XT500 Ticking sound??

[Curtis]

Wondering if anyone has experienced this before?
My 76 XT500 has a ticking sound from the upper part of the engine, that is slowly getting worse.
Bike runs well, good comp etc. Had the top end apart not too long ago, everything seems in good order, Iv re checked the clearances many times.
Strange thing is, when its cold it quiet but the more it warms up the louder the tick gets! 

[curly001]

3 things come to mind.

Cam chain adjustment.

Conrod little end starting to oval.

Rocker pivot shaft worn or head pivots worn.

[matcho mick]

well bugger me,i have one in the workshop,doing the same thing,this ticking in the top ends getting more noticable,was in for hard starting/tuneup,i thought it was just noisy tappets,won't start on k/starter,fires on rollers straightaway,idles,motors down the paddock ok,has comp,done all the usuals,(then checked them again  ),i'm about to pull the motor out for a sticky,i'm thinking little end,or gudgeon pin wear,(pins best outcome??),

[Curtis]

I thought maybe cam chain? But they kinda get clacky at idle then quiten with revs. Its high in the engine, sounds just like a noisy tapped. Im hoping to get in there for a look this week.

[500Fool]

There's a little steel/rubber washer that goes on/in the camchain adjustment that screws into the back of the barrel. Without that it makes a ticking noise. Check all components there compared to parts book in camcahin adjuster

[mick25]

I had the same noise years back done valves still had the noise ,
Get it running then take off cam chain ten cover and tighten adjuster until rod peice just moves in and out slighty then see if the noise stops.
Sometimes it's the cam chain taping on the guides if the chain is to lose.

[matcho mick]

mick,i overadjusted slightly to see what effect that had,made no diff,will pull the tensioner assembly out as per 500fools idea,didn't really want to pull motor out,so hopefully this rubbers gone walkies,external fixes are the go ,cheers

[mick25]

Matcho mick , there should be a spring on the push rod to , to push the cam chain guide against the chain ,  I removed one once and some one had no spring on it and they put lots of 6mm nuts on the push rod to make up for missing spring 

[matcho mick]

bugger,mines all good,that rubber spacer  (captive between 2 metal washers?),& it's in place,yeah mick seen some crazy fixes too,sorta needs must stuff,another commonish thing with these motors if tappetts are left loose they hammer a depression in the valve stem,you slip the feelers in around the edges ,then adjust & wonder why it's still noisy,this ticking noise is strangley similar to a noisy tappet,& it seems on the camchain side of the motor,but that can be deceptive,bloody echo chamber in there?,ha ha,more thoughts please 

[80-85 husky]

long shot but its not a cracked piston with a bit of trapped skirt (the best kind) flapping at the top and bottom of the stroke . saw a bloke spend mega bucks on roller rockers in a v8 years ago to "get rid of that ticking noise" only to have mr McHanic say "out with that motor" and he had to find a new block as he had f*cked about so long with the rockers, the bore was worn past re boring.

[mick25]

Himm I don't have much more .
I've had these old thumpers for 26 years and never had this prob ,
Cam chain flogged out worn ?
Could it be a stuffed cam bearing ?
Could it be worn stuffed cam chain guides ?
Brent j on here maybe of some help ,
I remember him telling me how he had some sort of noise I think ?
He had to pull it down a few times to fix it but he told me this a few years back .
Or just take the baffles out of it mick so you can't here it 
Or it's just a ticking time bomb due for a rebuild 

[brent j]

As 500fool said check the rubber faced washer on the cam chain tensioner.
Set the tension as the manual describes, it can make a difference

Another source of noise is from the tappets where the adjusters run on the valves. I can't remember which way they wear but if I've got it right the adjusters are convex and they wear the valve tops concave. When you set the clearance the feeler gauge sits on the tip of the convex adjuster and on the edges of the concave valve stem. The concave valve stem lets the adjuster sit further in so increases the true clearance.

On one of my motors I used Porsche adjusters as they are a ball and socket arrangement. It made the motor quieter and needed some mode to the adjuster arms. It also cost about $160 for two adjusters

[Curtis]

Iv tried playing with cam chain adjuster in the past, no difference. Ill update if I find anything. Its a bit of a pain you gota un bolt the engine every time.

[brent j]

Himm I don't have much more .
I've had these old thumpers for 26 years and never had this prob ,
Cam chain flogged out worn ?
Could it be a stuffed cam bearing ?
Could it be worn stuffed cam chain guides ?
Brent j on here maybe of some help ,
I remember him telling me how he had some sort of noise I think ?
He had to pull it down a few times to fix it but he told me this a few years back .
Or just take the baffles out of it mick so you can't here it 
Or it's just a ticking time bomb due for a rebuild 

I did spend a lot of time chasing a noise in my motor. It wasn't tappets, it was far more embarrassing than that

[JAP 454]

I've had a couple of XT / TT motors with a broken cam chain guide,  the one on the opposite side to the tensioner.
Foss