engine trouble

[jjcardozo86]

Hey guys, been a few months since Ive been on but I ran my bike low on oil. So I got on my bike started it up and rode about 4 blocks to gas station. Filled up and started her up, the rpms dropped to zero and it died. I rode it back the 4 blocks home, having to keep the throttle on to keep it from dying. I filled it up with oil.
I hear a clicking from the engine...it runs but will stall.
hope you guys can point me in the right direction, Thanks.

edit.... the clicking sounds like it coming the top end. and it has 4300 miles.

[Soloratov]

How low is, low? Top end would be valves I'm sure...may have to take off the cover and check everything up there. Could (hopefully) just be a valve knocked out of spec. Mine has always had a kind of "tick" until she warms up.

[Paulcet]

And depending on your answer to Solaratov, your engine is likely dead.  It can tolerate being maybe a quart low.  But really low? Nope.

[jjcardozo86]

2 quarts low and the clicking noise is gone. I went out last night to see how she ran and she was running just a little bit rough.

[BockinBboy]

Pour some dirt in it.. It'll be fine...

No really, I have no clue  ... These threads scare me, so I am going to check my oil right now.   

- Bboy

[Paulcet]

So, when did the oil light come on?  Before you rode 4 blocks to the gas station?  If so, it's going to die I'm afraid.

[vasama]

Very likely that you at least spun a rod. That is, if you were really low on oil. What you describe is kind of similar to the symptoms my bike had before I had to coast it to a stop. In my case, though, I knew it was something bad, so I killed power as soon as I felt the "thing", and power started to go down. It ended up being a spun rod due to running low on oil.

[weedahoe]

Uh, yeah. Reading the part that reads "I filled it with oil"

Live an learn I guess.

But I side with others who says spun rod bearing. A replacement engine is the way to go if thats the case. Only way to know is to check oil pressure with a gauge or tear it down

[Soloratov]

2 is quite low. Did you spring a leak, or burn it off?

[adidasguy]

Let's always remember.....,.
   T-CLOCS
Inspection Checklist

http://www.msf-usa.org/downloads/t-clocsinspectionchecklist.pdf

Tires
Controls
Lights
Oil
Chasis
Stands

[jjcardozo86]

the oil light never came on but that's no excuse. t-clocs, ill keep that in mind. so looks like she'll be sitting till I can get a new engine. 

[vasama]

Finished fixing my bike! Very happy camper. A million kudos to Adidasguy for his much, much appreciated help with parts and advise.

Replaced the crankshaft, rods, pistons, rings, and magnet coil. Lapped the valves and honed the cylinders.

I understand that I must go through a break-in period, however, the bike feels... different. The motor sounds lower and dryer, not as smooth as it used to. No metallic sounds, no; it's rather a subtle change in the tone, as well as a feel as if it is taking a bit more effort for it to work. I'd like to think that this is to be expected during the break-in period, but I'm not sure. What I am sure of, is that I had no parts or screws left over, and that it took me extra time to complete this job because of the careful cleaning I did on all components and also because of checking every step three or four times. Of course, no one can ever guarantee an error-free endeavor like this, but it doesn't seem likely that I missed on something.

Today is the second day that I've ridden it to work. It is working fine. I'm keeping it under 5.5K RPM's. It seems to be taking a bit longer to warm up and be ready to be taken off the choke. I'll dial in the mixture this weekend.

The only question I have would be with regards to the lower sound and perceived "roughness" (although I am using that work for lack of a better description). You guys agree it might be due to parts settling in, and I should just ride it out during break-in, or does anyone have a more solid and factual idea about this?

[bombsquad83]

You might just need to change the mixture screws and re-sync your carbs.

[adidasguy]

Glad those parts helped. You now have a part of Junior - the crank and piston rods!
With everything newly assembled, there will be a break in period for all bearings to settle in and start wearing down to where they like to be.
Report back after a few hundred miles.
Do another oil change (filter, too) in a couple hundred miles as all assembly left over dirt & stuff gets held in the filter.
Brian did that with Quin (now Audrey). Ordinary oil for 200 miles then fresh Amsoil and filter and he/she runs much better now. The first oil change acted like a detergent to clean out the engine after a link time of neglect.