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Project The Yamaha R4 (Glacially Slow Project)

Discussion in 'Other Projects - Other Bikes (non 250's)' started by maelstrom, Dec 20, 2014.

  1. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    Yes, I will ask my regular plater to do that but if they don't I am not concerned. Just waiting on a couple of small things for the head and the top end will be going on and engine in.
     
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  2. ruckusman

    ruckusman White Mans Magic Master Premium Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    It's got no moving contact with metal so won't gall and the anodised surface will be slightly oleophilic which is good for lubrication reducing wear

    I'm not seeing any downside, the proof will be in the pudding
     
  3. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    Sump on.
    With a new oil pressure release valve o-ring and gasket of course.
    S__3809282.jpg S__3809284.jpg
    This sump gasket is a piece of junk that I bought off eBay a long time ago. I then bought an OEM one which has a 0.5mm thickness versus this piece of rubbish is almost 1.2mm. Always use the thinnest gasket that works and grease before fitting. The gasket I used is from a YZF 600 (4TV-13414-00) but fits perfectly.
     
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    Last edited: Nov 20, 2020
  4. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    Slow going on the valve job. Quite a few ugly inlet valves. A light polish on the combustion chamber to give the carbon less to stick to. I also ground off the '3TJ' lettering on the valves. Before & after images:
    ComCh_01.jpg


    ComCh_02.jpg
     
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    Last edited: Nov 22, 2020
  5. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    Finally, next shot will be in frame.
    Together_01.jpg
     
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  6. ruckusman

    ruckusman White Mans Magic Master Premium Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    It's going to be a shame to get it dirty
     
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  7. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    It will get dirty, but I always spray my engines with CRC and when I wash they come back looking the same. Also it won't have a full fairing to act as a dirt bag. I like to see engines they are the best part of the bike for me.
     
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  8. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    Well, two steps forward and three back. Cams don't feel good in situ, so I am guessing the caps are mismatched. Also some buckets feel stiff and about half the shims have been ground down with an angle grinder or some such. Have to take the head off again, remove all the valves and do what I should have done in the first place. My own fault, should have expected everything to be wrong instead of hoping that it would be right.
     
  9. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    I-2.jpg
    Good news, no need to take off head again. They do have markings and I was correct, they were mixed up.
    This one says "I 2" It is the inlet cap for cylinders 3 & 4, (the other inlet cap is "I 1"). There is nothing in the 3TJ manual about this but it is in the 1WG manual.
    Camcaps.jpg
     
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    Last edited: Jan 31, 2021
  10. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    I put the crank at 90° before top. Now with the cam chain only sitting on the exhaust cam I am free to rotate the inlet, check clearances and make sure I'm happy. Notice how the 3TJ has an offset timing mark on the inlet cam.
    BeforeTop.jpg InletCam.jpg
    Need some shims now. Clearances are all negative.
     
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  11. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    Got my seal ring back after being hard anodized and also the nickel plated cam cover screws, which I fitted new rubbers to.
    Seal_Ring_01.jpg CamCoverScrews.jpg
    Front sprocket (520) is on the way and Tyga might make me a new rear, fingers crossed. I should have put a lip on that seal ring so that I can use a puller to take it off.
     
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    Last edited: Feb 7, 2021
  12. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    Prototype manifold stubs to fit 1WG rubbers to a later model 3TJ finished. The final parts will be printed in nylon. Perfect fit and they make a nice pop sound when you push the carbs in. The OEM parts are as hard as rocks and completely useless. This will make some of our customers happy who have been waiting for some time. Now I have to get on to the FCR stubs.
    CarbsIn_01.jpg
     
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  13. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    Here is a better pic of the prototype manifolds. Turns out they will work fine with the FCR's too. Just need a bit more clearance in the rubber to fit the larger diameter FCR spigots.
    Manifolds_02.jpg

    My shims turned up so can work on the valve clearances. I drilled some small holes through four M10x1.0 set screws and screwed them in the spark plug holes in case something decides to fall in there.
    PlugBungs.jpg
     
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  14. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    @gregt Any idea what is a 'normal range' for the valve clearance shims on the FZR400 3TJ? I am down to 1.2 to 1.35 on the inlet side.
     
  15. Jethalter

    Jethalter Well-Known Member

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    arn't they the same clearance specs as the 3en1/3en2 ???
     
  16. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    I am asking about the shim thickness. Generally, you can tell how much wear your seats and valves have suffered by what thickness shims are used. For example, once Ducati opening shims on Ducati bevel engines go below 2mm it is time for new seats. You need a bit of experience with the brand to make that judgement call. I know Greg has played around with the FZ series a bit hence my question.
     
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  17. ruckusman

    ruckusman White Mans Magic Master Premium Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Moldstar seats if you need to replace them, but valve mushrooming is well...a factor also
     
  18. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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  19. Linkin

    Linkin The Mechanic Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    I think you will find that's getting pretty far down on the shim sizes before they stop. Precision shims in Melbourne sell 7.48mm shims down to 1.00mm. From memory, all the FZR250's I did shims on were in the 1.50-1.90 range
     
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  20. ruckusman

    ruckusman White Mans Magic Master Premium Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    I've seen so many threads with valve seat issues on these little fellas - cutters near impossible verging on unobtanium and all the rest

    I did a lot of reading before I landed on the moldstar pages - says it's racing only, but we're dealing with engines that were damn near F1 equivalents with all of the geometry and RPM ranges, so I think they qualify

    Moldstar just eclipes steel/iron for heat transfer

    Add some beehive springs and I reckon 30+ years of metalurgy would benefit the 250 fours - I would not be surprised to see that valve float is a partial cause of the power drop at high RPM

    I never did say nuffin' that would impugn the otherwise excellent reputation of Yamaha FZR* inlet valves, it must have been someone else entirely
     
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