brand new valve cam got tore up in two weeks

Woody39 · Feb 1, 2006

I have a 2000 fe400e I bought used recently, i was riding noticed power loss and sound change and found out i lost a tappet off the valves, i also noticed wear on valve cam and had it replaced, i got the bike back form shop and ran good but backfired occasionally2 weeks later it broke down on me again on inspection noticed cam wear already could this be from timing problem or did i just get a bad cam. i love the bike but i can't keep it running anyone have any feedback on this model, any help would be highly appreciated, i love this website!!!

nsman · Feb 1, 2006

Hi woody39'
I am not sure to what you are referring to when you say valve cam?Your engine has a camshaft and what are referred to as rocker arms actuate the valves.If you had a failure of either the rocker arms or camshaft that did damage to the working surfaces that reached beyond the surface hardening then these parts should be replaced as a set.If this was not the case then the remaining service life of these parts will be short. It is not unheard of for the bearings that support both the camshaft and also the rockers to fail,so check these as well to be sure that debris from this possible failure has not contributed to the early demise of your damaged parts.The above assumes you have no obvious lublication problems.
let us know what you find.

Taffy · Feb 2, 2006

woody

i'm afraid you didn't locate the problem the first time.

lubrication comes to mind.

also the follower that 'rides' the cam. it should turn with no rumbling noises or wobbling.

when 'you lost a tappet' what did you mean?

woody-sort your punctuation mate. think. read it aloud and when you draw in for breath - PUT A FULL STOP. then we can understand ya!

we have to deal with a crazy swede and we don't need another!

regards

Taffy

Woody39 · Feb 2, 2006

Thanks nsman and Taffy for your replys I really appreciate it!!! I sent both of you emails instead of posting replys by accident. Iam new to website and understand how it works now. Thanks again!!!!!

Taffy · Feb 3, 2006

still not clear about the problem. the tappet screw has a pad on the end. so what happened next?

regards

taffy

Woody39 · Feb 3, 2006

Originally the pad broke off while riding and I noticed power loss and a sound change from motor. The guy working on my bike was just going to replace the tappet screw and pad but I noticed wear on the exhaust side of camshaft so I had it replaced. The bike ran great except for a little backfiring which he said was do to the cam braking in. The bike died while idling from what he said was bad gaskets. When I went in to check on bike I noticed the camshaft had wear again and basically am wondering why a new camshaft would have wear so soon. The highside of cam was grooved taking out the center of high side. I know you said a possibility of lubrication failure, would the cam be blackened from heat or how would you know of this problem? If the bike was out of time slightly could that do it? Thanks again for your help!!!

Taffy · Feb 3, 2006

misfire hey!

that tells me that the valve wasn't even closing properly. i don't think he had set the tappets correctly...

the cam would go purple with heat-not black. what i don't understand is why the groove?

although all the 'do-gooders' here wouldn't agree with a rough ol' diamond like me, i would have cleaned up the original cam. it can be done by good honest people looking after YOUR interests and not their own.

anyway, i would try and learn how to put up digital photos. let us all have a ganders at them.

i really can't imagine though how the cam went a second time...

do you really trust the mechanic?

regards

Taffy

LINEAWEAVER · Feb 3, 2006

Hi Woody,
Pretty hard to starve the top end of oil as year 2000 engines rely simply upon splash lubrication via the cam drive. (ie if your clutch cavity has oil so shall your camshaft)

If at all possible send a few pictures along for evaluation.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,
Dale

PowerFiend · Feb 3, 2006

Woody39 said:
Originally the pad broke off while riding and I noticed power loss and a sound change from motor. The guy working on my bike was just going to replace the tappet screw and pad but I noticed wear on the exhaust side of camshaft so I had it replaced. The bike ran great except for a little backfiring which he said was do to the cam braking in. The bike died while idling from what he said was bad gaskets. When I went in to check on bike I noticed the camshaft had wear again and basically am wondering why a new camshaft would have wear so soon. The highside of cam was grooved taking out the center of high side. I know you said a possibility of lubrication failure, would the cam be blackened from heat or how would you know of this problem? If the bike was out of time slightly could that do it? Thanks again for your help!!!

The foot off the tappet adjustment screw and the cam getting grooved, could it be that the pivot shafts are shot and/or the roller is bad causing this other damage.

...P.S. Sounds like you need to find a new mechanic.

dsducati · Feb 3, 2006

On my old Bergs, when the rollers on the rocker got worn and the bike was ridden for the remainder of the day with corresponding valve doing the clickety clackity thing, the foot on the adjusting screw may get beat loose. If the roller was skidding and that ruined your old cam, surely the fellow replaced the old roller with a new one...surely??? Also, when a roller or tappet is running on the lobe (I believe you referred to this as the high side) the oil film is dangerously thin (especially at lower RPM). But, oil can and does enter between the cam and roller when the roller is on the cam's base circle on every rotation. We all think about burning the valves when there is no clearance on a tight valve, but this condition is very hard on the cam lobe and roller as well. My point, were the valves adjusted too tight?
dan

Woody39 · Feb 8, 2006

Thanks Dale and Dan and everyone else for the info. I'm not sure of anything right now but I'am supposed to be getting it back soon so I'll send a post and let you know how its running. Thanks again for the help!!!!

brand new valve cam got tore up in two weeks

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Woody39

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Taffy

Woody39

Taffy

Woody39

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