Engine Problem Part 2 Good News and Bad News

[Explorer]

Hi Guys,
Well I did the work today and changed the gear oil and the engine oil. Gear box transformed into Suzuki like jewel by semi synth oil. That's the good news. The bad news is that I found some tiny metal flakes-about enough to cover a finger tip-in the old engine oil. Now I didn't fully clean the gear oil out of the drip tray-so it might have come from there (it has had it's share of grinding)but I think I am kidding mysefl I know it came from the engine. I took off the valve covers-everything perfect. So advice please-does some shrapnel mean a definite engine strip? (The bike is running perfectly now on 4 mile test rides -anyway) Someone said it could be a cam lobe-if it needs work is there anyone good at this who is cheaper then James Sherlock? The bike has done 56k miles and only cost me £3k so serious engine work or a new S/H engine and I may sell it to a breakers and start again-what do you guys think? I will take it for a longer run tommorrow,
Thanks for the advice

Explorer

 

[MikeO]

It isn't broken - don't fix it.

Ignore it. Keep running it. It'll either break or (more likely) won't. If it breaks, assess what to do. It's out of warranty - what've you got to lose?

Mike

 

[ozrockrat]

Hi

If you kept the filter, split it and check for particles. If you magnify the particles check and see if the flakes have rough or torn edges or if they are smoothed off. If it is flakes with rough edges then it is probably hard facing off something. Not knowing oilhead engines I cannot point you to any specific area.

If you have a magnetic plug I would suggest you do a short oil change (250 miles) and check for particles on the sump plug.

PM me if you want to follow this up further.

Bevan
(ex maintenance engineer)

 

[The Mechanic]

What metal is it?

If the tiny pieces of metal are magnetic (attracted to a magnet) then its possible it could be camlobe, although when a lobe wears the by product is more like a fine paste and is mopre than likely to be caught by the oil filter so you won't under normal circumstances see it. If it was a cam lobe you'd be constantly having to re-adjust the valves and the noise would worry you too.

If the particles are a sort of silvery/golden colour then this could be crankshaft shell bearing metal. Thats a little more worrying.

Of course you could just be paying too much attention, is this the first oil change you've done on this particular bike, its possible that you are just seeing the results of what could be negilible wear.....normal in other words.

If the gearbox is now Suzuki smooth and the engine doesn't smoke from the exhaust and there are no untoward noises, then press on and enjoy riding your (not too cheap) bike. Take Mike O's advice......you are in the AA/RAC/Greenflag

Any engine thats done 58k will produce some metal particles its the natural process of the engine wearing....don't worry.

Your metal bits have most certainly come from the gearbox and thats normal to, except now your synthetic this will be reduced some what.

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

like they said - if it doesn't make noises ride it till it does.

if i had a car that i was worried about at this mileage then i'd be worried ! ?

last car i sold had 185k on and was sweet as a nut - oh - it was a bmw !

If your gearbox is good, as it should be at that mileage then just ride it. Its unlikely to be anything serious, but if it turns out to e then fix it - it'll be cheaper than another used engine

Its just run in !!

Phil

 

[Explorer]

Thanks

Thanks for the good advice guys-I took it for a longer run today-20 miles or so - and it's running beautifully. However I am going to change the oil again just for peace of mind-I can then be certain where the silvery/black flakes-particles came from.(Albeit a small amount) I think I will ride it until it breaks-£3,000 is a lot of money to me and I can't afford another at the moment. The bike is still sweet at 56K and I have no desire to change it (apart from adding some 1150 handguards last Saturday-looks cool to me). Sherlocks advised me to flush the engine today before the next change-can anyone tell me if this is done with an additive for oil (like Werth's) or is ther an actual flushing oil you buy rather than make up?
Thanks Again,

The Journey of a thousand Miles begins with a single step...