RM-Z250 Oil starved cam journal? How bad?

[JoniX]

Figured I'd try to adjust my valves for myself on my Suzuki RMZ 250 (2005). Everything went fine until it came to removing the exhaust buckets and they didn't come up. I then noticed the cam and cam journal where worn and had made an "lip" that the buckets hit.

Probably not the best of ideas, but I used a very large screwdriver and a hammer and gently tapped the lip to flatten it out till I could get the bucket out on the left side, and then use fine emery cloth to smooth the edge out. I used the emery cloth directly on the right side, which worked better.

Anyway, how bad are this damage? The bike ran fine last year before I stored it for the winter. Do I even need to address the problem or does it just look worse than it is? If so, what can I do about it?

The pictures are from before I used the emery cloth on the rough edges, they are gone now.

 

[SRAD97750]

Can you post a photo of the cam? Not looking good. -BIG DAN

 

[snowflake]

looks thoroughly fucked to me.

 

[JoniX]

I forgot to take a picture of the cam, I'll take one tomorrow. But to describe the cam, the surface was blueish but it was not rough.

Yeah I've got no experience what so ever about cams hence why I'm asking how bad it is. But even I think it looks bad

 

[SRAD97750]

Yeah, seems to be pretty worn and bluing is an instant indicator of an overheat situation probably by some debris in the oil or lack of oil. All that material you removed came from that journal face, at some point. -BIG DAN

 

[JoniX]

Yeah. But as stated, it ran fine last summer. Wouldn't this cause some problem pretty quick?

And I suppose the only option are to get a new head and cam?

 

[SRAD97750]

Yeah. But as stated, it ran fine last summer. Wouldn't this cause some problem pretty quick?

And I suppose the only option are to get a new head and cam?

Nope, short of catastrophic failure, you're looking at the only indicator it was going to give.
Yeah, replacement is the only reasonable option.-BIG DAN

 

[2strokesteve89]

Yeah. But as stated, it ran fine last summer. Wouldn't this cause some problem pretty quick?

And I suppose the only option are to get a new head and cam?

Heat and or lack of lubrication is the cause. And by the way, the head is FUBAR.

 

[ossagp]

I know the temptation, but seizing the cam is a good possibility and then you are likely to ruin everything aluminum on it. at the very least measure to see if you are even close to tolerance. then "you have to ask yourself, are you feeling LUCKY?"

 

[JoniX]

Well okay, a new or used good head and cam seems to be my next step. Luckily I hate money and all my vehicles tend to help me with that problem

How do you measure the tolerances?

Also, how would I troubleshoot why it has been starved of oil, so it doesn't happen again? The intake cam looks fine. I'm used to wrenching, just not much inside the engines so I have no clue really.

Edit: typo

 

[2strokesteve89]

Well okay, a new or used good head and cam seems to be my next step. Luckily I hate money and all my vehicles tend to help me with that problem

How do you measure the tolerances?

Also, how would I troubleshoot why it has been starved of oil, so it doesn't happen again? The intake cam looks fine. I'm used to wrenching, just not much inside the engines so I have no clue really.

Edit: typo

If you have a manual it should tell you how to measure the journals head and cams for clearance and end play tolerances, if you do not have a manual now is the time to get one. As far as checking for the cause of the issue at hand, I'd start looking at does it have one or two oil feed galleys going to the head, if there is one which cam does it feed first? If it is the intake side, check for a restriction to the exh cam inside the head. If there are two oil galleys to the head, and one for each cam, check for a restriction in the oil passage leading from the pump to the head.

 

[ossagp]

I have one word for you: Plastics. in this case silicone.

 

[Mihylo33]

Ouch!!! That's gonna hurt the wallet!!!
You caught the bomb before it really went off.

 

[JoniX]

Here we go, some pictures of the rest of it. I suppose I'd probably be best off getting a new cam with the head as well?

 

[JoniX]

If you have a manual it should tell you how to measure the journals head and cams for clearance and end play tolerances, if you do not have a manual now is the time to get one. As far as checking for the cause of the issue at hand, I'd start looking at does it have one or two oil feed galleys going to the head, if there is one which cam does it feed first? If it is the intake side, check for a restriction to the exh cam inside the head. If there are two oil galleys to the head, and one for each cam, check for a restriction in the oil passage leading from the pump to the head.

I've got a manual on the computer, I'll see if I find anything there.
I see! This might be obvious once I take the rest of it apart, but how do I tell the coolant lines apart from the oil lines? I suppose the oil have much smaller holes?

I have one word for you: Plastics. in this case silicone.

Silicone, as in, this was caused by silicone?

Ouch!!! That's gonna hurt the wallet!!!
You caught the bomb before it really went off.

Yeah you tell me.. the dealer wanted about 600 USD for a complete head excluding the cams, which is almost half the price I bought the bike for I'll see if it's possible to buy a head excluding screws and valves and all that, and just transplant it. Or find a used one somehow.