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Weird engine noise, tapping. 1982 GS650GL

  • Thread starter Thread starter William Groebe
  • Start date Start date
W

William Groebe

Guest
I recently rebuilt the lower end of my 1982 GS650GL.

I had a bad bearing on my crankshaft which wore down to nothing and ripped up the crankshaft in the process, so I had to buy a replacement crankshaft and a set of all new crankshaft and rod bearings. I put it all back together and it runs. Yay.

But after a bit of riding I noticed some tapping sounds coming from the front/right-ish area of the engine and after about a ten minute ride down the freeway I started to lose power and the tapping got louder.

I got the bike home and checked the valve clearances. One was under .03mm so I replaced a shim and now it's at .06mm clearance, so all my valves are within spec of .03mm-.08mm. I took the bike back on the road, but the tapping started up again right away.

Here's a video of what the tapping sounds like. Any ideas?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyL08O2D4L8

This sound is similar to the one I heard when I blew a bearing. I hope that's not what's happening this time. I spent a long time trying to fix that and I'd like to not have to open up the crankcase again.

Thanks
 
Maybe the camchain jumped on sprockets and a valve is bumping a piston- this would explain lost of power and tapping. Are you sure that you got tensioner reinstalled and reset correctly? Doublecheck camshaft to crank timing and hope for something simple.
 
I followed your previous thread(s) rebuilding that engine. I don't have anything to offer except my condolences if you have to tear into that lower end yet again. :(
 
Perghaps a dumb ass of an answer BUT:
It is not needing the exhaust gaskets being tightened is it ?

Tis odd as it sounds great ticking over and tick over it does well !
Babng the throttle and then a odd rasping sound ?
The perect tickover gets me as that means carbs, timing must be close ? (diso****ing timing chain?

Ill go back to my burrow ................. and be silent but it can be the simplest of things soemtimes ...
 
Yeah, I'm assuming it's a bearing as well. It's doing the same exact thing it did before I blew it the last time. Thought I'd be in the clear with an entire set of new bearings, but nooooooooo. I must have done something wrong. I took plastigage measurements and everything was in spec. Maybe I didn't lube them up with enough oil when I put it back together.

Oh well. Tonight I'll take off the head and cylinder and pull on each piston to see if there's any play. If so, I'm going to pull her open yet again. No big deal at this point. I'm a pro.
wink wink. sarcasm. yay
 
William Groebe said:
Yeah, I'm assuming it's a bearing as well. It's doing the same exact thing it did before I blew it the last time. Thought I'd be in the clear with an entire set of new bearings, but nooooooooo.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking the bearing is failing for the same reason the last one did, lack of oil. Did you ensure all of the passages everywhere in the bottom end were not blocked? Yours would not be the first engine (or second) taken down by an errant blob of RTV.
 
You are probably right, tkent02. I didn't get a chance to check anything tonight. Looks like I won't have time til Wednesday to take it apart. When I had her open I didn't blow out all the passages with compressed air. I should have, but i didn't. If it's the same bearing that blew then I know where the problem is. We'll see soon enough. Thanks for all the help.

You are all good people. Love the support I get on this site. I'm going to start donating to the GSR. You guys are too awesome and this forum is too amazing for me to keep on freeloading.

Thanks again.
 
Will, if it turns out to be the same issue, I would take the case, head, and cylinders to a machine shop and have them clean it and go through all the passages. I believe this would be the best money spent to prevent other issues in the future.
 
You can certainly do all of that yourself. It's not like there's very many passages to clean.
 
I had time to pull things apart today and yes, the #4 piston is loose, so the bearing is worn down again. It's not as loose as the last time so I hope the crankshaft is still good and I can just replace the bearing and clean out the oil passages.

Good news is that taking the engine apart is pretty fast for me now. In less than 2 hours I've got the engine off the bike and up on my workbench. I'll keep you all posted.

Thanks for the suggestion, 60ratrod. I may take my engine to a machine shop. We'll see. It depends on how it goes when I blow air through the passages. Want to see what I can see first.
 
I suggested taking it to a machine shop to have it cleaned because they know how to get those passages really clean. If you go that route, make sure they are a good reputable place. And damn man, this really has been a trial in patience for you. At least you post in depth informational posts. Your first tear down is what i used with the service manual.
 
"Good news is that taking the engine apart is pretty fast for me now. In less than 2 hours I've got the engine off the bike and up on my workbench. "

After all the work that you've done, I'd probably have other ideas than the workbench. Carry on !
 
Have you fixed it?
everyone can put an engine together!
so when you check all the main and rod clearances what did you come up with.
i have seen engines with different size journals from the factory.
i have even seen reground cranks end up with the wrong size journal.
oiling problems can come from to much oil clearance letting oil to pass but not make it to the end with enough oil pressure
to lube and cool the last rod, main.
These engines don't have much oil pressure to start with.
 
I've been out of town for a couple weeks. Just got back and cracked the cases. It is the exact same problem as before. The bearings for rod #4 are worn down a bit allowing play between the rod and the crankshaft. The crankshaft journal where the rod sits is a little scuffed, but I measured it out and it isn't worn down so hopefully I don't need a new crankshaft. I shot each crankshaft bearing oil hole with air and shined a light down a side hole and can see the light when I look down each individual lower crankshaft bearing oil hole. There are no obstructions getting to the crankshaft. Plus all the crankshaft bearings are fine, which means they are getting oil. So, if the crankshaft bearings are getting enough oil to not wear down, what could be causing the #4 rod bearing to keep wearing down? This is my second crankshaft and it's having the same problem as the last one.

I am stumped at this point. A little depressed to be honest. I can take the cases to get cleaned out at a local machine shop, but again, since all the crankshaft bearings are fine it means oil is getting as far as the crankshaft, which makes me think it's not a problem with the cases. Oil is getting as far as the crankshaft, but enough oil isn't working it's way through the crankshaft to the #4 rod bearing.

The thing that keeps bothering me is that I had the bike running fine for a year before I changed the transmission. There were no problems with bearings before, and now I've had this same rod bearing wear down on two crankshafts. I'm thinking that maybe I need to lubricate this rod journal up real well after installing as it may be the last place oil gets to after starting the bike and perhaps it's been too dry on the last two installs and it just needs more lubrication to begin with. Could I lube it up with something special? Am I crazy? Help me regain my sanity.
 
Out of the factory manual, Suzuki Moly Paste, part #99000-25140, recommended for your possible specific need, as well as other near-by functions.
 
Do you know about this issue? Stolen from another thread....

recycled64 said:
For the sake of reassurance with your choice, it might help to look for a 650L with an engine # 122709 and later, with supposedly an improved crank and rod bearing setup, better materials and oil flow, which translates to early-mid production 82's, (I think) and also 83's. This info comes from the factory manual, page 26 of the '82 supplement pages.
Click to expand...

I just heard abut it in another thread a few minutes ago, wonder if you may have mixed and matched parts that aren't playing well together?
 
"....which makes me think it's not a problem with the cases. Oil is getting as far as the crankshaft, but enough oil isn't working it's way through the crankshaft to the #4 rod bearing."

Have you been using the same oil pump (and pressure regulator) ? - maybe its output has dropped off and no oil is making the journey thru crank to #4 rod nearing. The lobs in oil pump can be checked for excessive clearance, but not sure if this would tell you enough about system running pressure which is rumored to be 50psi.
 
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