need help figuring out motor tapping noise

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handyrandy

handyrandy

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Waynesburg pa
Hello, I am hearing a distinct tapping noise in the left side of the motor. This is only after the engine reaches operating temperature. It is not there at all when the engine is cold. I have 170-175 compression on all cylinders, and all the carbs are synced equally. Valves are all adjusted correctly. The engine runs perfectly at 70,000 miles. Last week I changed both timing belts and 2 scored lifters on the right side of the motor, but didn't do anything on the left noisy side. The noisy side lifters look fine. I am not sure if the noise is related or not. I was extremely careful when changing the timing belts. I used napa timing belts.

Any Ideas?
 
Check your exhaust manifold gaskets. If that isn't it you may have a loose/weak valve spring. Another possibility might be weak plug wire insulation. The tap might be a snap of spark jumping to ground. Run the bike in the dark and look for any stray sparking.
 
slabghost":3uha5ls2 said:
Check your exhaust manifold gaskets. If that isn't it you may have a loose/weak valve spring. Another possibility might be weak plug wire insulation. The tap might be a snap of spark jumping to ground. Run the bike in the dark and look for any stray sparking.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help. I checked all of the above except the valve spring and it is more of a rapping sound that is not there till the bike heats up. There is a chance that it could be coming from the side I installed the rockers on.

When ever I changed the rockers I just changed the two exhaust rockers, not the whole cage. I wonder if I should have installed the whole cage?

It does not rap till the oil thins out.
 
take a dole rod of wood 5/8 or 3/4 soft wood or a sttick square of soft wood and put it different location on the left side maybe 18" long with ear close to it and you sould be able to tell where the noise is at ...on the valve covers... back on cylinder wlls area ...even lower ...you sould be able to tell ...where its coming from ....valve springs piston pin and crank pin ...front or back cylinder ...old wing motors tend to realy work withe this method big time ....

if it turns out to be lower than the head dont get to upset its been my experience that the motor will run and run like this ....its just a little fustrating to listen too ....when right there so quiet ....

just make sure to use turn the gas off all the time i think this the biggest reason the lower end gets in trouble ....use thricker oil andchange more often is what id do ....good luck on the the finding.... :headscratch: :mrgreen:
 
I got a 1 inch dowel and rounded the ends. I listened to the engine heads and the block. On the left side head the tapping is there and distinct. On the right side head where I changed the two rockers the tapping is louder and higher pitched. I listened to the block on both sides the best I could and could barely hear it if at all.

The oil was just changed. 10w30. Since you asked, I realize now that the 10w30 was meant for the car, and I meant to put 10w40 in the bike. I probably ought to drain it and put the 10w40 in the bike.

This could explain the tapping getting worse as the oil heats up.
 
handyrandy":3gjhi34q said:
I got a 1 inch dowel and rounded the ends. I listened to the engine heads and the block. On the left side head the tapping is there and distinct. On the right side head where I changed the two rockers the tapping is louder and higher pitched. I listened to the block on both sides the best I could and could barely hear it if at all.

The oil was just changed. 10w30. Since you asked, I realize now that the 10w30 was meant for the car, and I meant to put 10w40 in the bike. I probably ought to drain it and put the 10w40 in the bike.

This could explain the tapping getting worse as the oil heats up.
Click to expand...
If the oil is still clean I wouldn't change it right away. The right side concerns me a bit. Is it possible you got the rocker arm installed with the oil passages facing out? They are supposed to face the motor. If you can see the oil hole in the spring next to the rocker. The arm is in wrong.
 
slabghost":1ak0v6fz said:
handyrandy":1ak0v6fz said:
I got a 1 inch dowel and rounded the ends. I listened to the engine heads and the block. On the left side head the tapping is there and distinct. On the right side head where I changed the two rockers the tapping is louder and higher pitched. I listened to the block on both sides the best I could and could barely hear it if at all.

The oil was just changed. 10w30. Since you asked, I realize now that the 10w30 was meant for the car, and I meant to put 10w40 in the bike. I probably ought to drain it and put the 10w40 in the bike.

This could explain the tapping getting worse as the oil heats up.
Click to expand...
If the oil is still clean I wouldn't change it right away. The right side concerns me a bit. Is it possible you got the rocker arm installed with the oil passages facing out? They are supposed to face the motor. If you can see the oil hole in the spring next to the rocker. The arm is in wrong.
Click to expand...

I am not sure if it is possible to install it backwards. It is indented so the bolt keeps it in place. I could be wrong though. I did notice some wear on the rod when I had it apart.
 
It is possible to install them wrong. Especially if you had both rocker arms out. If they were swapped or installed wrong end first. This possibility also makes it possible to install rockers on non worn areas of the arms.
 
Also in double checking my manuals. My factory manual doesn't mention oil passage placement. My Clymer manual does.
 
this sounds good where thet are leading you it is diffinitly possible to get the oil passage mess up in fact it easy to do period ...im glad it wasnt deeper ...it sounds from youe decription to be solid on the lower end ...there is slots on the end they sould be strait out i think it is or strait up with the heads flat on the table ...with oil passages up also ....but check for sure my memory is bad if been more than a few days since ive done something... :mrgreen:
 
I just changed the oil to 10w40. tapping died down considerably. It was there all the time before I changed the oil it was just not as audible till I used thinner oil.

The pin was fairly worn on one side (slightly grooved into the shaft on one side, groove facing the engine where the spring pressure would be. So I am fairly certain I got the orientation right but will look at it again any way.

What can be done about the worn rocker shaft? Is this part still available?
 
Worn rocker shafts can be reversed to place rockers in unused areas. Top rocker arm to bottom and flipped. Bottom arm to top and flipped will put the oil passages in proper place and place rockers in unused area.
 
slabghost":1la75cp0 said:
Worn rocker shafts can be reversed to place rockers in unused areas. Top rocker arm to bottom and flipped. Bottom arm to top and flipped will put the oil passages in proper place and place rockers in unused area.
Click to expand...

This is great news! There is most usually a work around if one asks the right people.

I want to thank everyone for all there help. I will take a look at every thing and post the results later.


Randy
 
again your getting led in the right direction randy the hafts can be revered to bring in new shafts ,,,again just got to be carful and the oil holes right ...this probably your noise ..... :mrgreen:
 
randy it gose like this ..you take the top shaft out flip end for end and put it in the bottom bottom carrier place ...and visesa versive for the bottom for top ....this put the old wear spot where the springs are at ....im not sure if i worded that perfect its been awhile since ive done it ....but it can be done ,,,once out its pretty east to see how everything works...the rockers from being in different places form top shaft to bottom shaft makes this all possible ....im sure you will figure it out ....just do one side with other side intack so there always something to look at randy if it gets confusing ...i think it will be a breeze for ..... :mrgreen:
 
A pic tells all.

image.php


Since the rockers ride at different places top to bottom, when the shaft is swapped top to bottom the rocker rides on a fresh spot.
 

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