Topic: Engine ticking or maybe knocking?

[MRieck]

I've seen engines run OK with exhaust valves kissing the reliefs. I've also seen pistons kiss the head and run OK.....in fact make a lot of power secondary to tight squish. I don't believe either is mechanically sound though. It sounds like your engine was just knocking from to much throttle at low RPM knocking. It happens to my FJ if it gets hot (oil temp about 280 or 290) and to much throttle (flatslides). It happens on my CB too though the oil never gets anywhere near that temp. As for cam timing.....every aftermarket cam(s) I've seen supplies LC's. It's a good idea to follow them

I thought too that it was just throttle position, but it would make the same sound when i would really rev up the engine, which is why I'm concerned.  I must say, when i took it out the next day, and it wasn't 100 degrees F, it sounded much better, and no ticking when cooler...

Sorry- stupid question, what is an LC???

If it's making the same noise in the upper RPM's it's something else. LC means lobe center i.e. 105 LC intake   105LC exhaust   It's just a way of knowing when the valve opens and closes on regard to the position of the piston during intake and exhaust stroke. Your compression #'s are low but first thing I'd ask was the test performed hot or cold? I'd like to see somewhere around the 170lb range warm but that is with a tight valve train. I'm not a fan of compression test...leak down tests are far more effective in determining engine condition.

[hevykevy420]

The compression #'s that I got (around 100) were done with the bike warm.  I didn't think the low figures (at idle) was an issue as someone told me it was because of the hotter cam that i installed.  Am I wrong??  Anybody have compression figures with 836 kit and similar cam as mine???

I recently readjusted the valves and it seems the ticking has gone away after tightening up the gap some.  (I was also able to fish out the piece of feeler gauge that fell into the cylinder head as well.)  I test drove and the bike feels like it has power, and the only odd sound i heard was the same ticking but ONLY a very very slight bit when the engine RPM's were dropped too low, and I also had a passenger.  Everything above 4K rpms felt great.  I am wondering if loose valves would alter compression readings significantly???

I am still getting smoke when the bike is cold if i rev the engine at all after start up.  I really can't figure out if i'm burning gas or oil.  I thought it was gas, so I've got my fuel screws JUST BARELY cracked open 1/4 turn to keep the bike running at idle.  Still, when the bike is cold there is something coming out the tailpipe that shouldn't be.  Someone told me here that it was condensation, but it really smells not like condensation.  Another potentially related problem is that the crankcase seems to be overly pressurized, and I'm leaking oil from the cylinder head (new gasket when rebuilt, but leaked from the getgo).  I've added a breather filter to the oil tank to crankcase breather line, and that seemed to help a bit, but I'm still getting oil coming out of the cylinder head cover gasket.  WTH???  I've removed oil from the system, and I"m below the top line on the dipstick.  I am contemplating drilling a hole through a tappet cover and adding a bleed nipple or something, because I can't figure out why oil continues to leak.  Could I somehow have a clogged oil return from the cylinder head cover area???  Could oil be leaking through seal because of this, and also down valves and causing oil burn off during cold start??? 

[DammitDan]

is it the cylinder head cover (rocker arms) or the cylinder head gasket itself (finned area)?  There are oil galleys that run up both sides of the cylinder block, and if the O-rings that go there between the jugs and the head are put on incorrectly/not replaced with the rebuild then you're going to get leaking.

[RyanLilly]

Smoke when cold?     White Smoke Oil     Black Smoke- gas    If its some other shade of color, stick your hand behind the exhaust while running, If your hand smells like raw gas then you are running rich.

Could be normal for a new engine, everything has not broken in yet. New rings in fresh honed cylinders and such. Am
I right here? Or should this not be an issue after 1000miles?

[hevykevy420]

is it the cylinder head cover (rocker arms) or the cylinder head gasket itself (finned area)?  There are oil galleys that run up both sides of the cylinder block, and if the O-rings that go there between the jugs and the head are put on incorrectly/not replaced with the rebuild then you're going to get leaking.

The head gasket looks fine, the oil seems to be coming right through the valve cover gasket.  I can't tell if its leaking down into the spark plug area, but some oil seems to be pooling around this area, but hard to tell if its just running down from the cylinder cover gasket.  I believe i replaced some O rings when reassembling the head, but not sure if oil is coming from there.

[DammitDan]

Smoke when cold?     White Smoke Oil     Black Smoke- gas    If its some other shade of color, stick your hand behind the exhaust while running, If your hand smells like raw gas then you are running rich.

Actually white smoke = water (or antifreeze if you have the super duper rare water cooled CB750X).  Blue smoke = oil

[eldar]

I have had white smoke from oil blowby. In a car though. Smoke color is hard to judge sometimes. Blue does usually indicate oil while black is generally too much fuel. The problem is that in some light, it is hard to tell the 2 apart.

[hevykevy420]

I have had white smoke from oil blowby. In a car though. Smoke color is hard to judge sometimes. Blue does usually indicate oil while black is generally too much fuel. The problem is that in some light, it is hard to tell the 2 apart.

You're right, it is difficult to judge the color of the smoke!  It is definitely lighter colored rather than dark, so me thinks it is oil.  If it is oil, it only burns when the engine is slightly revved while the enine is not fully warmed up.  After riding the bike a few miles and the engine is warm, no smoke is belched when riding.  WTH???

I changed the oil yesterday and used an engine flush additive to try to unplug and oil sludge that may be gumming up the return lines from the top of the engine, and causing too much top end pressure.  NO LUCK, CYLINDER COVER STILL LEAKS

I also noticed some very small pieces of metal in the filter housing, kind of like fine pieces of sand.  Should I be concerned about this?  Or is my engine still breaking in after 1,000 miles?  Or is my engine just breaking!!!!!!

[eldar]

I think it may be fuel related for the smoke. The black smoke is usually not very dense.

As for the rest, I really could not tell you. Without a pic of the metal grains, it is hard to say.

[hevykevy420]

I think it may be fuel related for the smoke. The black smoke is usually not very dense.

As for the rest, I really could not tell you. Without a pic of the metal grains, it is hard to say.

If the smoke is fuel, the only the I could think of causing it would be floats that are too high, because my fuel screws are barely cracked open, maybe 1/2 turn.  But, I've checked the float height in the past when changing jets.  Eldar, on your K8, how did you measure float height?  Do you measure 15mm from the middle of the float (when facing from side of carb) to the carb body??

[eldar]

You measure from the gasket base to the bottom of the float. You do it in such a way that the float valves are closed but NOT pushing the little pins on the valves in. Kind of a pain. The range is 14.5mm or between 14 - 15 mm.