Engine Problems :(

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JoeMax

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Hello, My names Joe




I recently Purchased a 1985 Yamaha Vmax , Bike hasn't Ran since 2008ish, Been siting in a Heated Garage, For the Money i payed for it i can't Complain but to me it Sounds like a Rod Knocking, i changed the Oil and presumably found Bearing Babbitt or Metal Shavings but im still hoping for the Best. The Knock isn't a Low end Knock like 1 would think of a Rod Knocking though, From a little Researching the Cam Tensioner could also be a Culprit, at this Point im a Tad Confused :ummm:

374385_10151340387239142_1720022848_n.jpg



http://www.youtube.com/v/TUHnPW1FBOg&feature

Here's a Link of the Sound.
 
Rarely do the cam tensioners fail. Most of the time it's the rod (which will need a new engine). I would NOT suggest rebuilding using that case set (you can reuse the heads/cams and trans). We can help you with any and all of your needs.

Sean
[email protected]
 
Hi Joe
I baught my vmax expecting to replace the engine that had a loud knock. Well I happend to take a pry bar & put it inbetween the frame & front header pipe & low n behold the noise went away. Apparently the stock header pipe is double walled & it had come apart. Try that & see if this is your noise. Good luck!!
I just seen /heard the video that sounds like a rod to me the way its running .Sorry I hope I am wrong
 
Metal in the oil is bad...I'm with Sean on this one...but miracles do happen...from time to time...
 
Unfortunately that may be the reason it hasn't been run since 2008...:confused2:
 
I am sure Kyles engine will be cheaper then my alternatives (though we offer bigger bore engines too). We can fix the block but it's just not with the cost compared to the replacement engine.

Sean
 
My '85 developed a really loud rapping noise about 3 or 4 years after I got it. I thought all was lost, but didn't see anything in the oil. Turns out it was the dreaded "exhaust pipe rap". Had to change out the offending pipe to quiet it down. So far the replacement pipe has been behaving - 25 years....

A few years after the pipe incident, a friend of mine had EXACTLY the same thing happen to his Max. We were at Americade, and he comes into the parking lot of the motel almost in tears.... He was thinking he'd need a trailer to get the bike home, and the expense of an engine rebuild was way more than he could afford.

I listened to the motor, and told him to stop crying. Walked over to the motel office, and borrowed a BFBPH (Big Fuckin' Ball Peen Hammer). Walked back over to his bike, hammer in hand, and gave it a mighty whack right in the front curve of the header. I neglected to tell him I was going to do this - now he's REALLY feeling bad. I told him to start the bike. Noise gone. He kept that dented pipe on the bike till he sold it a few years later. Put a dent in the outer pipe deep enough and it will pinch against the inner pipe and stop the rattle.....
 
Great story. I have never heard of this exhaust issue but my bike came with a huge deep dent in one of the front primaries and I had no idea how it got there. Now it makes sense.

Back to the ops engine issue, you can always drop the oil pan and look up into the cylinders from underneath the bike. Maybe you can spot something. If the engine is shot, just buy Kyles replacement. He's on the up and up and will get you squared away.
 
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I had a similiar issue with the loose inside pipe. I never thought the engine was gonna go, but it was loud, and it would come and go. I did the screw driver test. I took as big/long of a screwdriver as I had and put one end to where I thought the sound was coming from, and the other to my ear. Then I moved it around to try to pin point where it was the loudest. Thats how I found the noise was in the pipe and not the engine.
 
Curious to find out but man, that is a rod knock if I ever heard one. See if you can get you're hands on a stethoscope and give all four cylinders a listen
 
Hopefully you can get it figured out but metel in the oil is not usuallly a good sign. I do have a good used engine for sale reasonable i fit comes to that.


If it comes to getting a used motor how many Greenbacks are we talking ?
 
My '85 developed a really loud rapping noise about 3 or 4 years after I got it. I thought all was lost, but didn't see anything in the oil. Turns out it was the dreaded "exhaust pipe rap". Had to change out the offending pipe to quiet it down. So far the replacement pipe has been behaving - 25 years....

A few years after the pipe incident, a friend of mine had EXACTLY the same thing happen to his Max. We were at Americade, and he comes into the parking lot of the motel almost in tears.... He was thinking he'd need a trailer to get the bike home, and the expense of an engine rebuild was way more than he could afford.

I listened to the motor, and told him to stop crying. Walked over to the motel office, and borrowed a BFBPH (Big Fuckin' Ball Peen Hammer). Walked back over to his bike, hammer in hand, and gave it a mighty whack right in the front curve of the header. I neglected to tell him I was going to do this - now he's REALLY feeling bad. I told him to start the bike. Noise gone. He kept that dented pipe on the bike till he sold it a few years later. Put a dent in the outer pipe deep enough and it will pinch against the inner pipe and stop the rattle.....

What a story :clapping:
 
If you paid less than $800 for the bike, you can pretty easily make that back parting it out if you want to jump ship.

That said, $800 for a new engine (probably closer to a grand by the time it's shipped), assuming the rest of the bike is in good shape and doesn't need much work, you could cherry it up and have a bike worth around $2500.
 
It must have been awhile since you priced one of these engines? I don't even sell a known good running and shifting engine for less then $1000. I get $600 for a good used crank (compared to $1200 new).

Sean
 
Yep shipping is probably a couple hundred the last one I shipped door to door to Michigan was $ 215 if you go to a loadining dock close by your house you can knock about 50-60 bucks off that.
 
Looking at his picture, the Back rest and the chrome are worth more than he paid for the bike. Even buying a new motor, its a cheap for a Vmax
 

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