Exhaust Valve Tolerance

[canadianhunter]

 

[Roz]

My dealer got a call from Yamaha Canada this afternoon. They will pay for all labour to put in shims and tensioner. I have to pay for parts(about $200.00) because of it being so far out of warrany.Sounds fair to me. As I said before, Yamaha only got excited about it when they were told of another sled with very close serial numbers to mine having the same issues. Maybe they know of a run with problems. Should get sled back middle of next week,good thing as the snow is starting to pile-up outside and I want to be on it.

 

[Irv]

My dealer got a call from Yamaha Canada this afternoon. They will pay for all labour to put in shims and tensioner. I have to pay for parts(about $200.00) because of it being so far out of warrany.Sounds fair to me. As I said before, Yamaha only got excited about it when they were told of another sled with very close serial numbers to mine having the same issues. Maybe they know of a run with problems. Should get sled back middle of next week,good thing as the snow is starting to pile-up outside and I want to be on it.

Good deal, and good on Yamaha for coming through on this!

 

[Roz]

Yea, puts my faith back in Yamaha, I'm just a back yard mechanic , but I don't understand how a shim in a low mileage engine, works fine for two and a half seasons then needs to be replaced. Didn't think shims could go bad. O well as long as Yamaha is stepping up to the plate I'm a happy sledder. Will post update when I get sled back.

 

[Roz]

Got the sled back last week. Shop put in shims to bring the exhaust valves within tolerance. Yamaha Canada covered the labour, my cost was 100.00 for shims. While the engine was torn down installed new chain tensioner and donuts. Only have had a chance to ride it for a couple of hours so far but it runs like it just came off the showroon floor (maybe better). Yamaha Canada really came through for me as well as a small dealership that went to bat for me.

 

[3 Phase]

Thanks for the update Roz.

Glad to hear that your sled is running well again.

I'll pass this along to the others I know that are having this issue.

Did they give you any feedback as to why the valves went out of spec so early?

 

[Roz]

Only explanation I have received ( not from Yamaha) is that maybe off the assembly line the valve tolerance was at maximum ,maybe a little past maximum, then after a couple of years of wear, it was off enough to cause performance problems. Not sure if this was the situation but it is the best explanation I heard so far. Maybe a mechanic that follows this site has another idea.

 

[3 Phase]

Just an update on my friend's sled.

His exhaust valves were out of tolerence too. Unfortunately, there were other issues when he got in there. both cams were excessively worn with one cam lobe in very bad shape. All oil changes were done as per Yamaha guidelines using Yamaha oil and filter.

When he ordered the new cams, the dealer told him that the parts had been updated and the cams were now sold as a kit for a reduced price.

The cams were installed, the valves adjusted and now the sled acts like it should during warm up.

This sled never did idle as nice as mine and was always really difficult to set the idle on - it would either idle too low or hang up.

Before he checked the valves he checked the plugged off/factory set air screws on the carbs and found that they were completely out of whack. He made note of the settings and found that there seemed to be a relationship with the valve tolernces. The further from spec the valve tolerence was, the further from spec the air screw was on that cylinder. He is speculating that the valves were out of tolerance from the start, and in order to get a good idle, the air screws were adjusted at the factory to compensate.

Oh, and as a side note, from what I saw of this job, 10 hours is not out of the way, it was an absolute curse!

 

[Roz]

Was he able to get Yamaha to help out. Seems to me that this issue is not a "one of". As I said earlier, a dealer had to fight for me to get Yamaha to get involved, but in the end they came through for me. Just came back from a 300 mile trip last night, in total have put on about 1100 mile since my fix and it is running like it just came out of the showroom. Still have minor rough idle when cold starting in the morning, but I can live with that.

 

[Roger]

My exhaust valves were cracked, wrecking the head and guides. This p.o.s. ran like crap for the first 2 years until it finally failed. After costing me hundreds of dollars to keep readjusting things, the engine finally failed. Yamaha actually paid to rebuild it. The only thing Yamaha ever came good for, for me.

Cracked valves=low compression=shitty running= engine job.

Good luck with your engine job.

 

[bluemissile]

just because the light goes out does not mean it completely ready to go, mine will do the same thing. the sled is just cold and not warmed up yet. maybe run with choke partially on. or just wait longer when the sled is warm it runs like a top. also on this valve adjustment thing these sleds dont call for a valve check until 20,000 to 25,000 miles and then they usually just check because they are still in spec.

 

[Roz]

After riding for 1800 klm (1100 miles) sled started to show same problems, rough cold start, unstable idle. Dealer could not sinc carbs, found compression to be very low on the same two cylinders as before. Local Yami rep could not help,dealer went to Yamaha Canada. Yamaha Canada said tear it down and fix at no charge. It looks like I may have gotten a Lemon "Bullet Proof Engine" but Yamaha is trying to make Lemon Aid out of it. Can't see AC, Doo or Polaris doing that on a 4 year old sled with 6000 miles.

 

[Roger]

If they are still saying that it's a bullet proof engine, they're full of crap. I spent hundreds syncing carbs, etc. before they admitted the engine was crap and fixed it properly. E-Tec, here I come!

 

[snoway]

you canadians are rough on your equipment....LOL j/k...just find it odd that these sleds are all owned by canadians,....maybe compare all your vins ....could it be from the same shipment/engine run ....all destined for canada?.....weird!

Good to hear yamaha took care of it.

With one more ride this year I will have 12,000 miles on my 08,....exhaust gasket/donuts twice but thats it.

 

[Brad C]

Sorry for your troubles.I don't know if I'd prase yamaha canada too much.If they were worried about looking after there customers I think they would enable there dealers/local reps to work things out.I think your really lucky to have a very good dealer,who wants to look after his customers.I bet you your dealer knows what buttons to push to get action.On that note I think all the OEMs are on the same level as far as customer service,If you don't have a good dealer,your screwed.