[zippywonder]

This was a challenge to say the least. Decided to take motor out and change a few gaskets to stop a pretty significant oil leak. Oil was coming out of the head gasket. Didn't split the engine, didn't want to open up another can of worms we didn't want. Bike spent a month or two sitting on the bike stand while waiting for it's insides to get back in. Wasn't in no big hurry to get job done, it was too cold to ride anyways... Had to take off kickstand in order to remove motor, so getting the bike to stay on the stand was an adventure in and of itself. Went downstairs one day to see the poor bike keeled over....

Get motor back in yesterday. Go to turn it over.....click,,,click....click...nothing. Ok, lets do the obvious and charge up the battery. Spent 10 hours on the charger, still not charged. Either its the charger or the battery. So, take battery to be tested, said there was a dead cell. Ok, new battery only fifty bucks, lets not get anymore headaches and buy new one. Still, click...click.....click. Ok. Let's backtrack a few steps and see if we missed something. Turns out the gear for the starter was set in too far so it was binding up. Bad part, we had to drain the nice new fresh oil out to fix the problem. Wahooooo......bike starts up. Ahhh.....dang it, it's leaking a bit of oil in a new spot. Oil was coming out of one of the top bolts. Bolt won't tighten down. Now, is the bolt stripped or is it stripped on the inside? Thankfully, it was just the bolt. New bolt, no leak. But what in gods name is that aweful noise that seems to be coming from the oil filter area? Everything in there is as it should be. Upon further investigation with my handy dandy trusty rusty screwdriver stethescope, noise is from the crank case where the gear for the starter was. I don't know how to explain the noise, but it goes away once the bike has been running for a while. Tommorows project, drain the oil again, take that cover off and lets see what part is screaming for help. It's like its a part that isn't getting oil soon enough...IDK, but this has certainly been an adventure to say the least....

 

[cmonSTART]

Fun, isn't it?

I think - if I remember correctly - your head gasket is a multi-layer steel type, and may require some machining work if you do get into there.

 

[slumlord]

Starter clutch noise

Because you had to mess about with the starter clutch, I took the liberty of looking up what I could find on your bike. If my research is correct, there are three rollers that engage the drive gear and make the motor turn. These rollers can get turned sideways upon assembly and create a heck of a racket. Also if the mounting bolts that hold the roller assembly get loose, they will drag against the starter drive gear.

But, Zippy, I am a honda guy, and all I could tell by looking at the internet is that our bikes share the same 3-roller starter clutch set-up. The rollers are pushed into lockup by tiny push rods and springs inside the rods. My bike had good rollers, good push rods, but the springs were worn. Also,the bolts were worn from getting loose and rubbing against the drive gear. The starter drive assembly lives behind the alternator rotor and that required a special bolt to pull the rotor off. An easy fix once I had it off and could see the problem.

To make a long story shorter, I would get the manual and check out the starter clutch and make repairs before real damage occurs

 

[Eye_m_no_angel]

I just fixed a top end oil leak for a friend of my wife on her Savage. The PO had stripped out 4 of the cylinder head cover bolts and tried to JB weld them back in place. What a mess. It was her first learner bike and she's ready to sell it and move up, but the repairs are almost more then the bike is worth.

 

[Porky]

I don't see how anyone could have a problem working on everything from the case up on the 650 as it's basically just a single cylinder dirt bike engine aka DR650.

Sam:coffeescreen:

 

[zippywonder]

I'm beginning to think this bike is possessed by a demon. I've never seen Bill have so much trouble working on a bike. I've seen the work he has done. We do still have a small oil leak out of one of the head bolts that where stripped. Not the bolt itself (would be an easy fix if it was), but where the bolt threads into. It's not like you can get down there with a hellicoil. It's just to the point where I'm just ready to give up on it. It runs so darned good though, I don't understand how it can run so good but sound so bad. But it was my first bike, and I liked to practice things on it, cause its not gonna hurt as much as dropping my new bike.

I can deal with a minor oil leak, but I certainly don't want to drive it till I find out what in gods name is causing that noise. I don't wanna get stuck in East Oshgosh when the bike decides to blow up.

 

[Porky]

What I said sounded a little harsh but wasn't meant to be and we have all had the same kind of supposedly simple trash turn to poop!

I work on Computer's all day-every day and have done so for years but sometimes I'll get one in that is absolutely possessed by the devil himself. It seems like everything I try is to no avail! Although I'm a Baptist, I have friends in high places in the local Catholic Church and several times I came so close to asking for Holy water to sprinkle/ drown a computer in! I eventually manage to fix 99.999% of them but with incredible effort. I know what you are going through.

You guys will figure it out soon!

Sam:biggrin:

 

[zippywonder]

That's ok Porky, wasn't too harsh. I think we are just going to bite the bullet and take the covers back off. Hate wasting a new gasket, but we have to get inside and see what is going on. Slumlord may be onto something. The starter gear was pushed in a little too far when he put it back together and it bound up. He got it back to where it belonged and it fired up fine. Maybe something still isn't right. But the sound seems to come more from the oil filter area (mine is under a small cover on the right hand side). Using my trusty rusty screwdriver stethescope, it's louder on the right hand side than the left hand side. Maybe the noise is traveling through the area of least resistance?? In my heart I know it's something so simpleton that we are overlooking it. Getting my V8 ready....

I used to work on computers alot. The last computer I rebuilt gave me such a freaking headache I gave up on them. Most computers you can only put the IDE cables in one way, they don't fit the other way. Not this computer. I tore everything apart to figure out what I did wrong. Turns out I had the IDE cable on the wrong way and it fit. It shouldn't have.

 

[Porky]

Zippy, you are absolutely correct, that IDE cable will only fit one way--male or female, so that is weird.

I look at my Iphone and can't begin to really appreciate all of the technology that is available in a little hand held package.

Check out the raspberry Pi 2, an almost complete computer in and of itself and it's dimensions are 3in long by 2 wide by 3/4 inch thick. All it needs is a keyboard, mouse, monitor, ethernet connection and an SD card with the Linux operating system---check it out on Google.

I've been in Computers since 1966, when I was in the Air Force and the mainframe Sperry Rand, Univac 1050-2 computers that operated an entire base (6ft high by 10 long by 4 thick) is easily usurped by the single flashdrive I carry in my pocket.:biggrin:

Sam:smiley_drinkcoffee:

 

[hogcowboy]

My intro into computers was a IBM 1130. Add a disk drive, tape, printer and 2250 CRT and you'd fill up most peoples living room. And have about 1/16 the compute power of my cell phone. Absolutely amazing how far(?) we've come.

 

[Porky]

I was NCOIC of my unit, Demand processing and had 8 Enlisted and 4 GS 9's working under me and we worked hard to complete our mission. Input to the Main Frame Univac was by remote devices as large as a desk and by KEY PUNCH CARDS, directly to card readers, to tape/ disk storage. The unit was state of the art for the time.

Now HOG, you and I alone could handle the entire operation on our laptop's!

I feel OLD!

Sam

 

[hogcowboy]

You are so right Porky. We were trail blazers at one time. When I retired I refused to even look at a computer for 15 years. The general population was finally where I had been 15 years before when I did look again. It seemed like in the next couple years they jumped light years ahead to where I feel lost now. I do good to just muddle my way around now. Would you believe I started my career printing those cards we held onto so dearly? It's fact. Changed a roll of card stock every 8 minutes and boxed 2 boxes of 5 units each of all kinds of different cards depending on customer. I feel way beyond old.

 

[LWRider]

I wonder if that could be the cam chain. The tensioners are known for not having enough throw and the chain rattling around. I might have something on my blog from when I worked on mine. I'll look around. There was a guy on the Savage forums that had made a nice replacement for the adjuster that was easy to install and worked like a charm.

Could not find the adjuster post but here is some stuff on head leaks, one in particular that is very common (plug above the header). http://www.roaddogpub.com/#!Suzuki-Head-Plug-Leak-Fix/c1q8z/4F47860A-039C-43F5-AB6A-9EA88637FC2C

Here is what can happen with the adjuster:

This is the unit I installed:

Hope some of this helps.

Mike