mystery tick

[wyorat]

I have a 77' with unknown miles that I recently acquired. Changed all fluids, set lash and cam tensioner. Built a set of baffles for the chopped stock pipes, and once it quieted down I noticed a couple of annoying noises. The first is a pfft sound (put your lips together and blow out air) at the tailpipe, and the second is a pronounced tick on the right side of the motor. Sound seems to be in the top end. There is no gasket in the head pipes, but also doesn't seem to be leaking. I will get gaskets ordered, but wanted to call on the expertise of this group.
Thanks in advance.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Welcome to the Forum, wyorat!

Some ticking sounds are normal, but annoying to some, alarming to others. A mechanic's stethoscope is a good tool to have when tracking these down. You could pull the valve covers, remove and inspect the tips of the lash adjusters, and inspect the tips of the valve stems. Here is a thread that may be helpful:

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28536

 

[wyorat]

I had a chance to play with the bike a little after work. The right plug is carbon fouled, and the left is good (tan). If i pull spark off the left side, it dies, the right it will stay running. I swapped the coils wires and there was no change. Also, as you can hear in the video, it is more of a ringing knock than a tick.
Thanks

 

[peanut]

it sure sounds out of tune and rough. A complete tune up would help a lot ..timing, fuel air mix etc.
Have you carried out a compression test and leak down test yet ? Excessive carbon build up on a plug could be a sign of a leaking head gasket valve seal or rings.

 

[wyorat]

Checked the timing and it was way advanced. I pulled the timing back and it is very rich @ idle. I am going to drop the pilot and see how it works. As a side note, will I be able to see the pamco advance with a timing light?

 

[5twins]

Well, I don't know if there's anything to see on the Pamco but you should be able to watch the timing marks down on the alternator and rotor advance. The rotor mark should move from the "F" range at idle over to the left as you rev the bike, over to align with that unmarked slash .....

 

[wyorat]

The timing was not advancing. The shaft was bound up in the bushings, so I polished it up and put it back together. Sounds much better! Thanks for all the help.

 

[5twins]

You're supposed to keep those bushings lubed you know. If it's all dry in there, of course things are gonna bind up. The outer bushing at each end of the cam has grooves cut into it's I.D. Fill them with grease and the rod will have a supply of lube for 5 or 6 years.

 

[wyorat]

I did give them some lube prior to re-assembly. Pulled a compression test and have 120 lbs in the left and 115 lbs in the right. Might be time for a top end this winter.

 

[5twins]

If the bike has been sitting and inactive for some time, those numbers may come up after putting some miles on. Of course, a topend rebuild isn't a bad thing for one of these. Most could use it.