Engine makes "clacking" noise all the time

Heyo, shooting this out to the experts here.  I have an '08 WR250R with ~38k miles on it.  It's been making this clacking noise from the engine (follows RPM of the engine) all the time.  It was also making the traditional cam chain noise when starting but that would go away after a 30-60 seconds.  I fixed that with a manual cam chain tensioner.  The clacking in the below video has been going on for a bit.  I figured it might be cam shim and check those. They were on the border tight so I adjusted them to just in spec on the loose side. The noise was there before the cam shim adjustment and after the adjustment.  My brother has his WR250X here and it doesn't make this clacking at all. Any ideas on what I should check?
Video of noise
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13PVGRZIOgwsbTshTcXKzazDRcDhHjGUJ/view?usp=sharing

38,000 miles?
Could it simply be time for an engine overhaul?

Tight valves wont make noises, only loose will.

Camchain-noise should go away as the rpm rises, so it shouldnt be that either, but you could check the tension anyway.

Might just be pistonslap. Does it use any oil at all?

Jens Eskildsen wrote:

Tight valves wont make noises, only loose will.

Camchain-noise should go away as the rpm rises, so it shouldnt be that either, but you could check the tension anyway.

Might just be pistonslap. Does it use any oil at all?

Performance-wise, it runs perfectly fine. It doesn't burn or leak any oil. Other than the noise itself, you wouldn't think anything was wrong.

I also hope 38k miles isn't time for engine overhaul. I have bikes with much higher mileage that the engine is still going fine. But if it needs it, it needs it.

I didn't listen to video, so this is probably answered in it, but is it just the skid plate noise? They do change the way the engine sounds quite a bit. I've noticed the noise mine makes will vary with how tight the bolts are on it. Have you tried pulling it off if you have one?

dicklane625 wrote:

I didn't listen to video, so this is probably answered in it, but is it just the skid plate noise? They do change the way the engine sounds quite a bit. I've noticed the noise mine makes will vary with how tight the bolts are on it. Have you tried pulling it off if you have one?

Thanks for the suggestion. It does have a skid plate that's been on it since I bought it from the original owner. He put rubber between the bottom of the skid plate and the frame, I'm guessing for that exact reason. I don't think it's skid plate noise though. I can try it though.

Hmmm, I didn't hear a clanking sound; what I heard sounded perfectly fine.

Mine sounds the same at 800 miles. I call it a tractor because of that. If you take of the skid plate it will probably be a bit less pronounced, even with the skid plate insulation, because it still reflects some of the sound up.

Sounds like mine.. 16,000 miles

jotis wrote:

Mine sounds the same at 800 miles. I call it a tractor because of that. If you take of the skid plate it will probably be a bit less pronounced, even with the skid plate insulation, because it still reflects some of the sound up.

rsteiger wrote:

Sounds like mine.. 16,000 miles

So does this fall under normal and not to worry about it?

slovenian6474 wrote:

jotis wrote:

Mine sounds the same at 800 miles. I call it a tractor because of that. If you take of the skid plate it will probably be a bit less pronounced, even with the skid plate insulation, because it still reflects some of the sound up.

rsteiger wrote:

Sounds like mine.. 16,000 miles

So does this fall under normal and not to worry about it?

Mine sounds sounds the same.  Yours might be a little more pronounced though it's hard to say for sure without the two bikes next to each other but I'd say monitor the oil for usage but just ride it.

-morgan

Ever run it without the skid plate? Run it outdoors without the skidplate please. Any updates?

banshee01 wrote:

Ever run it without the skid plate?  Run it outdoors without the skidplate please. Any updates?

It's not the skid plate.

slovenian6474 wrote:

banshee01 wrote:

Ever run it without the skid plate?  Run it outdoors without the skidplate please. Any updates?

It's not the skid plate.

Did you figure it out?

banshee01 wrote:

slovenian6474 wrote:

banshee01 wrote:

Ever run it without the skid plate?  Run it outdoors without the skidplate please. Any updates?

It's not the skid plate.

Did you figure it out?

Nope. Just riding it as is.

I'm not going to lie, that thing sounds terrible.

Jerry S wrote:

I'm not going to lie, that thing sounds terrible.

Well yeah, that's why I posted it. I have concluded it's not the skidplate or the cam valve spacing. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to be able to tear it down for investigative work. It didn't do this before but crept into without me really noticing until this point.

Ok, sorry I didn't see this earlier. I would bet almost 100% that is camchain noise. I've heard it often enough on my bike before fitting a manual tensioner.

Before pulling the thing apart, you could try a manual tensioner and follow the fitting instructions exactly. However, at 38,000miles  (about 62,000km), the chain might need replacing anyway.

If it was my bike? I'd replace both items, and be done with it. Oh, I already have...

66T wrote:

Ok, sorry I didn't see this earlier. I would bet almost 100% that is camchain noise. I've heard it often enough on my bike before fitting a manual tensioner.

Before pulling the thing apart, you could try a manual tensioner and follow the fitting instructions exactly. However, at 38,000miles  (about 62,000km), the chain might need replacing anyway.

If it was my bike? I'd replace both items, and be done with it. Oh, I already have...

It actually has a manual tensioner on it. It may not in the video, but I installed one. It got rid of the chain noise but not this noise. It probably is time for a new chain though...

Fwiw, I still think it is cam chain. Have you tried adjusting the tensioner a bit more (gently) with the engine running?

How much useable adjuster thread is left before the locknut?

66T wrote:

Fwiw, I still think it is cam chain. Have you tried adjusting the tensioner a bit more (gently) with the engine running?

How much useable adjuster thread is left before the locknut?

I tensioned it per the instructions with the manual tensioner. It did get rid of obvious chain slap but I forgot to measure the chain to see if it was still in spec. I believe it has more thread if I need to. It hasn't been ran too often lately due to it being cold and no heated grips on it. Also I have some more important things that need work at the moment so we'll see.

Fair enough! Hope it all goes well, and that it's easy fix when you get the time to do it.