a bug cause I was grin'n the whole way! The problem was...the plunger was mashed in/stuck inside the top end. I spent all this money & tons of hours on this bike when it was this little yet big problem. The plunger keeps the cam from going backwards (kind of). It was gunked up & I had mashed it to far into the hole. By taking it out cleaning it & putting a few dabs of fresh oil it moved up & down freely. Put it back together & wallah she fired right up. Thanks for everyones hints & comments on several threads. Time for some joy riding in the pits tomorrow at the races! :D

[honda400ex2003]

not a problem but im steve

marc is cjm lol

congrats on getting it running well!
steve

[01boneless]

woot woot :):):):):):) its good to see an old honda up and going again yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo: )