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Need help XJ 400 Special

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by Igor, Oct 23, 2009.

  1. Igor

    Igor Member

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    Hello, need some help with my Xj 400 Special 1983 its a 4 cylinder engine, I have not seen anyone like this one, if somebody owns one please contac me. Thanks
     
  2. ZaGhost

    ZaGhost Member

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    Ooooh an actual XJ 400?
    They were a Euro/Japan only item......
    Seen pics of a few that made it this side of the ocean , but that's about it.
     
  3. Igor

    Igor Member

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    Thanks for your answer, thats mean that I can´t fine any help for my machine in this forum? plop :cry: anyway Im from Chile, still a litle far from Japan or Europe
     
  4. Igor

    Igor Member

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    Is the XJ 400 Special and the XJ 400 maxim the same model or at list the same engine??
     
  5. AndrewM

    AndrewM Member

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    Igor

    I currently run a XJ400S (4 cyl). Our machines are very similar to the XJ550 for which there is plenty of help on this forum. I even use the Clymer XJ550 service manual.

    The XJ400S was a bike made for the Japanese market only however several have "escaped" from Japan over the years and made the tortuous journey to new shores. :lol:

    What difficulties are you having?
     
  6. bigfitz52

    bigfitz52 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Igor;
    You probably do have a very similar engine.
    What problem are you having? Post the VIN of your bike and its mileage and tell us what you need help with.
     
  7. ZaGhost

    ZaGhost Member

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    Just fire any questions you have out to these guys, they were a HUGE help when I rebuilt my XS
     
  8. Igor

    Igor Member

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    more than greatfull with all of you , its a litle hard cause my English, but I will give it a try, now Im working, but this afternoon Ill do my best to try to be undestandable ( I dont even now if is a word) jajajajajaja
     
  9. Igor

    Igor Member

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    - I need the valvs gap ( opening) intake and exaust please
    - After a few minutes running, the engine cant keep the ralenti and some smoke begine to come out from the hose thats goes to the air filter box, but it is not oil smoke, its more like gasoline gas, could it be valvs problems or just rings?
    - i wouls like to get theres rear suspencion ( shoks absorber) originals, if someone nows where to buy it and how to shipp it ??
     
  10. AndrewM

    AndrewM Member

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    Igor

    Don't worry about any language difficulty, I am sure we'll get what you are saying.

    It would really help if you could advise what sort of history your bike has. How many miles (kilometres) and if you have done any work on it at all. Don't take for granted any work a previous owner has told you they did, just concentrate on what you have done and if you haven't done much to it, it is probably time she needs some attention.

    Get a manual or the XJ cd which will help a lot. I use the Clymer XJ550 manual and whilst not perfect it certainly helps out in an emergency and will give you an insight into how these bikes work.

    The XJ400 is a great bike and has much of the qualities of the XJ550 and bigfFitz (who has already introduced himself above) has a lot of experience with the 550.

    I am away from home at the moment on a biz trip in HK but I can tell you that the valve clearances are the same as the 550 (but can't remember them off the top of my head) so a search of this site may reveal them.

    As for the smoke you mention, the hose that goes into the bottom of the airbox is a breather from the crankcase - it takes oily fumes from the engine back to the airbox to be recirculated in the engine intake. Is your oil level correct I wonder?

    Carburetors on all the XJ's need careful attention and there is a huge amount of information on this site about cleaning them and setting them up correctly. This maybe is the reason you are having problems with holding an idle. I recently had mine part completely and overhauled them. It isn't technically difficult but we need to be organised and methodical.

    Firstly, give us a brief history, what you have done to her so far etc. and we'll take it from there.

    By the way, for parts, chacal has almost anything you need and will ship worldwide. Not sure about the rear shocks but his parts list is on this site under "XJ Supporting Vendor" - he has a wealth of knowledge and is prepared to discuss (by e-mail) the options you will need.
     
  11. Igor

    Igor Member

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    Im realy glad to be here at this forum and more than happy with you guys, for the trouble that you are going through to answer me.

    Im the new owner of the moto, so don´t have the history
    It has 30.000 milles
    And Ill say in not a bad shape but not has good has I want it
    so far I have not done many things to it , just a few adjustemt to the
    carbs (4) of them
    change the rear suspension but I could only find China opcion, I hope
    they would last at list for a litle while
    the other thing is that I dont have the air filter box, but 4 separete filters
    i hope that is not going to be a problem

    Saludos amigos desde Chile y gracias a todos ustedes por su
    amabilidad

    greetings my friends, from Chile and thanks to all of you for your
    kindness
     
  12. ZaGhost

    ZaGhost Member

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    4 filters.... uh-oh, pod filtesr can be a big problem if the jets in the carburetor are not changed as well..... can make getting it tuned properly very, very difficult.
     
  13. Igor

    Igor Member

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    That´s what i have now, as I said I DON´T HAVE THE FILTER BOX or how you named it, I only habe individual filters for each carb, anyway I have seen that in other machines specialy here where we dont habe much choices of parts.
     
  14. Igor

    Igor Member

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    the only number that I habe is 4GO-055136 could that be the VIN number???
    and I still need the gap for valvs, if someone nows it and how could i get a air filter box.
     
  15. Igor

    Igor Member

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    The only number that I have,
     
  16. AndrewM

    AndrewM Member

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    Igor

    I meant to reply last night but I was working on site so didn't make it back to the hotel until very late.

    When I saw you mentioning pods, I thought "uh-oh". From what I have read, pod setups can be extremely challenging to get right and you have to be dedicated to it! I have seen airbox's for the 550 on ebay before now so they do come up from time to time. If you are running pods with original jets you'll never get it to run right and it can be the source of many running problems. Try your best to get and airbox!

    I'll be back home Tuesday evening and will post the valve clearances then.

    4G0 is indeed your VIN number - same prefix as mine.
     
  17. Igor

    Igor Member

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    Thanks, but I could not read the full mesage, it´s was too wide , so I did not see the lasts words of each line.

    Now I need and air box urgent, can somebody help me???????
     
  18. albran

    albran Member

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  19. AndrewM

    AndrewM Member

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    igor,

    Check ebay - I saw an airbox there for a XJ550 today.
     
  20. ktcubed

    ktcubed Member

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    MODEL NAME: XJ400
    STREET NAME: 1981 XJ400 Special
    MODEL ID CODE: 5L8
    FRAME ID: 4G0
    SERIAL NUMBER STARTS AT: 050101

    And there is the model id info. Your bike was #5036 made for the Japanese market that year.
     

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