Wrong end of the season for this to happen!

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OZ

OZ

yes but...
Joined
Jan 31, 2004
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237
Location
Ottawa, Ont
I took my '98 MSRX out yesterday for a quick run, fortunately I didn't stray to far from home...I ended up limping back on two cylinders. I diagnosed the mag cylinder as the problem and proceeded to tear it down...see pics. Looks like the connecting rod self destructed...could this be caused by the crank going out of phase? The crank journal seems to have sustained some damage, can this be turned or is the crank junk?
 

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Maybe it went really lean because of dirty carbs?
Can you move the lower part of the connecting rod?
How does the plugs look like?
I now a Doo guy that this happend to, in that case it was probably moisture in the crankcase that made the bearings corrode and the hole engine went junk!

Anyhow its really sad :(
 
you got some good carnage going on,id pull engine inspect the damage,did you feel any vibration,was the cranked updated.
 
I don't think it was lean because carbs. Looks like lower rod journal seized to crank & snapped rod off. Hard to say because of the fact you rode it home & peices were probably still beating around in the case causing further damage. The easiest way to trace a problem is to not run it any more. get it home & dig in. A lot of people burn down & limp home, but that makes it harder to determine what happened by looking at the parts. Anyway, tear it apart & check the other rods & cyl's., maybe lack of oil or something. Plenty of parts on here to get it up & running again soon.
 
yeah, I think maybe the conrod bearing failed and limping it home just may have cost me a crank...I suspect the jug, piston and head would have been junk in any case.

SNAPPED ROD

The connecting rod of this engine snapped in half because the clearance between the rod and the thrust washers of the big end was too great. When the big end bearing wears out, the radial deflection of the rod becomes excessive and the rod suffers from torsion vibration. This leads to connecting rod breakage and catastrophic engine damage. The big end clearance should be checked every time you rebuild the top end. To check the side clearance of the connecting rod, insert a feeler gauge between the rod and a thrust washer. Check the maximum wear limits in your engine's factory service manual.
 
ottawaair said:
I don't think it was lean because carbs. Looks like lower rod journal seized to crank & snapped rod off. Hard to say because of the fact you rode it home & peices were probably still beating around in the case causing further damage. The easiest way to trace a problem is to not run it any more. get it home & dig in. A lot of people burn down & limp home, but that makes it harder to determine what happened by looking at the parts. Anyway, tear it apart & check the other rods & cyl's., maybe lack of oil or something. Plenty of parts on here to get it up & running again soon.
Click to expand...


X2...rod cage/bearing failure
 
your jetting was fine......look at the plug in the damaged head in the photo. safe color. i have a crank, crankcase, heads and cylinders for your sled if you need them. pm me if you decide you need parts.
 
How much do you want for a '98-'99 crank shipped to Canada Uspost K0A1W0? Can PM me...Thanks
 
i would guess that the lower rod bearing failed,you should really drain coolant before disassembly, the coolant is not good for the bearings ive seen alot of people doing that, when they do a top end and then have the bottom end fail next and blame carbs/seals, just saying to help, yours really doesnt matter because the crank would have to be rebuilt anyway, how are your cases hard to see in pics but didnt look that bad, may have gotten lucky couldnt see any holes
 
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no1chevyboy said:
i would guess that the lower rod bearing failed,you should really drain coolant before disassembly, the coolant is not good for the bearings ive seen alot of people doing that, when they do a top end and then have the bottom end fail next and blame carbs/seals, just saying to help, yours really doesnt matter because the crank would have to be rebuilt anyway, how are your cases hard to see in pics but didnt look that bad, may have gotten lucky couldnt see any holes
Click to expand...

X2 on draining the coolant. Alot of people seem to miss that step.
 
I just started pulling the motor and noticed a hole on the front of the case #$%&*
I'm seeing a lot of crank/connecting rod failures on these old SRX's...I'm not sure why my machine decided to grenade at 8,000 klm. I've taken great care over the years (almost mint) and run it hot over the summer a least 4 or 5 times, check the plugs constantly...very frustrating...I really should consider a 4 stroke, these 2 strokes are to delicate for me.
 
x2 on the improper storage.Fog it and leave it.Starting it every couple of weeks(if you actually remembered to do it) does next to nothing for coating the bearings and cylinders with oil.Hence the condensation that took out your bearing.
 
OZ said:
I just started pulling the motor and noticed a hole on the front of the case #$%&*
I'm seeing a lot of crank/connecting rod failures on these old SRX's...I'm not sure why my machine decided to grenade at 8,000 klm. I've taken great care over the years (almost mint) and run it hot over the summer a least 4 or 5 times, check the plugs constantly...very frustrating...I really should consider a 4 stroke, these 2 strokes are to delicate for me.
Click to expand...

i have crankcase, crank, cylinders, heads, etc, to get you back up and going if you are interested in the parts.
 
that sucks.

looks like Mopar has everything you might need to get you going again. i seen a bottom end case and all listed on ebay as well this morning along with a whole new top end rebuild kit with the gaskets. pistons/rings are not OEM thou, they are SPX, i'd stick with the OEM myself.
 
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Hey OZ,
complete motor in Montreal area for 1000$ obo...
here's the ad # from Kijiji

Ad ID 180836799

good luck
 
Thanks guys, I'm working a deal with Jabber for the crank/case...already bought the cyl/head/piston off this site. ;)!
I'm still considering a Yamaha 4 stroke, once I get this one back together...I'll keep the SRX for sentimental reasons.
 
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