Valve cover bolts.

Did a valve job today on my XJ650. Put new sealing washers on the valve cover bolts. I figured out an easy way to get the washers on the bolts as the washers have to slip over a flange on the bolt. Apply a tiny amount of silicone lube on the inside of the rubber washer and on the flange of the bolt. This will help it get up and over the flange. I put a nut and flat washer on the end of the bolt and slowly tightened the nut, forcing the washer up and over the flange. Make sure you keep it straight to prevent damage to the rubber washer. It took me only about 20 minutes to do all 12 bolts this way. Be sure to wipe the excess silicone lube off the threads, as you want them clean and dry for re-assembly
Also I used YamahBond4 gasket adhesive at all corners of the gasket to stick it into the cover. Just a small bit at each spot is sufficient.

 

Good idea!

 

I did it dry (hah...)

But I used an adjustable wrench, sized it to JUST bigger than the flange.
Put the donut on, pushed the shaft of the bolt into the pliers and used them to work the donut back and forth. I think it took about 15 minutes total.


Those things are ROUGH, lol.

 

Can anyone tell me the torque requirements of the 12 valve cover bolts for my XJ650J. Yamaha manual doesn't list it clearly. I need it in inch-pounds.
thanks

 

ABout 7.2 foot pounds, multiplied by 12 = about 86.4 inch-pounds.......

 

Thank You Sir

 

Which is just "good and snug." They're stopped by the collars so they don't need to be super tight. The reason I bring this point up is that it's quite often difficult to get to the front two middle bolts with a torque wrench; just good and snug by hand with a hex key is tight enough.

 

I was able to get my Craftsman Microtork torque wrench in on the middle bolts. It was a tight fit. I had to angle the wrench first to get it into the hole. But it went in without too much trouble.
I had replaced the shims on intake and exhaust of #4 cylinder. Had the noticable ticking before replacement. After completion, I started it up and immediately noticed that the wavering rpm's at idle are gone. Plan to take her out for a test ride today. Maybe it will have a little more power. Hopefully a little more responsiveness.

Does anyone know if these bikes came with #280 shims from the factory? The 2 I replaced were 280 and was wondering if all cylinders started out with 280's. The bike has just shy of 18K miles and I don't believe it has ever had a valve adjustment. The valve cover gasket was dried and cracked and came out in pieces.