Help me not to freak out on this....

Owned my xj for about a month without any issues...

It is now time for an oil change. I'm going to be doing chacal's oil conversion kit so I'm not super worried about that part.

My bike tends to run hot so I also want to do a coolant system flush (which seems more involved)

I also want to redo my front and rear brakes. They squeak which is annoying and loud. (This seems WAY more involved.)

Chacal sent me a parts/options list that is about 5 pages long...

I want to learn to work on bikes but I also don't want to mess up my xj.

Am I freaking out over nothing and just need to jump right in? Or should I just take it to a local shop?

I really want to be able to fully maintain and do everything on this bike even modifications maybe one day but my mechanical experience is limited to changing the oil, brake pads, and a hose on my 1994 Honda accord... hahah.

Do I need to rebuild my mc when I do my brakes? I so wish one of you Experts lived close to me...

 

You should do both and if you are slow and methodical they are not difficult jobs. Better to learn and keep your hard earned in your pocket. I encourage you to use the search function so that you can find gems like:

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=35191.html

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=18377.html

 

don't drain the "middle gear" cavity - 10MM bolt.

You may want to use a "radiator flush" chemical available at auto parts stores.

He's good like that !! :lol: Use "copy-and-paste" to order the parts you want

It makes the most sense to do the complete front brake all in one go - and upgrade to SS lines.

For now, you can "de-squeal" your brake pads, that you will be changing later anyway, by removing them, drag them "sideways" @ 90* across concrete, then taper the leading edge. This gets rid of the "glaze" and gives a fresh surface. You will need to break them in away from traffic.
There's also products you can apply to the backside that absorb the vibration.

Your local shop is going to charge $80 an hour, even for looking up parts.

 

Absolutely, get a shop manual and use the search function! Take your time and learn proper mechanics.

Many guys come and ponder that very same question. If my memory serves me correctly, they have a harder time finding someone familiar with the xj series than learning for them selves. Often times, I think most resort to doing their own work.

GOOD LUCK!

 

I'm going to do the oil conversion kit first. That seems easy enough especially with the step by step picture instructions.

The coolant doesn't seem THAT bad...

Whats the middle gear cavity bolt? Is that in the manual?

I am honestly most worried about the brakes. Maybe when I get there I will just post another thread as I go with the questions that come up.

 

DON'T touch or think about middle cavity bolt unless you are tearing engine apart.

Even if you found a shop, they'd probably rip you off and make bike worse if you let them do carbs.

 

Do not even SPEAK of the BOLT that should not be NAMED!

Torques for this bolt are listed wrong in the Haynes, it's REALLY soft, in a precarious position, and will basically require remove of the engine if you mess up (personal experience here)

Most of the oil comes out of the regular drain bolt under the filter. That's all you should use, and that's all you need to know about draining the oil.

Get yourself the manual, and ask questions as you go. Give yourself lots of time. Almost NONE of the work on these bikes is difficult, but it PAYS to have the right tools, the right information, organization, time, and patience.

EDIT: Actually, there are two things I'd trust someone else to do: PAINT and installing TIRES on the RIMS. Of course, these aren't specific to XJs, and are not worth the hassle in my opinion.

 

Ya, you know just as much about these bikes as your local shop would. Do not take it somewhere.
I did almost everything by myself and the stuff I did have a local shop do I ended up redoing myself anyway.
What you are going to be doing is actually pretty easy.
YOU CAN DO IT!

 

You say it runs Hot, is that in city driving, as in start stop or highway driving? As it's a known "feature" of the X, especially in start stop riding, in traffic.

Just make sure that when you flush the cooling system, if you use an engine flush product, that you give it a real GOOD flush with clean water afterwards, and fill the system with an Anti-freeze mixture, otherwise you are liable to have it corroding the water ways

And make sure that your fan IS cutting in too, it usally takes until the gauge is nearly in the red or even just in the red before it cuts in

 

Hahah I think I'm just a wimp. But I do want to learn and I am motivated. Looks Like I'll just jump in and go from there. If i follow chacal's picture conversion kit pdf I won't be touching this "should not be named bolt" will I?

Running hot.

Even If I'm steady at 6-7k on the highway it stays nice and cool right about middle. Any stops at lights or stop signs and it starts to get up there I've never hit the red... But it's gotten close and I always get to go then. I'm just worried that If I ever get stuck in stop and go traffic I'll be screwed....

 

Exactly. All that work is in the front of the engine. The middle gear drain bolt is not. Chacal's won't steer you wrong, he advises that you don't touch it.

 

Try to get a factory service manual. You won't regret it.

 

I have a few different old copies that appear to be scan offs from the original Yamaha manuals. But they're for like the 650-750. I imagine its pretty much the same for my 700?

 

>Don't mention the bolt that shouldn't be named.....
good one


But remember...

don't mention the word "shop".... Oops, now I said it

Dave

 

Haha - - Voldebolt !! I like it !

 

Gasp!!! He dares to spek of the BOLT that should not be named!!

 

What is all the fuss about the middle bolt?

I have changed my oil 19+ times and never had any issues with this bolt.

Drain all of the oil out of the motor and middle gear an re-tighten gently(two fingers on the ratchet) ...it's only a 10mm bolt going into aluminum.

 

All hail the great PGDBUD LOL

 

I listed the reasons here:

Mine actually came out without and issue. My mistake was torquing to the spec in the Haynes, and it was 50% more than the Factory Manual stated. Thankfully, my engine was already out, and a left handed bit was all it took to reverse the bolt. It was still hard to get to with a left handed bit/easy out, even with the engine out due to she shape of the oil pan.

If it's seized for any reason, the bolt head will easily shear off.

 

Thats normal for the temperture gauge and running of the X, nothing to worry about. Like I said before, keep a check on the fan, that it does kick in.

If you want to be safe, you can always wire a manual switch, so you can switch it on and off when you want to.

 

Alright guys I am about to dive in to the oil conversion kit ordering that from chacal today...

When it comes time to do the coolant and brakes (within the next week or so...) Is it allowed for me to post the parts list he sent me for you folks to tell me what all I need or should do? I really don't have a clue on this...

Also I've decided if I'm going to do this I want to do it right. Any one have THE manual for the xj700 maxim x? I've found other ones online but not one specific to my bike.. Want to make sure I do this all right..

And I am going tool shopping Sunday. I figure I'll probably need more than a screw driver and the solder I have now...

What all do you folks reccomend I pick up? I would like to get a good deal of the tools I will need to work on this bike while I have some spare $. Any help is appreciated.

 

Here you go, The owners manual:

http://www.4shared.com/office/DlxcxVW1/ ... nual_.html

And the service manual:

http://www.4shared.com/office/pzHAlX2s/ ... nual_.html

 

Thank you for those! I had the owner's but not the service!

Are all the value's in there correct as far as you know? Torque specifications for tightening and all of that jazz? I read that one of them is off the hayes if I recall correctly.

 

Smurf beat me on the manual ... You cannot get a Haynes or such on this bike. It doesn't exist. The ONLY service manual is the official Yamaha one and they still want $100 for a hard copy. Unless you want to spend that type of money, your best bet is a PDF scanned copy from a source like he provided above.

Check the dates on the brake lines. If they are more than 4 years old, buy the SS steel lines from Chacal. The SS lines are about 50% more than the regular ones but will out last 3 sets of those, or more. They will also provide better braking for you, making you safer.

Rebuild the master cylinder and replace the pads at the same time. Do it all at once to be safe and efficient, and do this before doing any more riding. Also check your rear brake pad for delamination and if you aren't certain it was replaced, just replace it and don't quibble. I go so far as to suggest to just replace it regardless. The risk to your life just isn't worth $20 or so. For everything, including SS brake lines, you are probably looking at about $250. It will be the best $250 you have ever spent as it will keep you alive better than any other $250 (save maybe your helmet ...)

I am planning on rewiring my radiator fan so that it always comes on when the bike starts. I just have to figure out how. Right now I am fairly certain one of the thermostats/controls isn't working so I need to do it manually, but I don't want to forget to turn it on and I don't want to forget to turn it off, so wired to run when the bike is running is perfect for me.

I have never had problems with over-tightening oil bolts. Everything I have ever seen has been that they shouldn't be much more than finger tightened and replaced each time so you get a clean threading and replacement seal. With a good seal and just over finger tight, it shouldn't be able to leak or come loose. YMMV. You can always check it easily enough and tweak it the tiniest bit if it isn't tight enough.

 

Tumbleweed I'm wanting to get this done... I know it is a lot to ask. So feel free to tell me no...

Could I pm you the parts list he sent me for the brakes. All the options and little replacement parts are overwhelming/confusing for me at this point. I'm not wanting to skimp on anything and do it right... Help with the cooling system parts would be appreciated from anyone as well...

I plan on keeping this bike forever. SO I plan on doing anything it needs. But I also don't want to buy stuff I dont need...
thanks in advance!

 

My dad is actually an electrical contractor and my girl friends father is an engineer. So I am pretty sure between the 3 of us we can figure out a way to keep the fan on all the time. I'll let you know how that goes!

 

Not too much to ask at all. Am happy to help. I like to talk ... some say pontificate ... Be aware that there are others much more knowledgeable than I. Designer_Mike, MaximX, et al., are far more experienced than I with XJ700s. You can use PM or my email works: abuse dot this2 at gmail dotcom

 

mt bmw has a test for the thermostat with a stove a meter and a thermometer but the forums have a better one, from cold the fan should come on after eight minutes, then it only runs about 30 sec. 8 min seems like a long time and the motor is HOT. just make sure the thermostat/fan works and you'll be fine.
those fans probably weren't made to run all the time and i'll bet their not easy or cheap to replace

 

Excellent thank you man I will give that a shot tonight.

 

Hmmm. Mine came wired with an on/off switch an no thermostat connection so I am assuming it was always on - unless you forgot to turn it on - and that scares me as I am sure I will forget. To my relatively low knowledge of electrical motors, I understood that keeping it on all the time would be better for it than turning on and off as the on/off occurances cause more motor wear than simply running?

 

i'am not saying yours should start up in 8 minutes but it should come on by itself and shut off by itself, try it at home a few times to get confident with it.
Biff, i think that on/off wear is for gas motors with oil pumps and the fit of all the parts until they come up to operating temp

 

Best thing to do mike, in my opinion (if I'm wrong, then I'm sure someone will chime in), the usual times, places, where it would be advisable to have it running, would be in slow, or stop-start traffic, on warm or hot days.

So as I approached the city or traffic, I would switch it on, leave it on until you are doing a constant 30mph, then switch it off.

Mike you'd know if it was time for it to be on, and it wasn't, I think the temp gauge would attract your attention to remind you, lol.

When I'm in stop start traffic, I still start looking at the fan and listening for it the whir of it, to start running. mine isn't a noisy fan, just a gentle hum, which is why I look every so often when stationary.

 

Hey ryancdossee,
given what you say regarding your family's knowledge and skills, any chance they could come up with a way to automatically turn on the fan when RPMs are low, say 3000 or less? That would have the fan running when it was likely for things to heat up and allow it to be off when there is proper air flow.

 

Isn't it supposed to be controlled by a thermal switch?

Wouldn't it make more sense to fix it so it works as designed? Like maybe Yamaha designed it correctly but now that the parts are 30 years old some of them might need to be replaced so it will?

 

If I can get the parts for a price my wallet can afford, then I am happy to do that very thing. Remember the relationship of Necessity and Invention.

 

I would think a thermal switch would be significantly cheaper than a new fan to replace the one that burned up from being left on all the time; or fixing a blown head gasket resulting from overheating.

 

Fitz,. I expect you are right, however, is anyone fairly certain that running the fan all the time will cause premature failure of the fan?

 

Yes.

 

Tumbleweed just get to that list when you can I know that it is alot!



When redoing my brakes If I'm doing the mc rebuild. ss brake lines.

Should I also rebuild the calipers, do new rotors, and everything else? Will it be easiest to just get it all done at once?

I plan on doing that and the oil coversion at the same time. We're about to have a week worth of rain so it'll give me a lot of time to get work done on the xj.

 

Tumbleweed. Didn't see your question I can ask. But it may be easier to find out why you're fan isn't click on. To do something like that you would have to hook it up to your tachometer plus you would want some sort of a relay otherwise every time you pull your clutch in and the rpms drop it would cick on for a split second causing tons of extra wear... :/ ( or so I would imagine)?

 

Yeah, expect you are right. Yes, it would have to key off the tach OR the same sensor the tach keys off of ... The tach on the 700's is electronic, not mechanical. I do think it would be much more healthy for the bike if the fan came on earlier than it does ... Letting it heat up to close to red before turning on just doesn't seem like a great idea.

 

You can boil your thermo-switch with a multi-meter attached. Use a candy/meat thermometer, I guess the switch should trip around 200* (?)
(fix it right)

Years ago I came up with an idea for an "automatic" fan switch (for a car)
Power comes from the brake light wire, to a switch that's connected to a "flapper" that turns "off" at 30 MPH, then on to the fan relay.

The fan would be on while waiting at red lights and slow driving while touching the brake.

 

If Necessity is the Mother, and there's no Father, then Invention can be a li'l Bastard sometimes :lol:

 

Hahaha I needed that laugh. :wink:

 

Im right across the mississippi from ya, i actually used to work right off hwy k in ofallon. If you catch yourself in a bind and need an extra set of hands or eyes feel free to get a hold of me. Ill actually be in st peters on wednesday or thursday to fix someones broke down car.

 

Ooooohhh. I want it. Make me one?