oil change - removing the camshaft cover
 

I changed the oil and filter the other day. The manual (as supplied from here) says to remove the camshaft end cover, then drain oil etc etc etc. Later it says refit the cam cover. You dont seem to need to do anything else apart remove and refit. My question is why?

The only reason I can think of is to relieve a vacuum that might build up at the top end that would prevent oil draining properly.

In the end I undid the bolts but couldnt get the cover off and as I couldnt find my rubber mallet to whack it with I decided to just put the bolts back in and worry about it next time (perhaps the vacuum was holding the cover on as it was stuck tight).

Which manual is that? I'm not at home to check, but I am pretty sure that both Haynes and the factory manual say to drain the sump (LH side of crankcase) and the oil tank (on front frame tube), but say nothing about the cam cover. The camchain comes up from the crankcase in a big wide hole, so there's no possibility of a vacuum in there.

As long as you have drained from two places (three if you count the filter housing) you should be fine. And cam covers do seem to get stuck on very tight. That's probably a good thing in terms of oil leaks etc.

(Sorry, read your post again. You mean the manual you got from this site? What page? I think there might be a misunderstanding here.)

Which manual XTX, XTR, XTZ & what page?

i found it.it's at page 3-24 of factory manual (xt660x-xt660r).PERIODIC CHECKS & ADJUSTMENTS-CHANGING ENGINE OIL.

Could that be to let air inside the engine to gain a better oil flow from the engine drain? As when you drain the oil tank and remove the filler plug you get a better flow.

oil change - removing the camshaft cover
 

Yes page 3-24 of the manual that I got a PDF of when I joined up on here. It's a 2010 XTR.

I drained the engine, tank and filter. Put a new filter in - i don't understand the yamaha service schedule of a new oil filter every other oil change though. Mine will be changed with the oil.

There was no washer on the engine drain plug either and it didn't look like it needed one anyway.

It all seems fine after a 400 mile trip yesterday.


Sent from my iPhone with a smile :)

I owe you an apology Austin. You are right and, in fact, I remember being a bit puzzled when I first read that myself. The Haynes manual makes no mention of it. If the two disagree, I would tend to believe the factory manual, but in this case not. I reckon it must be a way of preventing a vacuum in the cam cover, in the same way that it recommends removing the oil filler cap. I haven't done this on any other bike and I think I will be ignoring it with this one.

No idea, beats me to why they would want you to do that.