Tranny rebuild... and more

[redjay]

If I remember correctly you adjusted the steering head bearings yourself before they went bad ?

[mbarr10]

Originally Posted by redjay

If I remember correctly you adjusted the steering head bearings yourself before they went bad ?

Yes I did, And used a torque wrench. Also Checked the swing and play of the front end. less than 100 miles later it was lose again. I guess it is possible I did not seet them correctly. Like in the vid from del boys garage.

[smokier]

Greetings MBarr,


The WIAI's (While I'm At It's) are both good an bad. ;) Good to get them done, but you sure can derail yourself doing them. The Green VAQ had 39k when one of the seals started leaking. I am sure some of the Twin Cities roads are rough and need work, but dang, 11k and BOTH? I am with Ray, seems odd. However, check that off the list. You should be good to go 40K miles without any issues given all the love and attention your ride is getting this winter/spring.
Ride safe,
Smokier

[mbarr10]

Nothing to report. It has been over 2 months without the bike in my garage. Waiting on the call still. Fork seals just need to be installed and the front end put back on. Maybe Next week. The forks cost me another week now but most likely saved me 3 weeks and hundreds of dollars later.

Safe rides everyone.

[smokier]

Hang in there Brother. You'll be knockin' off miles soon enough!


Ride safe,
Smokier

[mbarr10]

So I called the shop today to make sure the fork seals came in. They did and the bike is back together as of close of business Friday. Test drive on Monday was a fail, since the hydraulic lifters did not fill back up after 15 minutes and it is still Knocking. Rain Today= Tuesday ,so not additional test ride. The motor has only been down for 2 months plus a few days. More time than has ever happened since I bought it but still..... Really. Another set back, Maybe they will fill up Wednesday? It has only happened to me once and it was not started for a month. Very cold winter that year.

I think I read some peoples lifters took 20 or more minutes to stop knocking? Chime in anyone. Let me know your times please. I realize quite a few have had them replaced due to this issue. I know it has been an issue with more than a few people.

[redjay]

I would store my Voyager for 6 months over the winter here in Ontario and the HLA's were not noisy at the Spring start up, or any other time.

[mbarr10]

Originally Posted by redjay

I would store my Voyager for 6 months over the winter here in Ontario and the HLA's were not noisy at the Spring start up, or any other time.

Makes me wonder if somehow in the rebuild process the motor was turned on its side and the oil drained out? Maybe? I mean it was fine when I took it in.

[rozie]

I started my bike last week after being stored since november. yes the lifters were noisey. after letting it idel for 10 minutes they quieted down a bit, so I went for a ride. by the time I got to the first stop sign at the end of my road, the lifters were quiet. I road it yesterday and the lifters were quiet at start up but now I see my battery light is staying on for about 10 seconds after start up. time to start looking for a new battery.

[mbarr10]

Originally Posted by rozie

I started my bike last week after being stored since november. yes the lifters were noisey. after letting it idel for 10 minutes they quieted down a bit, so I went for a ride. by the time I got to the first stop sign at the end of my road, the lifters were quiet. I road it yesterday and the lifters were quiet at start up but now I see my battery light is staying on for about 10 seconds after start up. time to start looking for a new battery.

And I thought my lifters would fill up again too. I am calling them Thursday to see what they came up with, since they did not call me today and it was a nice day to test drive again. I am just so pissed and since this is my Thread = I am venting and sharing my experiences and lack of knowledge

[Snake Ranch]

Originally Posted by mbarr10

And I thought my lifters would fill up again too. I am calling them Thursday to see what they came up with, since they did not call me today and it was a nice day to test drive again. I am just so pissed and since this is my Thread = I am venting and sharing my experiences and lack of knowledge

I had the same problem with the rattling HLA's. I got so bad it sounded like someone had a hammer inside the engine and they were trying to break out. They would not pump up after getting to operating temp and idling for 20 minutes. I would have to rev the engine up up 2000 rpm for a few minutes to get them to pump up.

To make a long story short I made a video of the noise and had a case file opened with the factory. The engine was pulled under warranty and the HLA's were replaced. There are some updated HLA's and the dealer that did the work told me they also drilled out some oil passage to a larger diameter to help with the oil flow.

They still leak down if my skoot sits to long but they do pump up faster, but not as fast as I feel they should. But I don't have any knowledge of the lub system galleys or the HLA's tolerances.

I do know there are times when the engine doesn't clatter after sitting. I believe that is due to the position the engine stopped at so there is not as much valve spring pressure on the HLA's when stopped.

It's the nature of the beast I've had to accept which goes against my mechanical background. The dealer and the factory rep warned me the engine would possible clatter after sitting for some time.

Before the HLA replacement, my engine was doing this daily, after sitting through a cool night.

I have over 48,000 miles now and all is still good, so I not going to worry to much about it. I go out, start it up and let it run for a while to keep them HLA's pumped up.

[mbarr10]

Originally Posted by Snake Ranch

I had the same problem with the rattling HLA's. I got so bad it sounded like someone had a hammer inside the engine and they were trying to break out. They would not pump up after getting to operating temp and idling for 20 minutes. I would have to rev the engine up up 2000 rpm for a few minutes to get them to pump up.

To make a long story short I made a video of the noise and had a case file opened with the factory. The engine was pulled under warranty and the HLA's were replaced. There are some updated HLA's and the dealer that did the work told me they also drilled out some oil passage to a larger diameter to help with the oil flow.

They still leak down if my skoot sits to long but they do pump up faster, but not as fast as I feel they should. But I don't have any knowledge of the lub system galleys or the HLA's tolerances.

I do know there are times when the engine doesn't clatter after sitting. I believe that is due to the position the engine stopped at so there is not as much valve spring pressure on the HLA's when stopped.

It's the nature of the beast I've had to accept which goes against my mechanical background. The dealer and the factory rep warned me the engine would possible clatter after sitting for some time.

Before the HLA replacement, my engine was doing this daily, after sitting through a cool night.

I have over 48,000 miles now and all is still good, so I not going to worry to much about it. I go out, start it up and let it run for a while to keep them HLA's pumped up.

Thank you for the in-depth response. I called the dealer today and after a second test drive they still have noise in the lifters. I have only have this happen once before. in 3.5 years and with 11,000 miles. Thanks to everyone here sharing their stories, I was not to worried back then. Now I am concerned.

I plan to evaluate the sound Friday and will make a decision as to whether to ride it 50 miles home or not. A tough call for me, I will ask how the warranty will affect the trip. Since this was never an issue I would like to think it will go away. Why would a tranny rebuild cause this? Other than what I think was they turned the motor on its side to install the gears. How would this happen? They double checked the oil levels. They did drain both chambers, I had to ask. I have heard of these issues.

Am I missing anything? One thought was the air cleaner covers, It has happened to me before that they were not tight. Actually the bolts fell out. So I will check them. Not that I think it is the issue.

[mbarr10]

Update I had the leave the bike, Just to much noise coming from the front cylinder. Holding a RPM over 2,000 did not fill the lifters. We have something going on here. Honestly it sounded more like an exhaust leak. But no evidence of one. I stuck a smoke in the area and no movement of the smoke. The motor has at least 30 minutes running Up and down RPMs and Idling. They are going to pull the lifters and clean them them and Call Kawasaki on Monday. So that means I have to paint Windows and pour cement on my Vacation this week. The little woman is happy. WTF it needed to be done anyway.

On an other note:

Has any one realized Big Foot is the Social Distancing World Champion.
Looking on the bright side.

[smokier]

Originally Posted by rozie

I started my bike last week after being stored since november. yes the lifters were noisey. after letting it idel for 10 minutes they quieted down a bit, so I went for a ride. by the time I got to the first stop sign at the end of my road, the lifters were quiet. I road it yesterday and the lifters were quiet at start up but now I see my battery light is staying on for about 10 seconds after start up. time to start looking for a new battery.

@Rozie
May I suggest, you clean the battery terminals, then clean and re-tighten BOTH ends of both cables.
My Nomad did what you are describing. I bought a new battery and it STILL did it. Cleaned/tightened cables and the problem went away. Not saying you may not need a battery, am saying do this other PM first to be sure...


Ride safe,
Smokier

[smokier]

MBarr,



Wow, feeling your frustration brother. Hang in there. You will be on the road soon and enjoying sMILES of worry-free two-wheel travel.



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