klx 300 seized cam

[KLXED]

I own a 2001 klx 300 great bike!!! until!!!
I have @ 3000 miles on the bike use castrol 10 40 w synthetic
motorcycle oil. change oil every other ride @ 200 to 300 miles
heres what happened before trip changed oil and filter . rode @
150 miles on day one next day checked oil level showed in mid glass ok. warmed bike up took off down road when shifting into third gear engine locked up bummer!!. At home pulled apart found
exhaust cam had seized in bore ? lack of lube/ rechecked oil level
and found at low mark in glass. pulled motor all the way down found no other damage or reason for failure. At this time took engine to jerry leighton at four stroke works very good pepole!
He also only found normal wear I had him go through engine he was able to save head. Installed stainless intake valves seals, shift star rework , and some rework of lower end for better reliablity, engine run's better then ever but what happened???!!!!
p.s. jerry told me to run oil level to top of glass and keep it there!

 

[JasonJ]

Hmm, maybe there is an oil pick up issue with the oil in the low range? Sounds like a clogged oil gallery maybe, Silicone is great stuff to seal motors and valve covers, but if a small blob falls into the motor its the perfect stuff to find and clog an oil passage. Other than that, improper torque or seating of the cam retainers? Many times they have an arrow on them that must point forward, and they should not be interchanged with one another once the cam has seated from new. 200 to 300 miles sounds like a bit of a haul for a thumper dirt bike, but I have a Yamaha and need to change oil like every 150 miles. Hours are more important on a dirt bike IMHO, how many hours do you put on between oil changes.
I just changed the oil in my WR for the first time this weekend since switching to Mobil 1 full syn oil, 15/50 wt. I noticed almost NO metal shavings in the oil filter as compared to previous oil changes. I almost didnt have to clean the oil filter it was so clean!! I had neglected my oil change an extra few hours too so Im pretty sold on that stuff, its a bit expensive, but Ill put the $$$ into my oil if I belive it will keep the motor together longer.

 

[KLXED]

Thanks for the input, When I go out for a weekend ride I'll put on @ 150 to
200 miles. when the engine was apart we found no silicon or anything that
would block a passage. My guess is that the level was on low side and haveing a wet sump oil supply the pump picked up a little air and thats all it takes!!
and it also had @ 500 miles sence I did the valve adjustment and I torque
the bolts to the right spec's. And 250 of those miles were in the sand dunes
Hard Hard miles!!!! . If you are running mobil oil you should be useing the new mobil 1 called MX4T 10W-40W it's specifically for use in motorcycles
with wet clutchs. For the whole story go to www.mobil.com there is some good
info. The oil your useing my cause your clutch to slip. As soon as I get the engine broke in I'll be running the new mobil 1 , good stuff.
Thanks again for the help.

 

[JasonJ]

Where are you getting the MX4T stuff from? I have had not clutch slipage problems even in the taller gears going from lug to the moon with the WR 400.

 

[KLXED]

I live in california and the name of the parts store is atozone, maybe if
you go to mobil's web site and ask for retailres in your area they could help
good luck.

 

[Brewster]

KLXED;
I've been thinking about your siezed cam. Did you remove the automatic cam chain tensioner before the siezure? If so, was the ratchet reset before reinstalling? And was the spring tension section the last to be installed? I'm thinking that maybe there was too much tension on the cam chain which then put too much pressure on the cam/cam journal.
Just a thought.

Ride on
Brewster

 

[KLXED]

yes I removed cam's for the valve adjustment along with tensioner but I
reset the tensioner when it was reinstalled.
Good thought I did not think of that one. Also there was @ 500 miles on bike
after valve adjustment I would think if that was the problem the failure should
of happend much sooner. Still good thought !

Thanks for the help.

 

[bambooi]

how much did it cost you to fix all that stuff?