Eight Ball: A Yamaha XJ400 cafe racer from Kiev. There’s a bit of history with this 1979 Yamaha XJ400. Upgraded with a XJ600 Diversion cylinder block. Yamaha XJ 400 free download repair manuals - Yamaha 1996 XJR 400 question. Yamaha XJ 400 free download repair manuals. How to change oil on xj400.

• Yamaha Xj 400 Diversion Service Manual

Don't feel dumb at all. Actually you posted a question in my valve adjustment how-to; here was what I answered: 'Do you have a 4-cylinder 400? If so it is very similar to the 550s. Your camchain tensioner is an assembly that sticks out the back of the cylinders, in the center below the carbs.

If it is the manual-type adjuster there is a locknut and bolt on the right side of it. It looks like this- All you actually see is the body and the adjusting bolt if it's that style, everything else is inside. (Ignore the arrow in the pic, that was for something else.) Adjustment is as follows: Remove the ignition cover as shown in this thread; and position the pointer to the 'C' position on the plate. Using a 12mm deepwell socket, loosen the locknut on the adjuster bolt. Then using a 10mm socket, loosen a couple of turns but do not remove the adjuster locking bolt.

When you loosen the bolt you will probably hear a 'click' as the adjuster takes up slack. You may not, no worries. Re-tighten the bolt to 6 newton-meters (51.6 in/lb) then torque the locknut to 9 newton-meters (78 in/lb) and you're done. If you DON'T have a bolt with a locknut on the side of your adjuster then it is the 'semi-automtic' type and I'm not 100% sure on that procedure as all my XJs have the manual tensioners.

The 'tool' is Yamaha special tool #5-00, commonly known as the 'Yamaha valve shim tool.' It's readily available from almost any aftermarket motorcycle parts supplier like Bike Bandit, you can find them on Amazon and XJ4Ever (link on the banner in the upper right) carries them as well. You can also use a piece of #12 insulated electrical (house) wire with a hook on the end, shove it down the plug hole and hook under the edge of the valve to keep it open.

I personally do not use or advocate this method.' If your bike is similar (motor-wise) to this Pacific-rim market XJ400, you should be good: This bike belongs to a forum member in Santiago, Chile; not sure what year it is. BigFitz, I took this picture to ask your opinion. Despite the shitty resolution (I used my Samsung at night with flash), you can notice how much whiter (and cleaner) the middle section of the engine looks.

This is really very suspicious. When I bought it, the former owner told me that 'one cylinder was cracked'.

Yamaha Xj 400 Diversion Service Manual

However, he made the engine run, and the ugly noise I heard came from the upper part, around or near the camshaft. From your opinion (and before I go any further than first try to adjust the chain tension and revise the chims as per your fantastic tutorial), could it be that he tried to fix the 'cylinder problem' (perhaps substituting the whole what-you-call-it, whiter (or 'silveryer' hahaha) than the rest on the picture) and gave up for whatever reason? Aharon Your picture didn't attach; possibly too big. I would be very suspicious of 'one cylinder is cracked' and certainly investigate further.

It's very possible that you have an exhaust leak at the head/pipe junction and it's been mis-diagnosed, just from the sound of things. It's often the result of a minor accident or tipover and the assumption gets made that it's a more serious problem. BillB Let's just say you can hear it. With everything properly adjusted and the motor warmed up, it's quite 'busy' up there; when the cam chain gets loose it can result in an audible 'slap' against the inside of the cover if you blip the motor.

Aharon's 400 and the 550s have a whole different sound component than the bigger bikes though, the primary chain has a sound all of its own to contribute. Exhaust pipe. Even though they are often hard to see even with the pipes removed, there are soft gaskets in between the head pipes and the cylinder head itself. The collar with the two nuts presses against a flange on the pipe, which compresses a soft composite gasket set into the opening in the head. In the even of a tipover or light crash, the pipe can 'pack' the gasket in unevenly and cause a leak. It's not uncommon. In answer to your other question, now that we can see your photos: The portion of the motor that is brighter silver in your picture is the cylinder unit itself; the grubbier section above that is the cylinder head.

Perhaps the previous owner replaced the cylinders? You're really going to need a service manual at some point; if you can't locate one for the XJ400 then an XJ550 manual will do you a lot of good. The 550 Seca is the direct descendent of the original XJ400CC 4-cylinder, and the two motors are virtually identical. Thank you BigFitz.

Indeed the exhaust (a 4x1) is all scratched, so the girl has been kissing the ground. I will look for the XJ 550 service manual, because the 400 is non-existant to my knowledge: all my searches came up empty. On a personal note: I showed your posts and explanations to my son Ariel (he is 24) yesterday, and he started making questions and more questions. I was more than happy to oblige, of course. At some point he said 'I am fascinated by engines'. I told him that he is welcome to help me rebuild this engine and stuff, my point being: with my best friend as my buddy, this project cannot fail. How I love this guy!

Every little happy move must be comemorated! I began purchasing the tools to get my bike going again! Today I got a set of 9 metric chrom-vanadium hex wrenches ('Allen keys'). Sizes from 1.5 to 10mm. Thanks to XJBike's advice at the FAQ forum, I chose a set with a ball point on the longer arm, for better reach and operation at an angle. I also ordered a torque wrench with metric sockets from 5 to 25 mm, and a 'feeler-gauge' (that is how they called it at the store).

They are supposed to be at hand tomorrow. I am truly excited about being my own mechanic - it is not about the money, it is about the spirit of the thing! Guys, I am having difficulties at stores here trying to explain the type of torque ratchet wrench I need.

When I say that I need someone capable of 7 to 9 Nm, they laugh and call it 'watch repair tool'. Can you please tell me the specification of the tool I need?

My son is in Israel's air force. He says that the torque wrench he uses there allows him to set the torque desired before applying it to the nut.

The air force is rich, I am not, so maybe a more humble model would do? Boy, it is difficult to deal with israeli businessmen - they act (they fleece you) as if they do not care whether you come back to buy again or not!