power valve problem...maybe

[gwinnraptor]

i was looking under the hood the other day and the 3rd powervalve......closest to the pipe, where the cable comes out of the front most part, there is oil seeping out, not dripping r gushing, just seeping. you can see a black ring around it and the cable assembly feels like its loose.

What do i need to do? is this normal?

Sorry, just got this sled, and power valves are new to me.

thanks

 

[viperken]

My cable are loose as well, but no leaks. This does not create a problem only leaves a mess. You might want to check your gaskets and make sure there is a proper seal. Also get your power valves adjusted afterwards

 

[fourbarrel]

There's a small o ring in there that may be bad also if your going to pull them off you might check the condition of the seal in the inner pv tower as it may be worn or scored.

 

[EricMichael]

the power valves are new to me also, i've put 900 miles on my sled since i've owned it and the valves were done when i bought it. What happens if you just take them out and clean them and stick them back in?

 

[700]

Mine are leaking also. One very bad! Does Yamaha offer a seal/gasket kit for powervalves or do you need to order everything seperately? Maybe the O-ring is just a standard size I could match up? I've got misc. O-ring kits at work. Thanks, 700

 

[700]

What happens if you just take them out and clean them and stick them back in?

I just took mine out and cleaned them this weekend. It goes real fast if you aren't adjusting them. All three of mine were stuck and I had a hard time getting them out! The first one I clamped a vise grip on the end and wiggled it out but this marred the end, so for the other two, I slid an allen wrench sideways through the cable hole and then used the handle end of a pair of plyers(rubber coated) behind it to pry out on the valve. Then I'd tap it back in and kept working it in and out til it was out. These things were caked with carbon. Paint stripper or solvent wouldn't touch it, so I carefully used a razor blade to scrape it off being careful not to cut into the coating on the valve. Then I had to use 000 fine steel wool to finish cleaning them. (scotch brite wasn't working)

All this said, It's just the four bolt gasket that you need to disturb when removing the valve and all three of my gaskets were reusable. It's the inner rubber seal in the cable housing that goes around the round end of the powervalve and the O-ring on the cable that is leaking on mine. I followed the advice given here and removed the servo motor from it's mount (didn't unhook any wires) Then only removed the four bolts on each cable housing. This worked real slick
I still need to adjust the valves when I have time. 700

 

[EricMichael]

Have you rode it without adjusting the valves properly?Does it run alright?Eric

 

[700]

Just a little. Remember I've never rode an SRX before this one and up til now the valves weren't working at all and it still ran good, just not great. I can tell it is faster but I need to really ride it more before I can say how much difference it made. Since the cables weren't bad and I didn't mess with the adjustments, I figure they're close enough for now and will adjust them by feel through the exhaust port when I have time and have some new exhaust gaskets on hand. I have much, much more to learn about these sleds! 700

 

[EricMichael]

yeah same here...this year is my first with the viper...and the valves were done 900 miles ago and i was just wondering if i could just take them out and clean them...thanks for the input though!

 

[700]

Go here...

for good cleaning directions go to the TY home page then "Technical Pages" then "Snowmobile Tech" then "Engine" then "Cleaning Exhaust Valves" (sorry couldn't get a link to this)

This is what I used and it worked great. I ended up unhooking my valves from the cables to get them out of the engine though and then cleaned them on the bench. If you clean them before they get stuck, I can see it is very easy! 700

 

[gwinnraptor]

it drives fine, kind of boggs down low, almost acts like a plug is fouling in low RPM's.

but still pulls hard.

 

[JeepTherapy]

My power valves were not functioning on my viper.... it is very obvious when they don't work. I lost about 20mph on the top end. Bottom end stayed the same. Part throttle blasts stayed the same... but when ya hammer it sounds like something is plugging the exhaust (mine were closed)

 

[Yamasquaw]

I had a cable pull through last year and at wide open throttle breaking trail in 4 feet of powder it would start to sputter abit and lose speed. Fixed it up and no more problems.