It Broke!

[ronv]

Saturday morning about 0730, temp about 42, visibility clear and a million. I'm on I-10 on the way to my dealer for a 21,000 mile service (about 60 miles into the 214 mile trip). Doing about the speed limit.

All of a sudden RPM drops to about 3500 with a lot of extra noise and the speed drops dramatically. Get to an exit and pull off, by now the "Check Engine" light is on and scrolling across the display. No smoke, no oil trail or leak, no funny smell.

It has now become obvious that I'm not going to ryde the rest of the way, so call wife to have her and son hook up trailer and come get me. Call dealer let them know what has happened.

Jump forward several hours. Have arrived at dealer and the mechanic is diagnosing problem. Looks at BUDS readouts, among other things they show the rear cyl isn't functioning.

Now he shows the mark of an experienced mechanic. :thumbup: Pulls rear cylinder plug. It's wet, but color looks great. Runs compression test, result = 0 lbs. Hooks compressor to cyl, air coming out of muffler. Looks like it swallowed an exhaust valve.

The tear down starts Monday, so we will see.

Hoping for the best.

Ron

 

[SpyderAnn01]

Ouch I hope they get it fixed quickly.

 

[Mac]

What do you have????

Year and model??

 

[Illinois Boy]

:agree: Knowing what "it" is would be helpful for others. Year and model please!

 

[boborgera]

:agree: Knowing what "it" is would be helpful for others. Year and model please!

''If his profile is up to date ;09 SE5.

 

[pro10is]

Still under warranty?

 

[NancysToy]

Sorry to hear that! Nothing can be much more devastating to an engine than dropping a valve. Make sure the debris didn't damage the oil pump. IMO, the crank and tranny bearings should also be replaced when this happens. The pieces go everywhere. A new engine is the best option.

 

[bikeguy]

Sorry to hear that! Nothing can be much more devastating to an engine than dropping a valve. Make sure the debris didn't damage the oil pump. IMO, the crank and tranny bearings should also be replaced when this happens. The pieces go everywhere. A new engine is the best option.

I absolutely agree. Funny, I've never seen a motorcycle engine that swallowed a valve but I've seen several automotive engines and there usually isn't anything at all that can be salvaged. If the engine is turning much RPM, like Scotty says, the pieces just go everywhere. The oil pump usually picks up the trash and pumps it through the engine before it can be shut down and every bearing surface is scored.

Cotton

 

[SethO]

Sorry to hear that! Nothing can be much more devastating to an engine than dropping a valve. Make sure the debris didn't damage the oil pump. IMO, the crank and tranny bearings should also be replaced when this happens. The pieces go everywhere. A new engine is the best option.

100% correct, I'm on my third.

 

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: Unwanted stuff gets everywhere making a mess of everything... :gaah:
I'm sorry to hear that this has happened to you. Please let us know how the repairs progress... Good Luck! :thumbup:

 

[NancysToy]

I absolutely agree. Funny, I've never seen a motorcycle engine that swallowed a valve but I've seen several automotive engines and there usually isn't anything at all that can be salvaged. If the engine is turning much RPM, like Scotty says, the pieces just go everywhere. The oil pump usually picks up the trash and pumps it through the engine before it can be shut down and every bearing surface is scored.

Cotton

It is even uglier on a motorcycle engine. Less crankcase volume, less oil volume, and a crankcase sharing the tranny and the wet clutch make for a painful disaster. Having a dry sump engine does it makes it worse, as the parts don't have much sump to accumulate in. The oil intake screens may save it, but it is risky, and requires thorough inspection of each and every engine part, IMO. I destroyed a couple of bike engines that way...one on the road and one on the strip (the nitro didn't help!) The only advantage a bike engine has is that ball or roller bearings are harder to damage than plain bearings or bushings.

 

[chickridin]

Dang....that sucks! :gaah: I hope they get it fixed for you soon! Keep us posted!

 

[SpyderFun]

.... A new engine is the best option.

:agree:

If not, make sure you get some kind of "additional warranty" in writing from Can-Am to cover "future issues".....because you are likely to have some debris that was not completely found & removed.

 

[ARtraveler]

opcorn:opcorn:opcorn:

 

[groundeffect]

Ouch, sorry to hear of this. Hopefully it is under warranty and it will be a speedy rebuild.
Cheers.

 

[Raptor]

So sorry to hear this Ron. That had to be just a sinking feeling. Especially since you were on your way to have a regular maintenance done in the first place. Now let's hope BRP does the right thing here and just ships a complete engine. I am very hopeful that they will. So, this happened on 18 February, 2012. Let's see how long this one takes to resolve. Keep us posted man!

 

[ronv]

For all of the inquiring minds......'09 SE5, In warranty.

Tear down should be finished Wed or Thur, at that point we will know for sure what caused the problem and what the next step will be.

I have a huge amount of confidence in my dealer and I'm sure that they will take care of me.

I'll update when I have more information.

Thanks for all of the good wishes.

Ron

 

[Big Arm]

Real sorry to hear about this problem, and I hope everything works out well for you !!!
Please keep us posted.

 

[Bob Denman]

For all of the inquiring minds......'09 SE5, In warranty.

Tear down should be finished Wed or Thur, at that point we will know for sure what caused the problem and what the next step will be.

I have a huge amount of confidence in my dealer and I'm sure that they will take care of me.

I'll update when I have more information.

Thanks for all of the good wishes.

Ron

Keep the Faith! :thumbup:

 

[JJW SpyderRider]

This proud owner of a '09 SE5 will be watching this thread closely. I hope they find the issue and get you back on the road soon. I have 15K on mine and ray: I don't end up with issue myself someday.