Crank needs replacing at 22,000 miles

I posted this over at adventure rider but hoping for a response here. My mechanic wants to use Athena gaskets that cost 2.5 times what the oem gaskets would run. Worth it? He also wants to use the Hot Rods crankshaft and connecting rod kit which costs slightly less than oem. Any thoughts on using after market versus oem? Thanks! Marc

Why does your crank "need" to be replaced? What happened?

Just went over and looked at the motor. The crank bearings feel a bit rough and there is play in connecting rod bearing.

They are using a Hot Rods crank and connecting rod kit for cost savings. About $150 less than oem. Said they've had good luck with Hot Rods.

Using the Athena gasket kits because Yamaha doesn't sell as a kit. They were willing to use oem gaskets if I ordered them but cautioned me about missing a piece when ordering. Since the bike is currently my only transportation I decided to pay 2 times the price of the oem for the complete Athena kit. About $100 more than oem. Dang Yamaha!

I've ridden the bike from Oregon to Death Valley, spent a few days there and then rode southern Utah (both on and off road before returning to Oregon. Rode Baja right before the failure. So the bike has had a lot of hwy and dirt miles. Unfortunately not indestructible. I suppose if I had to rebuild the lower end after another 22,000 miles I figure I'm still be getting good miles out of the bike for not much expenditure.

Always changed the oil regularly and maintained the air filter. I've used synthetic oil but shop suggested semi syn in the future. Marc

yaw wrote:

Just went over and looked at the motor. The crank bearings feel a bit rough and there is play in connecting rod bearing.

They are using a Hot Rods crank and connecting rod kit for cost savings. About $150 less than oem. Said they've had good luck with Hot Rods.

Using the Athena gasket kits because Yamaha doesn't sell as a kit. They were willing to use oem gaskets if I ordered them but cautioned me about missing a piece when ordering. Since the bike is currently my only transportation I decided to pay 2 times the price of the oem for the complete Athena kit. About $100 more than oem. Dang Yamaha!

Don't know much about the Hot Rods kit, except that they also offer a stroker kit for the WR.

Regarding the Atena gasket kit, I bought a complete top end set for my 290 about a year ago for $80. Got it direct from Athena. They were very helpful.

I'm curious as to what prompted the engine teardown.

Did it make some funny noise?

YZEtc wrote:

I'm curious as to what prompted the engine teardown.

Did it make some funny noise?

It was a combination of things. The major contributor was the fact that the Yamaha service manual incorrectly instructs installing the wrong head bolt in one of the locations. One bolt is longer than the others. It can only go in one location. I installed it according to the manual and it bottomed out before completely torqueing the assembly down. Resulted massive leaks in oil and compression. It's kind of detailed in my blog.

In addition, when I tore it down, I discovered that the cylinder was scored. Most likely from mis-alignment from having only 3 head bolts essentially holding it together.

While all this was going on, I acquired a piston for Thumper Racing's 280 kit. Long story short, I ended up sending my old cylinder in to Travis to have it sleeved & bored for the new piston. It's back. I just have to finish the remodeling that I'm doing on my house before I can have time to install it.

The WR's top end and the KLR's valve check are both waiting for that to happen. Oh, the joys of home ownership!

YZEtc wrote:

I'm curious as to what prompted the engine teardown.

Did it make some funny noise?

Oops!

Just realized that you probably weren't referring to my post!

Move along. Nothing to see here...

YZEtc wrote:

I'm curious as to what prompted the engine teardown.

Did it make some funny noise?

Yes the day I crossed the border back to the states I started to hear a faint noise. Thought i sometimes felt a slight ticking in the foot pegs. wasnt quite sure. By the time I got to Death Valley it was getting pretty loud. Bike rode fine. You would never know there was a problem except for the sickening sound. I tore into the top end hoping it might be an easy fix. Couldn't find anything wrong. Looked beautiful inside.

yaw wrote:

Just went over and looked at the motor. The crank bearings feel a bit rough and there is play in connecting rod bearing.

They are using a Hot Rods crank and connecting rod kit for cost savings. About $150 less than oem. Said they've had good luck with Hot Rods.

Using the Athena gasket kits because Yamaha doesn't sell as a kit. They were willing to use oem gaskets if I ordered them but cautioned me about missing a piece when ordering. Since the bike is currently my only transportation I decided to pay 2 times the price of the oem for the complete Athena kit. About $100 more than oem. Dang Yamaha!

I've ridden the bike from Oregon to Death Valley, spent a few days there and then rode southern Utah (both on and off road before returning to Oregon. Rode Baja right before the failure. So the bike has had a lot of hwy and dirt miles. Unfortunately not indestructible. I suppose if I had to rebuild the lower end after another 22,000 miles I figure I'm still be getting good miles out of the bike for not much expenditure.

Always changed the oil regularly and maintained the air filter. I've used synthetic oil but shop suggested semi syn in the future. Marc

What was their reasoning for switching to a semi synthetic from here out?

I got the bike back. It was one of the main crank bearings. It feels rough when I spin it. Mechanic said bearings usually fail when they are starved of oil. He is suggesting (and I hesitate to post since I'm sure the opinions will fly) that it may be that I ran full synthetic oil. He feels semi syn "stays around longer" and feels the full synthetic may have not provided enough lubrication.

So here is what has been done. In an effort to figure it out (I'm no mechanic) I replaced the timing chain, adjusted the valves and replaced the piston and rings for yucks. The piston looked fine but hey I was in there and it had 22,000 miles on it.

Of course the sound persisted. Took it to a mechanic who thought it sounded like the main bearing so into the shop it went. I highly suggest you remove your own engine and take it in. Saved me a boat load of money.

They tore it down and yes it was one of the main bearings. They replaced both bearings, the crank and connecting rod, resurfaced the valves and cleaned out the exhuast ports etc. All told about $1,000 to the mechanics for parts and labor. I paid an additional $150 or so for the piston, timing chain and new gaskets when I first did the head.

The bike sounds great. Unfortunately it is dying at idle once it has warmed up. Rides fine but after about 2 or 3 miles, when I come to a stop, it will idle for a bit and then die abruptly. Will be trouble shooting that soon. Will update when I find out what's wrong.