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should valves be oily? should valves be oily?
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Yamaha Tech Originally the Yamaha XT600 Tech Forum, due to demand it now includes all Yamaha's technical / mechanical / repair / preparation questions.
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  #1  
Old 2 May 2010
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should valves be oily?
Hi

I opened the valve cover on the xt600 and see oil on top of the valve and the adjustment screw is a bit oily too. Is this normal? I woul think that this thing should be dry?

I took a picture but cant post it yet..

Also the screw on the left side of the crankcase under the cover, the one you turn around anticlockwise to find tdc, it was a couple drops oil in there too..
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  #2  
Old 2 May 2010
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:s
Im pretty sure i saw oil on the swing wheel while looking for the T mark And im pretty sure thats not supposed to have oil on it at all. Feel free to enlighten me *fingers crossed*
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  #3  
Old 2 May 2010
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Thats the way it should be, full of oil :-)
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Old 2 May 2010
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Thank god

Heres the images (taken with mobile), click for bigger size.







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  #5  
Old 2 May 2010
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Things would wear out pretty quickly if there was no oil up top. If you think how quickly those valve rockers and the cam is moving when your reving the engine they need some lubrication. When you take the small covers off to get at the flywheel nut, to rotate the engine, and the one to check the timing marks then there should be a little bit of oil coming out of there too. In fact as you rotate the engine the oil pump will cause an extra bit of oil to come out. It sounds as if all is well. All of the Yamahas that I've had also have a little bleed screw somewhere on the top of the block to check that there is oil getting up to the top after an oil change, it should be shown in your manual.

Never worry about asking basic questions, we're here to help.
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  #6  
Old 2 May 2010
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Thanks

I have trouble understanding when its on the compression stroke tdc.
People say watch the rocker arms, is it when the valve/arm goes up or is on its lowest position yor supposed to measure? I would guess when its on the highest position just becase its hard to measure it on the lowest position haha.

I turn the engine and the valve goes down then suddenly it goes fast up, then when i turn the engine a bit more the valve slowly goes a bit more up until it starts to go down again.
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Old 2 May 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bergspre View Post
I turn the engine and the valve goes down then suddenly it goes fast up, then when i turn the engine a bit more the valve slowly goes a bit more up until it starts to go down again.
Thats due to the profile of the cam acting on the cam follower (rocker arm). It needs to have a nice gentle slope to push against the valve spring to open the valve, closing it is easy as the spring helps, hence it's quick. When the valve is closed there should be a small gap between the cam follower (rocker arm) and the top of the valve. This is to allow for expansion as the engine gets hot. This is why you should check it when it's stone cold (maximum gap). Think yourself lucky you have this type of valve adjustment, bucket and shim is a whole other kettle of biscuits.
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Old 2 May 2010
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I'm sure if you Google "XT600 valve adjustment" you'll get a full write up with pictures.

Here's a write up for an XT225 which will be basicly the same...

DIY XT-225 valve adjust - XT225+250 Rider's Group
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Old 2 May 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyingdoctor View Post
Thats due to the profile of the cam acting on the cam follower (rocker arm). It needs to have a nice gentle slope to push against the valve spring to open the valve, closing it is easy as the spring helps, hence it's quick. When the valve is closed there should be a small gap between the cam follower (rocker arm) and the top of the valve. This is to allow for expansion as the engine gets hot. This is why you should check it when it's stone cold (maximum gap). Think yourself lucky you have this type of valve adjustment, bucket and shim is a whole other kettle of biscuits.
So that means, since the rocker arm moves quick "upward" thats when the valve is closing right?

And the valve is supposed to be measured when the valve is closed, so that means I have to measure it when the rocker arm/nuts and the valve has moved to that highest position+when it feels like compression stroke (? ) (Read, highest position = when you look through the whole into the valve and rocker arms while rotating the engine those will move down and up, down=further into the engine and up/highest=closest to the whole your looking through, just thinking loud here..)

Btw one thing that could help understanding it is, when its compression stroke tdc the valve will be closed or open?
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Old 2 May 2010
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I think i get it now, people say look for the T and tdc but make sure its on the compression stroke..

You could instead say: look for the T and tdc, then make sure that the valve is closed/rocker arm is highest up, this will mean its the compression stroke..Correct thinking?

If you find the T mark and check the rocker arms and they are on the furthest down position the valves are open..and its on exhaust stroke..
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  #11  
Old 2 May 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bergspre View Post
So that means, since the rocker arm moves quick "upward" thats when the valve is closing right?

And the valve is supposed to be measured when the valve is closed, so that means I have to measure it when the rocker arm/nuts and the valve has moved to that highest position+when it feels like compression stroke (? ) (Read, highest position = when you look through the whole into the valve and rocker arms while rotating the engine those will move down and up, down=further into the engine and up/highest=closest to the whole your looking through, just thinking loud here..)

Btw one thing that could help understanding it is, when its compression stroke tdc the valve will be closed or open?
Go through this sequence.
Remove valve caps and the two caps on the L/H crank cover.
Take the spark plug out to ease rotation and control.
Rotate the engine anti-clockwise until the inlet valves have opened (gone down) and then closed again (come up). The inlet valves are the ones at the back of the engine next to the carb. Use a socket on the nut you will see in the larger of the two holes.
Look through the small hole on the crank cover and watch for the marks to appear as you continue to turn the engine. You will see an F first, followed by a T. Both letters will be laying on their sides and there is a notch in the casing to line them up with. You want the T. The F is for ignition timing.
Adjust the valves to the correct clearance then rotate the engine right through the sequence again and check them once more. Two turns of the crank gets you one turn of the camshaft.
Finally, look at the first thread on this list and download the manual. Then you'll have pictures to look at too.
Good luck and feel proud when you've achieved the result.

Geoff
Last edited by kentbiker; 2 May 2010 at 18:44. Reason: Left something out.
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  #12  
Old 2 May 2010
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First thing is to make sure you're turning the engine in the right direction, not backwards, my XT250 is anti-clock. Check online for your bike. Then remove the spark plug and look inside to see when the piston gets to the top. If both valves are closed then its on the compression stroke. Use the timing marks on the flywheel to locate TDC but it's easy with a 2 valve single to see with your eye. Not so easy when you've got 16 of them dancing around up there!
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Old 2 May 2010
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I couldnt see the mark clearly though I found a very long line that appeared after the valve was closed, I then checked and a 0.006" was very tight fit.. 0.006" is 0.15 something millimeter,my manual says 0.1 to 0.15mm on exhaust so..if i was at the correct position its maybe a tad bit open but i didnt do anything to it.. It got dark and late so I didnt check the intake valves yet.
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Old 2 May 2010
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It sounds as if the spec is the same as my 250.

Exhaust 5 thou = 0.13mm (spec 0.10mm-0.15mm)

Inlet 3 thou = 0.08mm (spec 0.05mm-0.10mm).

You expect the gap to get bigger with wear so it would make sense to set it near to the minimum in the range to allow for wear before the next check. Try a smaller guage, I usually go in the middle and see how it feels.
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Old 2 May 2010
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Yes thats the same, the owners manuals says exhaust 0.1-0.15, intake 0.05-0.1, unfortunately i suddenly saw i bought feeler gauges on inches instead of millimeters so i just tested with a 0.006 inch and it fitted but very hard = 0.1524millimeter

Its very hard to find the T mark, if its on the side maybe its like this?
--------| ? and not like this: T
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