Engine Failure??? on C10

[Daggett]

Guys,

I recently sold a 2002 Concours to a guy and he was driving it around the area he lived and said there was a loud pop, the engine died, and they noticed oil leaking.  He said there was some oil on the right side of the tire and it looked like there was a trail of oil.

The bike had 49k miles on it, never gave me a problem, other than a vacuum leak from a missing carb plug, and he had driven it about 200 miles after buying it from me when it failed.  He parked it for the night, went back the next morning, and it would start but he said it sounded like a chain or something rattling in the motor and he shut it off immediately.  Need some help in pointing this guy in some kind of direction.

i feel very bad for him, but I never had a sniff of a problem with the bike, and I got it from a dealership used, so it was serviced before i bought it.

Any assistance would be apprectiated.

[Jet86]

Sounds like the cam chain tensioner let go and now the chain is loose making the noise. i dont know about the oil tho. 

my tensioner let go on my bike at 40mph and it poped loud, i thought the engine blew, i was lucky there was no damage cause im sure the possibility is there, my bike didn't die tho but i thought it was befor i got home.

i could be totaly wrong here so wait for more answers but you could check the tensioner its not hard to do.

[Mettler1]

  Or maybe a bad case of hydrolock!

[Jet86]

hydrolock cant happen when the engine is running can it?  from post i seen on here it should not

[Jet86]

where is the oil coming from??

[Mettler1]

hydrolock cant happen when the engine is running can it?  from post i seen on here it should not

 

   Reread you post. Shouldn't hydrolock while running. Nice of you to help him out but you are not responsible. Sometimes CRAP HAPPENS!!!

[qman]

What ever you do - don't feel responsible! It's entirely possible that this guy was yahooing around and over revved it and it flew apart. If you knew it was in good condition and were not aware of any problems it's caveat emptor.
I once sold a 250 cc dirt bike to a guy, I had rebuilt the engine and had about 4 hrs on it so I knew it was good. He called me 2 hrs after he picked it up and said it just stopped. I felt bad for the guy and bought it back (hadn't had time to go to the bank yet!)
When I pulled it apart the rod was broken and blue. He either didn't get the mix right or he over revved it, or both.
Cost me several hundred in parts and gaskets to get it running again.
Then I rode it for another 4 hrs and never had a problem.
GET THIS, the next guy that bought it calls me 3 months after he bought it to say that the front forks weren't original, the back wheel wasn't original and the seat had been recovered, HE WANTED HIS MONEY BACK. Are you kidding me??? It was a 25 year old dirt bike!!!! What's going to be original?
My point in these stories?
If you looked after it and sold it in good faith, and he broke it.....tough luck for him. Don't feel bad because there's a lot of people out there who are looking for someone gullable to pay for their mistakes.
OK rant is over. Whew, I needed that, now I gotta go play halo and kill something.

[Jet86]

 

   Reread you post. Shouldn't hydrolock while running. Nice of you to help him out but you are not responsible. Sometimes CRAP HAPPENS!!!

Of corse i'm not responsible, I Am just Curious as to what happen.

[Sparkie]

where is the oil coming from??

I think this is the key issue now. Find out where the oil is coming from and that will determine if its fatal or not.

[txfatboy]

I would have the guy take it to a shop and let someone else check it out. Being in close proximity to someone that may be a little hacked off is rarely a good thing. Unless you know the guy, best to let someone else brake the news to him. You just never know how people will react. 

[RFH87_Connie]

If there is an oil trail, HE probably has a problem.  If no oil trail, then it may be the cam chain tensioner.  It almost sounds the same as a blown engine, just quieter.  Mine thru a rod last month at 47k miles.  It had a hydrolock prior to me getting it and one rod (#3) was about .023" shorter each and every time I measured it (every valve adjust).  It caught up to me in the middle of NC at 85mph.  I finally got to see it good yesterday.  The end cap on #3 must be laying in the pan still.  There is a hole big enough to put your hand in.  There wasn't as much oil sprayed out as I thought there would be.  I still drained about 2.5 quarts out of it.

Mine just made a loud growl and then a pop.  It would still run it I tried to start it.  At least for a short time.

On any vehicle I have ever sold, I always write a "Bill of Sale" and have the buyer sign and initial that it is being sold in "AS-IS" condition with no warrenty or gaurantee given or implied.  List the VIN number, make,  year, model, etc.  I'll make them a copy if they want, but I keep the original.  I've had friends wind up having to give money back because of someone elses stupidity when they were called to court.  You can find generic ones on the web to print out.

Oh yeah, never sell to family.  You can give it, but don't sell it.

[kzz1king]

Good thoughts there. I hate selling stuff because of things like that.

On any vehicle I have ever sold, I always write a "Bill of Sale" and have the buyer sign and initial that it is being sold in "AS-IS" condition with no warrenty or gaurantee given or implied.  List the VIN number, make,  year, model, etc.  I'll make them a copy if they want, but I keep the original.  I've had friends wind up having to give money back because of someone elses stupidity when they were called to court.  You can find generic ones on the web to print out.

Oh yeah, never sell to family.  You can give it, but don't sell it.

[Daggett]

Thanks for all the input guys.  It was a total engine failure.  Broken connecting rod blew chunk out of the front of the engine.  I found him a 2005 motor for 500 dollars, that should mount up to the 2002 frame, shouldn't it?

I am not sure what caused the rod to break, it made no noise whatsoever.

If the 2005 motor wont work, if someone could let me know I'd appreciate it.

Thanks again.

[snarf]

Thanks for all the input guys.  It was a total engine failure.  Broken connecting rod blew chunk out of the front of the engine.  I found him a 2005 motor for 500 dollars, that should mount up to the 2002 frame, shouldn't it?

I am not sure what caused the rod to break, it made no noise whatsoever.

If the 2005 motor wont work, if someone could let me know I'd appreciate it.

Thanks again.

That engine will work just fine. My guess the engine was hydolocked or out of oil. 

[Daytona_Mike]

That engine will work just fine. My guess the engine was hydolocked or out of oil.

Most likely hydro locked is right.
 Dont do it again to the new motor. Fix it.

[Daggett]

How do i prevent Hydrolock, I have never heard of it before. Vapor lock yes, Hydrolock no.  Is this a carb issue or something totally different.  I looked on here for more info on it but everything it found was in this post.

Never mind,  I found a couple links on the forum that seem to point to the carbs filling the cylinders with fuel and causing a bent rod, either because of carb or petcock failure???  How can this happen when the bike is being ridden at the time of the failure though.  Was the rod bent at some previous point and failed later on? 

[snarf]

How do i prevent Hydrolock, I have never heard of it before. Vapor lock yes, Hydrolock no.  Is this a carb issue or something totally different.  I looked on here for more info on it but everything it found was in this post.

Never mind,  I found a couple links on the forum that seem to point to the carbs filling the cylinders with fuel and causing a bent rod, either because of carb or petcock failure???  How can this happen when the bike is being ridden at the time of the failure though.  Was the rod bent at some previous point and failed later on?

If the damage was caused by Hydro-lock then yes the damage was already there.  There are some instances where people have had hydro and didnt even know it.
The only prevention is to have overflow tubes installed in the carbs.  Steve in Sunny Florida is your on stop shop.  Do a search for overflow tubes

[mdr]

The only prevention is to have overflow tubes installed in the carbs.  Steve in Sunny Florida is your on stop shop. 

Prevention is too strong a statement.  If you've got a full on gasoline jail break through a stuck petcock and float, I'd bet (aka I haven't tried it) it's still gonna come out the air box.  BTDT.  For slow leaks, sure.  At least *if* you check the overflow's hose it might give some advance warning something is amiss. 

The tubes don't mean you shouldn't check the petcock and float levels at every oil change.  It's quick and easily done. 

The tubes aren't a fetish for hydrolock prevention.  Tho' as fetishes go, it'd be a useful but boring one

[T Cro ®]

Prevention is too strong a statement.  If you've got a full on gasoline jail break through a stuck petcock and float, I'd bet (aka I haven't tried it) it's still gonna come out the air box.  BTDT.  For slow leaks, sure.  At least *if* you check the overflow's hose it might give some advance warning something is amiss. 

The tubes don't mean you shouldn't check the petcock and float levels at every oil change.  It's quick and easily done. 

The tubes aren't a fetish for hydrolock prevention.  Tho' as fetishes go, it'd be a useful but boring one

Prevention is right between the ears and legs; your brain and a manual petcock!

But SISF's Overflow Tubes are a boon to the Concours owners nevertheless.

[mdr]

I don't say the tubes aren't useful.  Just that they aren't a fix or prevention of the root problem.  IMO some folks, NOT SiSF, tend to over sell what they do.  What I see as other potential problems I've mentioned before and won't bore everyone again.  If you wanna know, go use the Search button.

I think I'd have to fix the problem between my ears before trying to use a manual petcock, and that's very expensive.  Even the OE petcock is more reliable than *me* remembering to turn a manual one off.  <sigh>

<lots of edits after posting and re-reading to make sure it says more precisely what I mean>