this is my klx250D (D-tracker) 2003 is this engine sound is normal or bad ? whats the problem 🤔 also when engine is cold..light ticking noise from the valve area is it normal ? only when its cold

 

Sounds a whole lot more like a really bad automatic cam chain tensioner and I've heard a few in my life time, on line and on three of my bikes - all Kawasakis and one a KLX250. My bikes are the reason I make the manual tensioners I do. If you find it is the cam chain tensioner - the noise is loudest at the tensioner itself, PM me and I can help. I do ship world wide so should be no problem where you are. I'm sure others will say similar things. A valve wouldn't be that loud.

You can verify what I say by doing the following. Take a mechanic's stethoscope or a long handle screwdriver (put the handle against your ear to hear) put the tip around the engine, up by the cam cover and in the area of the cam chain tensioner. I believe you will find the noise loudest at the tensioner.

 

but the cam chain tensioner is new and chain, guides are also newly installed but i never had a valve adjustment.. this ticking is not loud,,only on idle when engine cold..

 

watch this you will find the noise clearly..that was a very light ticking.. not as cam chain noise it's from the up side

 

It's that louder clacking on the right side of the engine. That lighter ticking is more or less normal, the louder clacking in the other video does not strike me as normal. Do the listening technique I mentioned and see what you find. After you run for a thousand miles/kilometers or so pull the tensioner out and see if there isn't a wear pattern on it the back side will be polished from sliding in and out, the teeth will show a wear pattern.

 

back side little bit polished

to


i just removed the tensioner it looks fine 😕 no damages on the tooths ..

 

by the way how to know if the valves needed a adjustment ?

 

It is there, it is just starting. It will get worse. Usually shows up as a rattle around 4000-6000 rpm for most.

I use a magnifier to see it up close. The proof of what I am saying, see that polished section... that is how far back into the body the ratchet plunger is being pushed by the cam drive. It is supposed to extend out and hold position, the reason for the rack and pawl set up. Problem is the chain doesn't wear or seat in in 1mm increments. Your tensioner should NOT have that polished area if it was working correctly.

Here is what it will look like in a few thousand miles:




That is how far the plunger kept getting pushed in and snapping back out. That is the loud noise. If it gets bad enough the chain can whip and skip teeth at the crank sticking the valves into the piston, usually breaking the cam chain at the same time. That last picture shows the one tooth that is polished looking, that is the wear that allows the ratchet to skip under enough pressure. The five or so teeth showing the pattern is how far back it goes, then pushes forward again. A heavier spring is not the answer, the cam drive is supposed ideally run with no tension, the light spring in it is just there to push the plunger forward when there is slack.

By the way, that is the one that was in my KLX250. My 650 had similar wear, and the one shown on my web site is from a GSXF1250. That is the common wear pattern that shows it isn't working. Yours has just started.

 

local mechanics said that was a bearing problem they said my cam chain is not moving straight.. thats why my cam chain needs more tension to get tight 😕 i also have manual adjuster but that adjuster If move it lightly , I have to tighten it up more to reduce the sound but after that i heard whirring noise from cam chain area...confused 😖also my clutch basket is very loud and that bearing is also worn outed

 

Your mechanic is full of crap, the only bearing in the cam drive is the bearing surface the cams ride in and the main bearing on the crank. There is no bearing in the actual cam drive. Only the crank sprocket, the two cam sprockets, the front fixed slider, the back adjustable slider and the lower spring load. No bearing.

if you have an actual manual tensioner the adjustment is done by finger tightening the adjuster bolt while cold, backing off about 1/4 turn then tightening the lock nut to hold the adjuster bolt. If hot, with the engine running and warmed up, break the lock nut loose, back out the tensioner slowly until you hear and may feel clicking in the bolt, then you turn the adjuster bolt in slowly gently until ticking just stops, then hold the adjuster bolt and tighten lock nut tight. That should be virtually perfect. You never tighten the adjuster bolt beyond finger tight.

Your mechanic tells you there should be more tension, chains are not meant to run with tension. They are meant to run from slight slack to no slack, no tension. I've been doing this stuff for about 10 years now, using manual tensioners in my bikes for about 20 years, and have a mechanical engineering background. I know a bit about what I am telling you. Here are the instructions, although my new ones are a shade different.

By the way, where is the manual tensioner? The one in the bike and in your hands is the OEM automatic tensioner that regularly fails.