Why you need oil in your engine 101

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Wrider
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Why you need oil in your engine 101

#1 Unread post by Wrider »

Sooo today I brought in a quad that was making a CLACK CLACK CLACK noise every time it turned over and wouldn't start. All of the mechanics including myself thought rod bearings were to blame for it. So I took the top end off of this 4-stroke quad...

We were wrong... :laughing:

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That's the cylinder I pulled off. Note the very nice scoring on the wall of it. As well as the melted metal slag welded to the top of it.

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That would be the piston that caused it. Notice the brilliant up and down striations caused by the lack of lubrication and very high heat that it caused, as well as 3 of the 4 oil holes welded shut. Then if you look a little closer, you'll see that all of the rings are still in place.

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That is the top of the piston where it was hitting the head of the cylinder. When the piston melted to the wall the engine was still running, so the piston went back down, bending in the skirt as will be shown in the next picture, making the piston slap the head of the cylinder every time it turned over. That mark is approximately 1/16th of an inch down into the piston itself.

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That's the nicely bent/melted piston from the side. For non-mechanics, both sides of the piston should be PERFECTLY parallel. And just to see how far in that piston is bent, look at the grids on both sides of it. Both were even when the piston started life.
Don't mind the pudgy fingers on top of it... lol

Now what does that kind of thing do to bolts holding the cylinder together? It tightens them up, making them very hard to get off. Hence the wrench I broke while disassembling the stupid thing.

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As a note, this came out of a 1999 Yamaha Grizzly 600, air-cooled 600cc 4 stroke quad with a fan-forced oil cooler on it. No one I've talked to at the shop has ever seen one fail, much less to this degree. Because of the extensive damage, even the crankshaft is damaged, and parts alone for this job are 4500 dollars, and another 1000 in labor. It's literally cheaper for him to buy a new quad.

Keep oil in your engines people!
Have owned - 2001 Suzuki Volusia
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MMI Graduation date January 9th, 2009. Factory Certifications in Suzuki and Yamaha

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fireguzzi
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#2 Unread post by fireguzzi »

Jesus man, that looks like the dude just drained his oil and rode around until disaster struck. How neglectful can ya get?

As far as the wrench that you broke goes. There are two problems. One is you should have used the closed end to brake the bolt loose. The second problem is that little word stamped to the side of that says India.

*cough cough snapon cough no braking cough cough free replacement cough* :mrgreen:

All in all it looks like a fun rebuild if they guy forks over the dough to fix it.
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HYPERR
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Re: Why you need oil in your engine 101

#3 Unread post by HYPERR »

Wrider wrote:Hence the wrench I broke while disassembling the stupid thing.

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Well, it's not actually a Snap On..... :twisted:
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Wrider
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#4 Unread post by Wrider »

Lol yeah the closed end wouldn't fit because of the way the nut was in there, and this was my cheapy Pittsburgh (read: Harbor Freight) one I had laying near me at the time. I got my Craftsman out and had no troubles breaking it loose!

And you're right, it's no Snap-On, more like a Snap-Off I guess eh?
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Mr. Invisible
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Re: Why you need oil in your engine 101

#5 Unread post by Mr. Invisible »

HYPERR wrote:
Wrider wrote:Hence the wrench I broke while disassembling the stupid thing.

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Well, it's not actually a Snap On..... :twisted:
Maybe a "Snap-Off"? :laughing:


Maybe they tried the Slick 50 treatment test.

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#6 Unread post by ride4life »

That looks like my old dirt bike piston

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