Points "breaker" cover housing gap

[rodemyyamaha]

After tearing the engine down and cleaning everything up I am now putting everything back together. On the right and left side of the heads where the Points were located I have cleaned up the old gaskets and now am reinstalling the breaker cover housing that contain everything. I have new o rings and new gaskets but when I tighten everything down it doesn't seem to tighten enough to seal the gasket. What can be going on? I am installing a Pamco and all was going smoothly until I noticed the gaskets don't seem to be sealed as there is still a small gap between the breaker cover and the head.

Help! I am ready to get this babe rolling.

 

[deadchef]

did the bearings on the ends of the cam get installed correctly? the bearings need to slide as close to the lobes as you can get them.

 

[Bucko]

i had the same problem after a rebuild on my motor,my camshaft was not centralized in the head!

 

[rodemyyamaha]

Camshaft seems to be fine because the gap is on both sides. Don't know if the gasket that came from Mikes is too thin or what. The breaker "Cups" on both sides seem to be metal on metal.

 

[5twins]

The cam bearings must be slid on the cam as far as they'll go. That has them hanging off the inside of the machined area in the head that they set in, and I know it looks wrong, but if you don't do it that way, you encounter just the problem you have .....

Measure the bearing inset on each side and make it equal to center the cam in the head .....

 

[rodemyyamaha]

I will check these bearings tonight... I appreciate the heads up. This bike has been in storage for a couple years due to a divorce. I am starting to get everything cleaned up and put back together.

Much thanks!

The cam bearings must be slid on the cam as far as they'll go. That has them hanging off the inside of the machined area in the head that they set in, and I know it looks wrong, but if you don't do it that way, you encounter just the problem you have.

 

[yellowdog]

Same problem here ,I had to loosen the head and then tapped the bearings in a little and all was well .

 

[pamcopete]

This is also important for the correct clearance between the PAMCO PC board and the PAMCO rotor. If the points housing protrudes, the rotor will come in contact with the PC board mounting screw. This can happen even if you use too thick of a gasket for the points housing to head. Use a thin gasket like the OEM model. It's equally important to install the camshaft seal flush to the inside of the points housing as well.

 

[Orion61]

DAMN! I hate it when someone starts a Thread, then doesn't say what it took to fix it!

 

[angus67]

It took placing the bearings further inward

 

[Paul Sutton]

Do as "5twins" states above. It will look wrong like "5twins" photo but that is how it is meant to be. Just an oddity of the XS design. I too got caught out on this with my first XS.

 

[pat_in_the_hat]

The cam bearings must be slid on the cam as far as they'll go. That has them hanging off the inside of the machined area in the head that they set in, and I know it looks wrong, but if you don't do it that way, you encounter just the problem you have.

bumping an old thread... but does anyone have a picture of what 5twins was showing? finally addressing my leak and wanna get it right the first time

 

[5twins]

OK, I "fixed" it, lol. Added another pic too.

 

[pat_in_the_hat]

youre the best 5twins. thank you.
my bearing looks similar. so hoping new oil seal, gasket and o-ring stop my leak and stop dripping oil on my wrapped pipe. tired of the smoke/smell