BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

I posted this under "Winter Maintenance" in the maintenance section for my camhead, but I've got a problem and I'm concerned!!!






Ok, I have a potential situation.  Any for real BMW mechanics in the house? 


Following re-assembly, I started my bike and the right-side cylinder made a ticking sound.  Concerned me, so I shut it down, undressed it, and pulled the spark plugs to see if there was something unusual.  Both looked good, I figured it was either a valve ticking or a plug coil arcing.  Nothing to see there, so I took off the valve cover, and out falls a cam follower and circlip.  Yikes! 


The real crux of the situation is that I can't find the semisphere that goes in the cam follower.  The semisphere is swapped out to adjust the valve gap.  It would appear the semisphere fell out and ran with the oil down into the sump.  I drained the oil, and didn't spot the semisphere, and it wasn't attached to the magnet in the oil sump.  So I'm wondering where it went - I'm going to inspect the valve springs again and see if I can spot it there. 


I'm thinking about the flow of oil.  If the semisphere went down into the sump, then the only things down there would be the oil pump pickup (which has a screen in it, I believe), and the oil drain plug.  I'm concerned that the semisphere might get caught in an oil galley or somehow restrict oil flow.  I'm thinking I need to go fishing with a magnet via the oil galley or the oil plug.  I don't think there's an oil pan per-se. 


Thoughts?  If I can't find the semisphere, would that be concerning?  I don't know what size semisphere I need, so I would need to go and pick up a few, try them, set the valve lash, and return what I don't need, I guess. 


I'm going to get a magnetic pickup tool and do some fishing.  Hopefully I can find the semisphere.  Any other thoughts on the matter?  What else can I do? 


*nervous*

I found the semisphere.  It was lodged in the head.  It was easy to miss...  Glad I found it!  It was located here:





Huge sigh of relief!

Ahh, the best way to bring in the new year, with a spanner in one hand!

Pleased you got sorted, don't know about being "nervous", I would have been "having kittens".

Checking & adjusting the valve clearances on a TC (Camhead) is fairly straight forward.
Have done it myself & had to replace one of the shims (semi-spheres).
The Haynes manual says, "Discard the E-clip (circlip) as new ones must be used.

This thread is about valve adjustment, https://1200rt.com/viewtopic.php?t=9, it contains links to a nice set of photos & a video.

mbro wrote:I found the semisphere. It was lodged in the head. It was easy to miss... Glad I found it! It was located here:

Good job it was a Boxer Twin & an exhaust valve.



The inlet might have been a different story.

Good to hear you found it. Nice start to the year.