clacking noise

[getndirty]

Just did a top end a few weeks ago, everything went well - decided to try to clean the power valve assembly as well - got the pivot rod out but couldn't get the control rod out, so since it was working fine before I just buttoned it back up.

Bike seems to run fine, but I now get a clacking noise when I let off the throttle - when I'm holding it at a steady pace - not accelerating or decelerating. I was careful when I took the jug off the bike to not pull on the pv push rod. Last weekend I took the right side clutch cover off, and and set a little pre-load on the pv pushrod - that didn't fix it.

So I've got the bike back apart once again - with the screws/bolts removed from the pv control rod, I've got a couple mm's of free play between the right and left side. If I push the control rod all the way in from the right side of the engine, the flapper valve is pretty snug - with it pushed the other direction, there's that same 1-2mm of free play in the flapper valve. When I rattle the valve from side to side, it sounds really similar to what I get when the bike's not under load.

1) Is there a way to eliminate the rattle??
2) I've read about loose clearances since it has to work in a less than ideal condition, but this seems excessive to me - will it hurt anything to (continue) to ride it like this?