xt600 e engine help please
 

hi everyone.
i got myself an xt600 e 2003 model,it needs a new engine as it looks like the balance shaft nut worked its way loose and has smashed all the casings around the barrel area.
my question is does anyone know if any other model xt engines will fit straight in as i cannot find one anywhere for this model for sale,i found one on ebay for a 84-90 bike but it looks pretty much the same,the item number is 120333115857

any help would be appreciated
thank you

that model engine has a different clutch set up so you would have to either buy a new clutch cable or swap the setup over from the old motor.
you would have to swap the flywheel and side cover on the other side to get the ignition and charging system to work anyway.
that is an expensive motor on ebay :thumbdown:

Thanks for that info I think I will give that one a miss,is there any other models of the xt that will fit? Even just the bottom end ?

i think all the crankcases are the same its just the internals are different early gearboxes have fifth gear issues (check the search feature for details) and the oil pumps on pre 3aj motors are not as good (lower pressure and capacity) but you can swap the gearbox and oil pump from your motor :cool4:

thanks for the info mate.
just have the huge task of finding a new motor ahead of me now.
such a shame as well because the bike only has 1400 miles on it :(

That's unusual for the balance shaft nut to come loose on a 2003 model?
I was told it was only a problem with the earlier models(pre 4PT, pre 1997)
Has it been apart before? :confused1:
Bob

Damn! that's one thing I hope never to happen to an engine of mine....

Shouldn't that be under warranty still?

anyway, there was one of those engines on eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace a few weeks back...perhaps it might still be there...


Vando :innocent:

I havnt took the engine apart yet but looking at the casings it looks like it's the balance shaft

post a pic and i'll tell you what it is, i would also guess that its the woodruff key thats sheared off the same as mine did. :(
if the nut had come off it would have given warning as the timing gears on the balance shaft wont move far enough to miss time even with the nut off. :nono:
if it went bang like mine the flywheel will have sheared its key too :thumbdown:

engine swap
 

your engine is almost identical (except for clutch cable) to 1990-1995 XT600E. You can easily find one here in italy or from Germany for about 250 euro. Ignition unit and coil are the same between 1990-1995 and 1995-> models.

cant seem to find a replacement engine in the uk :(
is there any other engines that would fit straight in?

the chances are that you only need cases crank and balance shaft for yours

I will try and take it to bits today if I get time,are they quite an easy engine to strip down and rebuild?

never managed to get it all stripped down today but got most of it done,would all the bits n bobs from mine go into these crankcases on ebay ?
200346663892

that one has the older clutch operation lever but that can be removed and blanked off if required but they should be fine you really need to strip everything off your motor first to be sure of what bits you need did you buy the bike with the motor damaged or did it fail on you if it was going on the road and the clutch wasn't pulled quick enough could have damaged the gearbox

i bought the bike with the motor damaged,so i dont know exactly what happened to it,the guy that has them cases for sale also has the crankshaft and balance shaft,would i need them to go with the cases or would mine fit (if not damaged) also he told me its the kick-start and electric start model they are from would that make a difference ?

thank you for all the help up to now bty

if the motor was going full out when it happened chances are all the bottom end is screwed, like i said you gotta strip the whole motor to access viability.
internals changed on later bikes but the cases should be the same, the side covers and magneto/flywheel take up most of the slack of later mods your later covers and flywheel should allow those cases to work ok.
the bottom end i had used was a kick start model but the components from my 600e motor made it into a 600e with a kick start :thumbup1:

would it work without the kickstart even though the cases are for a kickstart?

If they have the plugs that close the holes for the kickstart shaft and auto decompress mechanism I can't see why not...

but since I'm just about to fall asleep you should wait for someone else to comment on that ..

I got a 1990 XT600E and I fitted the kickstart easy so.....


Vando :innocent:

Finally got it to bits,the balance shaft is like a banana,woodruff key sheared,also flywheel key sheared as well,crankshaft is knacked,clutch basket is broken as well,asked guy on eBay if he will do me a deal on them all,just hope they fit

yes the clutch cover off your engine would make it work ok

Still waiting on my bits to arrive off the postman so i can rebuild the engine.

what do you recommend for the crankcase when joining the two halves back together ? i know your supposed to use yamabond but its so expensive.

also does anyone have a picture of the wiring coming off the battery ?
i dont have any connections to hook up the battery as it was missing when i got the bike
thanks

use the proper sealant, any silicone based sealant excess might break off inside the engine and block oil ways etc.
sorry cant help with the the battery wiring i got rid of the oe setup so it now looks like my bike does not have a battery fitted as its hidden under the seat :thumbup1:

thanks wolfzero.
would this sealant do ?
Threebond 1194 1104 (200g tube) liquid gasket yamabond on eBay, also Other Motorcycle Accessories, Accessories, Motorcycle Parts Accessories, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 20-Jun-09 14:06:44 BST)

yeh thats the same stuff three bond 1194 is what yamaha use after changing the name to yamabond and bumping up the price :rofl:

Bad news :(
got my new crankcases today but they are different :(
new ones dont have the 2 holes in the top for to fasten the starter motor onto,and mine has an extra hole for a thin oil pipe where the replacement ones dont have it :(

totally gutted.

that sucks they must be very early cases same as the 550 but dont despair the starter motor will still fit you need to make a small bracket that can be held in place off the top case bolts.
what oil line do you mean as there are ways around that too

the oil line is a thin pipe that runs from the top of the crankcase to where the oil filter goes.
the engine is electric start and the guy had the starter for sale as well but it looked identical to mine so i don't know how that fitted on ?

starter motor problem sorted :) guy has the bracket that fits onto the clutch cover,just need this other hole sorted then i am ready to roll.

i think that oil line is not a big problem either it might be just a case of blocking off the hole on the filter housing i'll have a look at my spares and see why it was added

That hole you're mentioning...ain't it the one on top of the oil filter? that's a normal hole that you use to bleed the air in the oil system!

If you're talking about something else just ignore what I said :rofl:


Vando :innocent:

it looks like it's been a minor upgrade to supply more oil to the gearbox,it should be ok to blank it off

You might be right wolfzero it could be the bleed hole,maybe this is an upgrade to make it self bleed ?

trying to upload a picture of it, its called an oil delivery pipe number 5

Oh it's that.... I thought you were talking about the OUTER casing lol

I do have that copper pipe on my 1990 XT600E... in mine, If I want to remove the e-start motor I have first to remove that metal pipe...

I don't know how it works...it might take oil from the outer casing into the center case or it could be the other way around...

If you're engine doesn't have the other end for that pipe I suggest you do one of two things... easier is to just put a screw that closes that OR much harder, have machine a way to put that oil feed line in your carter!

I'd go with the first option tho :rofl:

Vando :innocent:

Can't get crankcase altered as it's different on the inside so looks like the first option,should be ok if earlier cases never had that pipe

have a look here

www.xt600.de

under the words Zusatzschmierung für den 5. Gang

on newer engines it was added a hole that brings fresh oil over fifth gear, trying to avoid well known pitting problems. I think that this is the tube you are talking about. Maybe you could follow the instructions in linked webpage.

It's not in English :(

not had chance to look into it fully but looks cyberzar is right that its an extra lube to the gear box. our 4tp gear boxes have a stronger 5th gear anyway so it should not be a problem.
i'd keep a look out on fleabay for the later cases as they do pop up now and then i got a brand new set in stock for the next project they are very expensive new i think they are about £800 a pair.

should the crankcases slot together flush without any pressure ?
mine go together ok until the last 2-3 mm then have to be pulled together with the bolts,i took them apart dozens of times and cant see what could be causing it.
they went flush no problem with the internals out.

there will be a bit of resistance its probably just the bearings and shafts seating correctly coat everything you can in oil to help.
when the two halves are assembled turn the engine by hand check the crank and balance shaft turn free i'd also turn the gearbox output shaft by hand and check all gears can be selected too if thats ok then it should be fine to carry on assembling the rest of it.

Everything seems to be nice to turn except the gears,they do turn but not as easy as they did before I put the crankcase together,all the gears are selecting ok,I can turn the gear shaft by hand it just feels like it's got a bit of resistance.

give the input and output shafts a tap with a rubber hammer to seat them correctly and see if that helps

Will give it a try tomorrow

Hi widget, you can use any 3AJ engine as a donor, first used on the Tenere 88-91 then offered on XT600 electric start models from 91-2003, if you can get the wiring loom ect from the donor bike it would be helpful otherwise fit your old generator to the new engine, on your model the clutch cable runs down the right side of the bike and operates through the clutch housing, on the earlier model it runs down the left side and operates through a linkage mounted through the top ot the gearbox, so if its an earlier engine get the clutch cable with the engine, its not a bad swap. I did it the other way, I fitted a 2003 XT600 engine in my 89 Tenere. if you really had no choice you could also fit the earlier 1VJ engine with electric and kick start, but they have plenty of week points, only as a last resort, good luck gary

hrhga did you post before reading the whole of the thread lol.

widget2k4 have you checked the bearings in those replacement cases are seated correctly and spin free

Yes mate I took all the bearings out to clean and check them,tried tapping the shaft but it made no difference,hopefully it will be ok

More bad news :(
everything went together great until i got to the clutch basket.
the replacement i got will not fit,it has a bigger ring of teeth on the drive at the back of the basket than my original one,both baskets have the same number stamped on them 5y100.
now i dont know what to get ?
the replacement i have is from a 1vj engine the same as the cases and crankshaft.
any ideas ?

put your original on check it all still lines up the same if it fits and all lines up you need a new one off either a 3tb or the later 4pt motor :cool4:

the original one lines up fine no problem, there's none available on fleabay for that motor :(
anyone got one for sale ?

3aj ones not fit ?
plenty of them on the bay

is there no way of changing the toothed ring ?

have a look at this one maybe give em a ring for more info

Yamaha XT600 XT 600 (3AJ) Clutch Basket on eBay (end time 27-Jun-09 21:11:20 BST)

thats the seller i bought all my bits off, great guy.
allready emailed him and waiting on a response,if it has the same amount of teeth do you reckon it will fit ?

if its got the same teeth and diameter i don't see why not :thumbup1:

lets hope it has then.
will get this bike going yet!

Good news at last.
the 3aj clutch basket is the one that fitted,it has 71 teeth the others had 74.
so its all back together now just need it back in the frame on sunday and hope she starts up.

Good news! :)

Don't forget to keep us posted!


Vando :innocent:

Well more good news and some not so good.
Got the motor in today and got it started,it was nice and quiet I must say and idled nice.
The carb was pouring petrol out the bottom for some reason.
Also when operating the electric starter the earth wire from the battery was melting and smoking?
Also there is a bolt hole right next to where the neutral switch goes does anyone know what that's for because it was pouring oil out until I stuck a bolt into it

sounds like carb float is sticking or is set up wrong if it coming out of the overflow pipe.
earth lead needs to be clean and tight make sure there is no paint under it so its metal to metal on all earthing surfaces.
the bolt hole right next to where the neutral switch goes is the engine oil drain plug :rolleyes2:

there are 2 pipes coming from bottom of carb,they go down beside the swinging arm,the fuel is coming out direct from the bottom of the carb,how many pipes should be coming from the carb as i have loads of pipes and dont know where they go,there is a rather big pipe comes from the carb with a valve thing on the other end which looks like it should fit into something but i dont know what ?

the bolt next to the neutral switch i think is where the old style clutch lever rod was fastened to and i just forgot to put a bolt in it.

Where does the wire from the earth on the battery go to ? do i just bolt it directly to the frame as i dont have anywhere else to connect it to.

check the carb bowl drain screws are tight the hose with the valve on goes to the air box i think as i got rid of the yam carbs :innocent:

its a screw head above the neutral switch on mine and i'm still using that alternative clutch arm :rolleyes2:

main earth lead goes to a starter mounting bolt and another should go to the chassis :cool4:

I havnt got any of them leads :(
I have a homemade wire from battery to the frame that's all, there is a black wire coming from the starter solenoid (the round thing) next to the battery and I have no wire to connect to it

you need a thick cable at least as thick as thick as the positive lead from the starter motor to the solenoid as an earth to the motor.

thanks wolfzero all sorted now :)
needle was stuck and needed a little assistance

Hi widget2k4. Can I know what is the engine of your xt600? Or kindly show some pics. of you xt600.