cl350 camchain noise?

El_capitan

El_capitan

Go Packers!
So I have a 73 Cl350 that I picked up last spring and I've got a couple of questions on the timing chain tensioner/ camchain. A little history this bike sat for several years indoors I believe the last time it was on the road was 1999. Cleaned out the tank and carbs as well as the usual tuneup things. Runs good has good power. But its got a noise that I think may be the camchain kinda a rump rump rump sound when idling. Now I have adjusted the tensioner but it sounds the same. I pulled off the tensioner and looked at the rubber wheel looks -OK I mean it has wear but isn't trashed buy any means. So I guess my questions are does the warrant a tear down? And should I go back together with stock cam parts? Keep in mind this bike won't be raced I just don't wanna snap the camchain and bend valves or possibly do more damage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XVz8ppIcNs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Thanks for any help/advice.
 
Happen to have a video? Be easier to guess. When you pulled the tensioner off did you make sure it worked? They do STICK once in a while.
 
Suppose I cloud try to get a video uploaded. Yes the tensioner does work. The noise isn't too terribly loud seems to get a bit quieter as the engine warms up. The thing is I really don't want to hurt this engine, it runs well and has relatively low mileage just under 9k. Ill put the exhaust back on and try to get a video later today.
 
350s and 360s generally make a lot of top end noise. As long as your tensioner is working you're probably OK. If you haven't yet had an opportunity, change out the oil. Any metal flecks in there will tell you all you need to know.
 
The first time I changed the oil it was pretty clean. Since I've owned it I've put a few hundred miles on it. I've changed the oil actually a few times to get it flushed out and there's never been any metal in the oil cap sump thing or the filter rotor. The only thing I've ever seen come out is a couple very small pieces of rubber presumably from one of the tensioner wheels. Like I said the wheel looks OK not perfect but not trashed..
 
See if you can find a teflon slipper to replace that old rubber wheel and I bet it would sound a bit better. Those rubber wheels just weren't meant to last 40+ years, I think.
 
That's kinda what I was thinking. Also I doubt sitting for years not running doesn't do those wheels to good. I mean rubber does rot and swell over time..
 
9,000 miles?! Nice!
With that low of mileage, it obviously has had a lot of sitting. I just tore apart a 20,000 mile engine- it did a lot
of sitting. The wheels didn't look worn out, but the rubber was so petrified I wouldn't think about reusing them.
(Yes, there's 2 rubber wheels) They aren't very durable pieces, even when new. That's one reason so many people choose to replace them with a teflon slipper.
The only one I know of is the KA slipper. You can get them here: http://bore-tech.com/
They aren't cheap, but everybody says great things about their durability. It is not a simple drop-in part- you do have to do some minor machining to the cam chain tunnel in the cylinder head to give the part the required clearance to work. It's also recommended that you use a Tsubaki cam chain in conjuction with this part though. This is what undoubtedly turns a lot of people away- you have to split the cases to replace the chain (at least if you want to do it the right way!)
It all depends on how anal you are- a replacement set of Honda rollers will do the job, but they most likely won't last as long. Either way you go- this part is a wear item that should be watched and replaced as needed. Noise is the least to be concerned about when it comes to your cam chain and rollers, tensioners, etc. Every old chain-driven overhead cam engine is going to have chain noise, it's the nature of the beast. But if you're finding bits of rubber in your oil, I'd do something about it before I ran it much longer...
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XVz8ppIcNs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Someone asked for a video, however this is the first time I've posted a video here so I hope it works..
 
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