Metal + oil filter

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xs650newb

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Hello,

I have a series of questions based upon revelations found tonight.

So I finally got my bike running nice and proper. I have had it for about 3 months and I have rode it less than 1 mile in that time. (I rode it for several short runs while testing out carb tuning).

Tonight I went to go change my oil and to replace both oil filters.

My small oil filter has tons of black plastic (cam chain guide) and metal shavings. The metal shavings are a combination of magnetic and non-magnetic metals.
The picture is attached.

From reading other posts the metalic shavings are iron and come from grinding gears and most likely the starter gears. Is this correct?

The non metalic pieces area aluminum and are probably from the cam chain slapping against the jugs. Is that correct?

So, now my two real questions.

1)
So, obviously I need a new cam chain guide. I really want to ride this bike before summer is over. I have no idea if the cam chain just started falling apart or has been doing so for a while. Is there anything I can do to determine if it is safe to ride the bike until winter? (I put maybe 10 miles per weeks on average, not a frequent rider).


2)
I am most scared of the iron bits. I would say about half the metal was iron, the other half aluminum. I know some amount of iron shavings is okay, but I really have no idea where it is coming from. I am INCREDIBLY reluctant to do a bottom end job because of lack of tools/space/time. Is it necessary? My thought was to put in new oil, put about 30 miles on the bike and check the oil for shavings, etc. Thoughts?

All the best,
Adam
 

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xs650newb said:
Hello,

I have a series of questions based upon revelations found tonight.

So I finally got my bike running nice and proper. I have had it for about 3 months and I have rode it less than 1 mile in that time. (I rode it for several short runs while testing out carb tuning).

Tonight I went to go change my oil and to replace both oil filters.

My small oil filter has tons of black plastic (cam chain guide) and metal shavings. The metal shavings are a combination of magnetic and non-magnetic metals.
The picture is attached.

From reading other posts the metalic shavings are iron and come from grinding gears and most likely the starter gears. Is this correct?

The non metalic pieces area aluminum and are probably from the cam chain slapping against the jugs. Is that correct?

So, now my two real questions.

1)
So, obviously I need a new cam chain guide. I really want to ride this bike before summer is over. I have no idea if the cam chain just started falling apart or has been doing so for a while. Is there anything I can do to determine if it is safe to ride the bike until winter? (I put maybe 10 miles per weeks on average, not a frequent rider).


2)
I am most scared of the iron bits. I would say about half the metal was iron, the other half aluminum. I know some amount of iron shavings is okay, but I really have no idea where it is coming from. I am INCREDIBLY reluctant to do a bottom end job because of lack of tools/space/time. Is it necessary? My thought was to put in new oil, put about 30 miles on the bike and check the oil for shavings, etc. Thoughts?

All the best,
Adam
Click to expand...

1) the cam chain guide needs to be replaced, but

2) it's not as alarming as the magnetic metal shavings.

The cam chain guide mainly sounds like hell and you'd never figurebit out till you find the black bits. I'd say you're at risk by looking how chunky that metal on the filter looked. Of course I'm on my phone only right now so take that with grain of salt. Also, I'd like to see what your sump looks like.

Posted via Mobile
 
It's pretty common to find lots of junk in the filters when you 1st get one of these bikes. The P.O.s never cleaned them often enough. Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just change the oil and clean the filters frequently for the next few K. You should find less and less in the filters but it does take a while to get the motor good and flushed out.
 
Thanks 5twins and BigJim.

In regards to the cam chain. The bike starts on the 1st kick and it sounds great. I adjusted the cam chain before I started riding. Will I start hearing bad noises before any serious damage is done by an eroded cam chain adjusters?

ADam
 
xs650newb said:
Thanks 5twins and BigJim.

In regards to the cam chain. The bike starts on the 1st kick and it sounds great. I adjusted the cam chain before I started riding. Will I start hearing bad noises before any serious damage is done by an eroded cam chain adjusters?

ADam
Click to expand...

For some reason I was thinking it said 100 miles.... 5twins is right, but again I'd like to see your sump. I would've changed the oil the moment it got home. It's not the adjusters that spits out the plastic. It's the guide and By the looks of the plastic you should already start to hear it, but you're not aware of what it would've sounded like in it's best order.

Posted via Mobile
 
Ok. I just took out the sump filter. My room mate has the camera and he is alseep so no picutres.

The sump filter was torn. There was a very small amount of metal shavings in the screen. Nothing compared to the other filter however. There were, however, two larger pieces of black plastic. The two pieces were approximately the thickness of the lead from a mechanical pencil and they totaled 3 inches long.

So, from the looks of it I am in need of a new cam chain guide. I think for now I will replace the oil very frequently to check for further deterioration of the guide and additional metal shavings. Come winter, I'll overhaul the engine.

Best,
Adam
 
The front guide has a thin "ridge" of rubber down each side. It's usually the 1st part of the guide to come off. That's what those long strips are. All that was left on mine was about 1/5 of one side, marked in green below .....

FrontGuide.jpg


There wasn't much stuff in the lower filter because it all got sucked through the hole. From there it goes through your oil pump and then to the little upper filter. The lower filters are very prone to blowing out, even the new ones. Many of us just repair them. At about $25 a pop, they can get very expensive to replace all the time.
 
Wow. Great find. Thanks a lot.

I bought two new filters, both the sump filter and the secondary filter. I got them both from mikes and the sump filter is supposed to be improved.

Adam
 
From Mikes AND improved. LOL Yeah run it this year, The amount of junk in your side filter is not that unusual. I wouldn't even worry about another oil change for the amount of miles you ride. Careful that you don't overtighten the cam chain adjuster, the rod end should have some movement in and out with the engine running. If it's not moving it is too tight. I bring this up because I think we have seen some failures from over tightening.
 
my engine sat open but covered for about 7 months. skip forward about a year, i changed my oil after my first (and only 20 mile) ride. checked the filters and they looked like my daughters comb. so much hair, it was weird. after i button some stuff up and get to riding i plan on changing the oil again after a couple of rides and go from there. changing oil is a great way to see whats going on in your engine. there were a little bit of tiny tiny al. shavings, but ill see what my next oil change tells me.
 
gggGary said:
From Mikes AND improved. LOL Yeah run it this year, The amount of junk in your side filter is not that unusual. I wouldn't even worry about another oil change for the amount of miles you ride. Careful that you don't overtighten the cam chain adjuster, the rod end should have some movement in and out with the engine running. If it's not moving it is too tight. I bring this up because I think we have seen some failures from over tightening.
Click to expand...
How much movement should you see? Sorry to revive an old thread. Just cam across this while doing some research.
 
cros36 said:
my engine sat open but covered for about 7 months. skip forward about a year, i changed my oil after my first (and only 20 mile) ride. checked the filters and they looked like my daughters comb. so much hair, it was weird. after i button some stuff up and get to riding i plan on changing the oil again after a couple of rides and go from there. changing oil is a great way to see whats going on in your engine. there were a little bit of tiny tiny al. shavings, but ill see what my next oil change tells me.
Click to expand...

wierd. My rebiuld also had hairs in the filters after first run.My motor had sat for a bit, but was sealed up afetr rebiuld. Maybe strings of yamabond?
 

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