800GS - Look at My Cam and Oil Leak

[marty hill]

Joe, I'd be curious as to what Pete says. Say hi to Mike and Mark for me.

[Lost Rider]

Originally Posted by marty hill

Joe, I'd be curious as to what Pete says. Say hi to Mike and Mark for me.

will do!

[Bicyclist]

As I posted over on the F800 forum:
While it does look ominous, if you look at the parts fiche, it shows some sort of notches at that location.

The thing I'd be concerned about is that the gap on the left lobe looks as though it impinges on the area rubbed by the cam follower, or drag lever, as BMW calls it.

[Moving Pictures]

Ah, well. Hope you got warranty.

[beerrun]

If thats normal then why is the cam lobe burnt on the good side?????????????? your drag lever is probably wearing at an alarming rate. You may have metal blockage at your oil pump sufficient enough to cause overheating, and who knows what that grimlin will eat up. Its a casting defect pure and simple. the heat associated with grinding may have changed the hardness, or just caused it to weaken further. Why would a reputable dealer bawk at any warranty work?

[]I)Money]

Originally Posted by beerrun

If thats normal then why is the cam lobe burnt on the good side?????????????? your drag lever is probably wearing at an alarming rate. You may have metal blockage at your oil pump sufficient enough to cause overheating, and who knows what that grimlin will eat up. Its a casting defect pure and simple. the heat associated with grinding may have changed the hardness, or just caused it to weaken further. Why would a reputable dealer bawk at any warranty work?

burnt where? I'm not seeing it.

Oh, and it's "balk"

It may still be a casting defect, but I'm not sold yet, based on just the one shot. It does seem clear from the photo that it was built that way, rather than having some material grenade off as some have suggested.

[Lost Rider]

OK, looks like I'm going to have to open it up to get some more photo's....
anybody have the torque specs I need?
Haven't found a service DVD yet....

[larryboy]

Originally Posted by ChiTown

The dealer that fixed my oil leak got me right in, gave me a loaner, and sent me on my way as fast as possible - I was far from home and wanting to keep moving asap, therefore new cams or whatever wasn't going to happen. They did what I wanted, and after asking a trusted source at another dealer I was fine with getting back on the road.

cheers

Joe

That's what I figured from your ride report. Most awesome by the way.


The thing is..you're home now and it needs to be repaired properly. I would have been done with the thing/bike after the chain snappage. The shock loads that the trans saw during that mess would be enough to warrant a full tear down and inspection along with replacing bearings on the shafts. You need somebody to verify what caused the oil leak. Did the shop that did their best to get you on the road just smear some sealant on a cracked valve cover from a chunk of metal that got flung off the cam or what. You paid a ton of money for that bike and it needs to looked after properly now that you've made it home.


Talking to trusted sources and techs isn't going to fix a thing. It's time for some elbow grease.

[Bruce.B]

Originally Posted by ChiTown

OK, looks like I'm going to have to open it up to get some more photo's....
anybody have the torque specs I need?
Haven't found a service DVD yet....

I wouldn't go ripping it apart just yet.

Those divots/nothces in the cam surface are there for a purpose. Since the cam follower is centered over the cam lobe, the cam follower would tend to always track the same position and never rotate. That would cause wear on the cam follower surface. By casting a small notch across part of the cam lobe (during a time when the valve is closed), there's a momentary interval when friction on one side of the cam follower is different than the other causing the follower to rotate slightly. The next time a valve is opened, the follower is in a slightly different position and the wear is distributed.

I'd be more concerned with what looks like white metal flakes on the cam surface. If it's steel, that's a problem; if it's aluminum, then it's probably flakes from removing the valve covers.

Bruce
Santa Fe, NM

[TedShred]

Originally Posted by Bruce.B

I wouldn't go ripping it apart just yet.

Those divots/nothces in the cam surface are there for a purpose. Since the cam follower is centered over the cam lobe, the cam follower would tend to always track the same position and never rotate. That would cause wear on the cam follower surface. By casting a small notch across part of the cam lobe (during a time when the valve is closed), there's a momentary interval when friction on one side of the cam follower is different than the other causing the follower to rotate slightly. The next time a valve is opened, the follower is i
Bruce
Santa Fe, NM

Careful there. You're disagreeing with all the "experts" here LOL.

[Boon Booni]

Originally Posted by ChiTown

OK, looks like I'm going to have to open it up to get some more photo's....
anybody have the torque specs I need?
Haven't found a service DVD yet....

Be wary of torque specs for the valve cover bolts. The valve cover bolt is shouldered all the way down to the threads. This means that when the shoulder bottoms out on the top of the cam cap (that threaded hole in your photo) it stops. So you basically go from loose to can't turn the bolt by hand anymore. At this point it is very easy to snap the valve cover bolt, and often the torque specs (probably because the threads are full of oil) are too much and will snap that bolt right at the shoulder.



I always snug them up by hand using a small 1/4" drive ratchet. It's very easy to feel what is snugging, and in reality it takes almost not stretching to break those bolts because there is almost no material to stretch between the shoulder and the thread.

[Bruce.B]

Originally Posted by TedShred

Careful there. You're disagreeing with all the "experts" here LOL.

I feel safe... they're shown on the parts fiche for the cam.

Bruce

[DockingPilot]

Spanker ?

[Bigem]

I would like to see a brand new camshaft and compare it against the fubar'd one. It may not be a problem but from my experience, this does not look good!!
I would ask my dealer to order one in and prove to me mine is okay: put up or shut up and fix it!!

[ricohman]

Originally Posted by Bruce.B

I wouldn't go ripping it apart just yet.

Those divots/nothces in the cam surface are there for a purpose. Since the cam follower is centered over the cam lobe, the cam follower would tend to always track the same position and never rotate. That would cause wear on the cam follower surface. By casting a small notch across part of the cam lobe (during a time when the valve is closed), there's a momentary interval when friction on one side of the cam follower is different than the other causing the follower to rotate slightly. The next time a valve is opened, the follower is in a slightly different position and the wear is distributed.

I'd be more concerned with what looks like white metal flakes on the cam surface. If it's steel, that's a problem; if it's aluminum, then it's probably flakes from removing the valve covers.

Bruce
Santa Fe, NM

Lifter or bucket rotation always occurs at the tip of the lobe which is ground on a slight taper.
As the 800 does not have either the follower will always be in the same position. I would think the follower has end play to tolenance but no movement in relation to the cam.