cam chain help

[coalbagus]

I’m an owner of a bandit 250 which ive had for four months
She’s a really good looking beast
It sounded pretty good when I brought it
A month after I got it I did an oil change
Put back the required 2.8l
Since then im getting a bad metallic rattle
A mechanic tells me it’s the cam chain he’s tried to tighten it but it’s as far as It can go
Apparently the compressions not good either
Could there have been something in the oil
That suppressed the chain noise and helped the compression
An additive or a thicker oil?
Because there was no sign of these things before
Im getting to the point where I want to upgrade to a 600
So I want to sell
But the rattle is quite bad and im going to have a problem selling it
But the only advice the mechanic can offer is to fit a new engine
I live in oz and to get the parts and take the engine apart
The price of an recon engine is about the same
But the bike still goes better than any of my mates 250’s
So it seems crazy to put a new engine in
Any advice on how to lessen the rattle
thanks
pete

[MaccDaddy]

Hay Pete,
I live in oz to and I know what you are saying about parts. If it is the cam chain then your best option is to replace it if you have the knowledge to do it yourself then i suggest you do, there arn't to many mechanics out here that will do it cheeply, trust me I just rebuilt my top end after a dropped valve and Every mechanic up here told me to buy a new engine, instead I bought the parts and the total cost of the repair was about a 10th the cost of a new engine.

P.S. the bandit 250 is a pretty noisy little bugger but I use 20w/50 in her and that seems to quiet her a little.

[coalbagus]

thanks for the reply
unfortunately i dont have the knowledge to do this myself
im in byron bay
and im quoted $1200 for the engine alone
perhaps ill try a thicker oil to lessen the rattle

[MaccDaddy]

good idea especially if you are going to be selling it soon. Make sure you go for a good quality oil or even a good quality additive to thicken her up a bit.

[Maniac]

My 400 had a pretty bad rattle too, turned out it was the tensioner itself. The springs in it had just worn out, it wasn't keeping the chain tight. There are procedures for checking for a bad tensioner, but I don't have time right now to look them up (heading to work).

As for bad compression... if it seemed to run fine before and had plenty of power, I'd take it with a grain of salt and consider finding a buddy with a tester and testing it yourself. It's not a hard thing to do in the least.

[coalbagus]

maniac

anymore info for checking the tensioners?

thanks

[coalbagus]

MaccDaddy

being the novice rider i am
not sure what kind of additive to use

any hints

thanks pete

[Maniac]

According to my manual (for the 400, although I believe the process to be the same)...

CAM CHAIN TENSIONER

The cam chain is maintated at the proper tension by an automatically adjusted tensioner.

Insert the screwdriver into the slotted end of the cam chain tensioner and turn the srewdriver clockwise to lessen the tension and release the screwdriver from the cam chain tensioner, to make sure the push rod movement. If the push rod is stuck, or spring mechanism failed, replace the cam chain tensioner assembly with a new one.

Hmm, kinda engrishy. Basically the cam chain tensioner is located between the number 2 and 3 cylinders, beneath the carbs. It should be held on with two bolts, remove those and slide the tensioner out.

[MaccDaddy]

Try STP It's an awesome brand and works for every engine including high reving ones!!!!

Also try using a thicker oil like a 20w/50 or even 20w/60 iv'e always used it in older engines and found it to cause no ill effects on any of my past and present bikes.