knocking sound suspect loose valve

My Bike is doing knocking sound
Here is the noise



Today my buddy and i  checked the valve clearance. Here is the result:

Intake:        in spec

Exhaust:     I suspect BIG PROBLEM.    Valve clearance should be between  0.23 and 0.30 mm. I have one valve verry loose with more than 0.50mm of play (I didn't have a gauge more thick that fit in there) and the other exhaust valve is too tight with 0.15 mm of play.

To the more experienced folks,  could it be that knocking sound coming from that loose valve?

hockey4ever wrote:

To the more experienced folks,  could it be that knocking sound coming from that loose valve?

Problems usually arise from valves that are too tight, not too loose, but yours is loose beyond what I have ever seen.

If the noise is coming from the valves, then I would expect to see evidence of that on the camshaft lobes. What do they look like?

Did you set the correct gap? Did you start the bike again?

johnkol wrote:

hockey4ever wrote:

To the more experienced folks,  could it be that knocking sound coming from that loose valve?

Problems usually arise from valves that are too tight, not too loose, but yours is loose beyond what I have ever seen.

If the noise is coming from the valves, then I would expect to see evidence of that on the camshaft lobes. What do they look like?

Did you set the correct gap? Did you start the bike again?

Cam lobe seem to be ok no wear. I did not set the gap yet. I take this problem has a project so im taking my time as i have no experience in that stuff....

WOW, There must be a story behind that noise, hard overheat, hydrolocked, no oil, never changed oil, something sucked up intake, lean running broken off sparkplug, and I know guys that got on freeway and ran them almost WOT for 4hours and they dont sound like that, I have a wr250r with 25000mi and all I do is oil change, filter and clean air filter once in a while and its sounds ok

hockey4ever wrote:

Cam lobe seem to be ok no wear.  I did not set the gap yet.  I take this problem has a project so im taking my time as i have no experience in that stuff....

You have to eliminate one variable at a time. Since you know that the valve clearances are not in spec, fix it, and then evaluate whether the problem is still there.

Im not able to remove bucket on 1 of the exhaust valve and 1 of the intake. When i pull it with a magnet, the bucket lift off but it block in the cylinder. I tried with a plier  no luck.. I am stuck.....Need help  please....thanks

hockey4ever wrote:

Im not able to remove bucket on 1 of the exhaust valve and 1 of the intake. When i pull it with a magnet, the bucket lift off but it block in the cylinder. I tried with a plier  no luck.. I am stuck.....Need help  please....thanks

You should be able to see where the bucket gets stuck. Is it a hard stop, like a protrusion where the bucket cannot move at all, or a soft stop, like gradually increasing friction that eventually becomes too great to overcome?

Using pliers is a really bad idea: if the bucket has been marked, then you will need a new bucket.

Sounds like an exhaust spring broke and the valve is contacting the piston.
I wouldn't run it again.
Pull the cams. Pull the head off.
If you don't have the ability to do that, start looking for another engine. Sell that one for parts.

Matt365 wrote:

Sounds like an exhaust spring broke and the valve is contacting the piston.
I wouldn't run it again.
Pull the cams. Pull the head off.
If you don't have the ability to do that, start looking for another engine. Sell that one for parts.

Exhaust spring? you mean exhaust valve spring that keep the valve closed?

I ordered a leak down test from Amazon. Before removing the head, i would like to diagnose it. What do you think?

What does the leak down test have to do with the buckets that cannot be removed?

johnkol wrote:

What does the leak down test have to do with the buckets that cannot be removed?

My problem in first place is my engine doing a knocking sound. If you go at the beginning of this thread, you'll see it. The stuck bucket is only another step that i need to go through...

hockey4ever wrote:

My problem in first place is my engine doing a knocking sound. If you go at the beginning of this thread, you'll see it. The stuck bucket is only another step that i need to go through...

Trying to troubleshoot multiple problems at once is an exercise in frustration.

The knocking sound can be a dozen different things. On the other hand, you have a clear mechanical issue: the buckets that cannot be removed. Fix the obvious issue first, and then move on to the next problem. Who knows, once you remove the buckets, the knocking problem will become obvious; for instance, if the buckets get stuck in a low enough position not to make contact with the camshaft, then the knocking sound could be the lobe hitting the bucket.

Here is the bucket not coming out. There is a lip created by maybe the cam shaft that prevent it from popping out. What type of file should i use to remove the lip? Should i use a dremmel?

Looks like a hard stop.

Can you actually see the protrusion that does not allow the bucket to come out? Any indication of how that protrusion came to be?

Is the other bucket the same?

johnkol wrote:

Looks like a hard stop.

Can you actually see the protrusion that does not allow the bucket to come out? Any indication of how that protrusion came to be?

Is the other bucket the same?

hard to see but i can feel it with a verry small allen key. I need to file or dremel it.... I have 2 buckets stuck like this. The other 2 were removed without any problem

You need to identify the source of these nicks, otherwise how do you know it won't happen again? Have you always had this bike, or did you buy it used with this problem?

I would remove the head for any file or dremel work, otherwise the debris will find their way to the cylinder.

johnkol wrote:

You need to identify the source of these nicks, otherwise how do you know it won't happen again? Have you always had this bike, or did you buy it used with this problem?

I would remove the head for any file or dremel work, otherwise the debris will find their way to the cylinder.

good advise i'll remove the head thanks

I finally removed the head and found that the journals and cams are toasted. I think i need a new head and cam and probably a new bike cause it is too $$$$$. All this happened because of me. The reason is before my last ride with this bike, i decided to remove the clutch basket and sand the fingers on it ( the clutch was still slipping even after i replaced it)..... So i must have put back the basket incorrectly because i found the idle gear broken. The idle gear is driven by the clutch basket and this idle gear drive the oil pump. Please see below pictures of the broken idle gear and the head. My Engine lacked oil and it started by ruining the top end first. The moral of this story is this:
When you remove the basket, be sure it is seated properly when you put it back in. It is verry easy to think it is and in reality it's not. Before you remove it mark the height and be sure to put it back at the same height. Thanks to all who helped me in this thread

You replaced all the clutch plates and the clutch was still slipping?

Agree, rebuilding doesn't make much sense at this point since you don't know how many other parts were affected by the lack of lubrication.

Another member had a similar problem recently (although his bottom end was destroyed too), and he ended up buying a new engine.

johnkol wrote:

You replaced all the clutch plates and the clutch was still slipping?

Agree, rebuilding doesn't make much sense at this point since you don't know how many other parts were affected by the lack of lubrication.

Another member had a similar problem recently (although his bottom end was destroyed too), and he ended up buying a new engine.

The clutch basket fingers were notched and this prevent smooth clutch operation....

At least you came back on to give what you found out to be the cause, something that so many posters asking for help never do.
There's always a reason for mysterious problems.