FZRSupport: the FZROnline Archive

So I let a friend take my bike out yesterday. That was a huge mistake. It's a 92 FZR 600 with 21,000 miles. It was a great bike with emphasis on the was. My buddy and I were sitting on the porch while another friend took my bike for a ride. While he was ridding around we could hear him winding the gears out and then holding them there. He came back and said he thinks something fell off and that he has oil all of his leg. So we start looking for a leak hoping that it was just a gasket. After examining the bike we found a hole about a quarter in size on the lower half of the motor right behind the exhaust manifold. The bike still starts and runs and sounds fairly normal. Every now and then you'll hear a weird clanking noise.

So here is the question. How salvageable is this bike. Is the motor complete toast? What are the chances that I just need to replace the bottom half of the case and all of the internals excluding perhaps that one cylinders rod, piston and bearings. We kind of think that the wrist pin came loose. I've never torn into the motor before. About as far as I've gotten was replacing the entire clutch system. I'm making the guy pay for the repairs if we can find what we need. I found the lower case on ebay for 30 bucks but I'm afraid it's going to need a lot more then that. The cheapest motor is almost 500 with 30,000 miles on it.


Update

I did a little looking on a parts fiche. The hole is in the lower half of the crankcase. What are the odds that maybe a rock hit it? The fairing are off right now. I'm sure the rock theory is slim to none. I'm just hoping it's minor damage something fixable. The hole is to the direct left off the oil filter by the outside cylinder.

Is there any way for you to post a pic? There is another Guy recently that has a similar problem. I couldn't quickly locate the link. Try a search in the forum. Jb weld does miracles but not to trannys.

Chris.

I'll post a picture tomorrow. If I just put JB weld on the question is what could have possibly caused the hole and will it happen again?


I found the post you were talking about. If I have a similar problem to what he had the motor is trash. Oh well I guess I'll start tearing it down to see how bad it is. At least I don't have to pay for it.

kilika2 wrote:Is there any way for you to post a pic? There is another Guy recently that has a similar problem. I couldn't quickly locate the link. Try a search in the forum. Jb weld does miracles but not to trannys.

Chris.

For arbitrary values of recent.... I can sort of see the same thing happening, except the camshaft piece making it further down before getting spit out (pull the cover and find out. And check the valve clearance while you're at it.)

If it runs seemingly fine, there's probably no real damage done. But I don't really see any option but to pull the engine and take it apart - I don't think you'll be selling an engine with a hole in it, and I doubt you want to take the chances riding it, either. If you have the time, it'll be a great learning experience, too. Just remember that you'll be out a few hundred $ in new gaskets and new piston rings.

ranmafan wrote:

kilika2 wrote:Is there any way for you to post a pic? There is another Guy recently that has a similar problem. I couldn't quickly locate the link. Try a search in the forum. Jb weld does miracles but not to trannys.

Chris.

For arbitrary values of recent.... I can sort of see the same thing happening, except the camshaft piece making it further down before getting spit out (pull the cover and find out. And check the valve clearance while you're at it.)

read the first post again

iceman_ch wrote:
I did a little looking on a parts fiche. The hole is in the lower half of the crankcase. What are the odds that maybe a rock hit it? . The hole is to the direct left off the oil filter by the outside cylinder.

isn't the camshaft at the top of the engine, or is it below the cranckshaft

ranmafan wrote: I don't think you'll be selling an engine with a hole in it,

he also doesn't say hes guna sell the broken engine

CJD wrote: isn't the camshaft at the top of the engine, or is it below the cranckshaft

Heh, I know, it's a bit of a stretch. I *think* there's enough space around the camchain, in theory, for a fairly big chunk to fall down (though then, it'd be more likely for it to just end up in the oilpan)....

Not much point in guessing, I suppose. Easier to split it open and see (waiting for pictures!).

ranmafan wrote:

CJD wrote: isn't the camshaft at the top of the engine, or is it below the cranckshaft

Heh, I know, it's a bit of a stretch. I *think* there's enough space around the camchain, in theory, for a fairly big chunk to fall down (though then, it'd be more likely for it to just end up in the oilpan)....

Not much point in guessing, I suppose. Easier to split it open and see (waiting for pictures!).

I was being sarcastic, what are you on? I want some

I'll take a picture tonight. The bike is at my friends shop. I doubt it's the camshaft that broke. the hole is on the lower half of the crank case on the very corner of the outside cylinder. It would be just to the right of where the rod connects to the crankshaft. Anyways I'll get a picture tonight. I'm going to start taking the motor apart next week. I don't want to get to involved in fixing it since the guy who broke it needs to pay for it.

I would be more inclined to believe that the hole was caused by something breaking than by a flying rock. (Maybe a "spun" bearing). After opening several "seized" motors, I would say that it is really difficult to say how extensive the damage is without tearing it down. The fact that the motor still runs is a good sign that damage is relatively minimal, but I would not run it with-out rebuilding it. I would be concerned that running that motor could result in further damage. It will likely cost you as much to rebuild as it would to replace the motor, but I would rather have one that is freshly rebuilt. It will be well worth the learning experience and peace of mind.

I've got the motor out. I still need to take pictures. We haven't cracked the case yet. How much do you figure a rebuild will cost? Is there a decent guide on any of the forums? Also what do you guys think. Should I make the kid who was riding the bike pay for the repairs. He was definitely ridding that bike hard and was winding the gears out extremely long. It sounded like he was holding the throttle all the way down he would wind it up then hold it there. It was like he didn't know how to shift. The motor only had 22,000 miles wich doesn't seem like enough to be having a major breakdown.

I'm not throwing this out as a ploy. Oh who am I kidding yes I am. In the donating members section is the entire engine disassembly and repair guide. Of course you have to donate to get there. Might be worth it to throw a few bucks into the pool to help all of us out. Its not too difficult to do the engine rebuild. I just went through it.

Chris.

iceman_ch wrote:I've got the motor out. I still need to take pictures. We haven't cracked the case yet. How much do you figure a rebuild will cost? Is there a decent guide on any of the forums? Also what do you guys think. Should I make the kid who was riding the bike pay for the repairs. He was definitely ridding that bike hard and was winding the gears out extremely long. It sounded like he was holding the throttle all the way down he would wind it up then hold it there. It was like he didn't know how to shift. The motor only had 22,000 miles wich doesn't seem like enough to be having a major breakdown.

IMHO you should wait until you find the cause before assigning the blame, but I don't think it'd be fair to ask him to cover 100% in any case (doubt he'll agree, anyway). Given that you get to keep a newly rebuilt engine in the end, I'd go for about 50/50 split, to be fair.

You can find the factory service manual here.

Off the top of my head, the parts needed for just a topend rebuild - you can get an estimate at your local or some online dealer:
- Head gasket x1
- Piston ring set x4
- Base gasket x1
- Wrist pin clips x8
- (Possibly) New conrod bearings x8
- (Recommended) New conrod bolts/nuts x8

Plus budget for anything else with the word "bearing" or "gasket" in the parts fiche, then add 10% for contingency

Yeah just as an estimate I just purchased a complete gasket kit for my 95 on eBay for 135 including shipping. Only thing it didn't come with was the o rings for the water line($2 @ autozone) and obviously the rings for the cylinder. But figure doing a valve shim adjustment since you will already be in there and then the cost for the shims that you need. A bunch of guys have spares on here. Including myself.

Chris.

I finally went and pulled the oil pan to asses the damage. I know I can't see everything from there put I can get a good idea. When I pulled the oil pan it had about a inch long piece of the rod and some of the pieces of the case in ti. Other then that it was clean. Come to find out the rod is sticking out of the side so the piston isn't moving anymore. I'm hoping the valves aren't bent but I'm not sure of a quick way to check. The rod snapped right were it connects to the crank. It scrapped the back of the case and then of course knocked a hole in the front of the case. The bearing spins freely. Everything else looks good. The only thing I know of that would cause the rod to snap is over revving the motor. Let me know if you think anything else could cause it. I figure I'll ask the guy to pay for a new rod, bearing, piston ring, crankcase, and gasket set. I'm thinking 300 would be fair. Thats not a whole motor but it's enough to fix it. What do you guys think?

i think you should get 6 bills together and just get another motor and just do a transplant it would be faster and ezer