1999 Yamaha blaster won’t move after rebuild

Mar 19, 2019
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12
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Kent, ohio
Hello, I have a 1999 Yamaha blaster that just received a new top and bottom rebuild. New piston, cylinder head, crankshaft, bearings, transmission, clutches/basket, and new gaskets/jettings for the carb.Everything is jetted correctly and put back together, it has new transmission oil.

A buddy of a family friend did all of the work and swore he ran it on a dyno for hours and everything should be good to go.

It starts up first kick, has awesome compression and sounds amazing. When I first got it back, I did a 10 minute heat cycle and then took it for a couple laps around my yard. I didn’t do anything crazy, just went from 1st to 2nd, taking it really slow and breaking it in.

After about 5 minutes of riding i shut it off because I noticed some clear smoke coming from the engine. I let it cool off and went to go ride again, However this time, it starts and sounds great, but no matter which gear I put it into, the quad will not move or drive.

When You release the clutch normally the quad should shut off or stall in gear if gas was not given. However, no matter what gear I am in, if I let go of the clutch the quad does not shut off or move. When I let go of the clutch and give it gas in 1st gear it slightly moves forward and then makes a constant whining noise. When I pull in the clutch the winning noise stops. It feels like it’s stuck in neutral at all times. However it switches through all of the gears smoothly and I can hear it click and engage into each gear 1-5.

I’m no longer on speaking terms with the person who did the work. Due to a long story and a big headache, after pouring a ton of money into this quad and waiting over 7months for the work to get done, I want it up and running.

I was hoping if anyone could offer suggestions on what might be causing this issues so I can know where to start taking things apart to fix it. hopefully its something simple. I haven’t tried to ride it or force anything because I know it is all new parts and I do not want to damage anything.
 
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After further inspection, and leak down task, got a major oil leak from head gasket, gonna take top end off and put in new gasket/check for cracks wondering if that will fix the problems...
 
Its worth a shot and gaskets are inexpensive enough, try not to use cheap brand or no name brand- they tend to not seal and or fail quickly
 
Hello, I have a 1999 Yamaha blaster that just got a brand new top end and bottom end rebuild. New piston, new cylinder head, crankshaft, bearings, transmission, and clutch along with all new gaskets and jettings for the carb. Why did you need new “jetting”?
Everything is jetted correctly and put back together, it has brand new transmission oil. A buddy of a family friend did all of the work and swore he ran it on a dyno for hours and everything is good to go.

It starts up first kick, has awesome compression and sounds amazing. When I first got it back, I did a 10 minute heat cycle After “hours on a dyno” you’re way past time for heat cycles and then took it for a couple laps around my yard. I didn’t do anything crazy just went from 1st to second taking it really slow and breaking it in. After about 5minutes of riding around I shut it off because I noticed some clear smoke, which I found was just coming from where the exhaust header and silencer connect together, it wasn’t fully attached, so I fixed it up real quick and went to ride again.
However this time, when I went to go ride, it starts and sounds great still, but no matter which gear I put it into, the quad will not move or drive. When You release the clutch normally the quad should shut off or stall in gear if gas was not given. However no matter what gear I am in, if I let go of the clutch the quad does not shut off or move.
When I let go of the clutch and give it gas in 1st gear it slightly moves forward and then makes a constant whining noise. As soon as I pull in the clutch the winning noise stops.
It almost feels like it’s stuck in neutral at all times. However it switches through all of the gears smoothly and I can hear it click and engage into each gear 1-5. I am no longer on speaking terms with the person who did the work.
Due to a long story and a big headache, needless to say after pouring a ton of money into this quad and waiting over 7months for the work to get done, I just want it up and running, I was hoping if anyone could offer suggestions on what might be causing this issues so I can know where to start taking this thing apart to fix it. I am hoping it is something simple, I have not tried to ride it or force anything because I know it is all brand new parts and I do not want to damage anything.

I would ask for dyno sheets for proof it was on a dyno.

Was the mechanic’s name Ben Dover?
Have you contacted him about your issues? Why not?

Time to do some noggin pokkin. Get a manual.
There is absolutely nothing in the top end that would affect the drive problem

Odds are something came loose in the primary drive, That is unless something happened to the final drive.
Crank key, clutch.
 
I would ask for dyno sheets for proof it was on a dyno.

Was the mechanic’s name Ben Dover?
Have you contacted him about your issues? Why not?

Time to do some noggin pokkin. Get a manual.
There is absolutely nothing in the top end that would affect the drive problem

Odds are something came loose in the primary drive, That is unless something happened to the final drive.
Crank key, clutch.
I gave the “mechanic” 600 dollars in parts for a top and bottom end rebuild. Along with 700 dollars in cash to buy new cases, because he told me mine were cracked. And gave him a 200$ down payment for labor.

He told me it would be done in a couple weeks, here we are 7months later and he didn’t buy any new cases or parts. Just threw the parts I gave him in and called it a day. He didn’t even install the motor back onto the quad. He handed me the motor, and my quad back in pieces. Told me to put it back together my self, and that the engine was completely done.

After 3 days of putting it back together myself and finding out it didn’t even run, I called him And he told me “I don’t care if it works or not, who do you think I am your personal mechanic” so yes his name might as well be Ben Dover. And I definitely got screwed over big time. I’m out all this money and it doesn’t even run.
 
After further inspection, and leak down task, got a major oil leak from head gasket, gonna take top end off and put in new gasket/check for cracks wondering if that will fix the problems...
You can fix the leaking gaskets as that is its
Own problem.
It woll not help with the quad not moving.
Sounds like a fryed clutch. Or something cam loose.
Drain oil and remove clutch cover and investigate
Seen that was mentioned already
 
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You can fix the leaking gaskets as that is its
Own problem.
It woll not help with the quad not moving.
Sounds like a fryed clutch. Or something cam loose.
Drain oil and remove clutch cover and investigate
Seen that was mentioned already

Hey, so I took the top end apart replaced all the gaskets and inspected everything. All parts look good no damage inside. Found out where it was leaking and why.

So the dummy who did the work stripped out the stud that hooks up the exhaust flange to the exhaust port. So the exhaust flange was crooked and causing a big oil and air leak. He also did not install the exhaust port gasket either. So explains why it was pouring oil and white smoke out of that area.

So, I put in the exhaust gasket and hooked up the flange but either the thread or stud is toast so I can’t get the flange to sit tight enough to seal the exhaust port. So it’s still leaking from that area. Hoping I can either re-thread the hole or get a new stud. Attached a photo of it, you can see the oil on the cases below the exhaust port where it’s coming out.

Also, it turns out the quad does move when in gear. When I originally tried to ride it, I didn’t go past a quarter throttle since it’s a new build and I didn’t wanna mess anything up. To get it to drive you have to rev it past half throttle continuously for it to start slowly moving and then it starts to drive and but it isn’t driving properly.

so, could the leak at the exhaust port be causing the issues I’m having? Or do you still think it is something clutch related?

I’m still pretty new at working on things. Trying to figure this all out. I got my manual and tools and ready to work just need some guidance!
 

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I suggest you get one of these: https://www.abebooks.com/Yamaha-Bla...s-8_9f69UUCGu0TLTODp60b5aZlUqct8aAhOOEALw_wcB

Ya, there’s a pdf manual on this site, but the Clymers has lots of general repair info. Tips and tricks.

You REALLY need to do a leak down test !! The white smoke concerns me. Good indication it’s burning tranny fluid !!

What manual do you have?


I have the Haynes Yamaha blaster Atv owners workshop manual, and I already did one heat cycle and retorqued all of the nuts. I know where it is leaking from already, It is coming from the exhaust port because the studs in the exhaust flange are stripped and will not tighten down so there is a huge gap from the exhaust port and flange.
 
Is the stud it's self stripped at the nut?
Or where the stud goes in the aluminum head?
If the head put a helicoil in it
 
Is the stud it's self stripped at the nut?
Or where the stud goes in the aluminum head?
If the head put a helicoil in it

I believe it is stripped where it goes into the aluminum head, because when I thread it in and then unthread it, there is metal shavings stuck in the threads of the stud.
 
Okay, finally fixed the exhaust manifold, ran 3 heat cycles. Re-torqued all the head bolts. There is no more leaks or white smoke coming out of the top end. Everything top end wise, looks and works great. Starts up first kick and sounds awesome. Quad will still not move or engage into drive. Going to open the clutch up next and I will post pictures of it.
 
Fixed the problem! Clutch damper and narrow friction plate were in the wrong place. The guy put the clutch damper first in the stack and the narrow friction plate at the very top of the stack.