I am a Class A Idiot...I may have Killed my Viper.

kunomofo

kunomofo

Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2013
Messages
141
Age
61
Location
Tamworth, NH
I joined last year (when I bought another SRX) - then I ended up getting an 02 Viper with M-10 Shocks that I had rebuilt, I put some new panels on the sled - I bought her cheap so I ended up with a Viper with 5K miles on it with rebuilt M10's and replaced the seat and some other things - all for about $2800 installed. Sled is set up for my girlfriend (I ride a 2000 SRX700). I was inspired to get a Viper after all the posts here etc - I was/am happy I did! We have only put on about 300 miles on the sled since I got it so this is painful.

Then last week I was setting them up - in the trailer (dark) and I (I know this now) accidentally TOPPED off the Oil with antifreeze and the antifreeze with OIL. :o| Total bonehead move.

Rolled the sleds up to NH to the camp - set the camp up we got on the sleds for a nice early evening ride..........about 40 minutes in the Viper stopped running. :whine:

Long story short - the sled is at a mechanic (private party) I use up there - and he is starting to work on it - but he called me today and said - preliminary check looked like a piston blew up.

He is going to look at the sled some more next week (getting a lot of snow here so he cannot work on it this weekend) and get a more detailed report of the destruction I have caused.

Anyways - I immediately thought of this place! (I was wishing I had an app on my phone at the time it happened - wanted to post it!).

At this point I need to decide how much more money I can justify putting in the sled so any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. I am a total novice when it comes to this stuff so any assistance on any level is appreciated!

And of course conditions are ALREADY great and we are getting another 15-20 inches tomorrow !

Thanks
Sean
 
Sean look anybody thats had sleds has made mistakes. I had them for 40 years, and now that i am old and blind it happens all the time. If you Like the sled and its clean and in good shape, why not fix it. 3:16 (yammie tony)
 
I would agree with that. If all it needs is new pistons it's worth it, especially with a M-10, it sounds like a nice sled to me.
 
I guess I am trying to figure out how bad it could be (I trust the brain trust here more than my mechanic) then what is the best way to fix it. Completely replace the engine? One head and cylinder or all of them?

I know I am reaching here and I do want to keep the sled but I am trying to figure out my options so I can tell the mechanic what the best thing to do is based on the resources here - rather than have him tell me (I have already blow him away with recommendations from here) so I want to make sure I cover all my bases.....
 
Unless you put a lot of anti-freeze in the oil tank, I would be surprised if that caused a lean burndown. For example the rotary valve rotax engines circulate the oil from the tank to oil the rotary shaft bearings, etc. and then back to the tank. All it takes is the seals on that shaft to leak and they get antifreeze in the oil. I have seen them so bad the oil looks like milk and still not cause engine failure.

To answer your question, I would definitely fix it. Shouldn't cost too much as long as your mechanic doesn't charge a lot. I would be sure to find out in advance how much he needs to rebuild the top end.
 
X2, I'm not saying the antifreeze would be good for it but I think it was from something else (carbs possibly). I would be more convinced of the antifreeze being the culprit if the crank let go. Fix er up
 
I could be wrong but he'll probably have to pull the engine and split the case and clean up the case. If you put anti freeze in the oil tank then the oil injection system would be filling the channels with anti freeze rather than oil. Thats probably not good for the crank. Other than that replace the broken piston, cylinder, head if necessary and might as well re-ring. Really not that big a job. I could probably do it in a day.
 
Last edited:
staggs65 said:
X2, I'm not saying the antifreeze would be good for it but I think it was from something else (carbs possibly). I would be more convinced of the antifreeze being the culprit if the crank let go. Fix er up
Click to expand...

Agreed. Maybe pull the oil line off at the pump and see what comes out. If it's milky you may be okay and your burn down was from another cause. If it's straight coolant I'd be a little worried...

Look in the carb bowls to see if any has seperated from the premix.

Would you flow more fluid through the oil pump if it's thinner?

...and end up with a more oil (milk) to fuel ratio and lean it out?


We've all done stupid stuff so don't get too down. I've worked in fuel systems for 20 years and a couple months ago I pulled away with the nozzle in the tank far enough to disengage the saftey release. I went into the station to tell the guy and he said don't sweat it, someone does it at least once a week... but it's usually a woman. A couple weeks later I saw a GUY driving his rav4 down I-94 with the fuel nozzle and 6' hose waving like a flag at 70 with a spark or two when the coupler tagged the pavement.

yeah, I'm wearing glasses too.

Now that I'm a half century I'm also looking forward to my first prostate exam... woohoo!
 
You can throw what you have invested out the window or fix it and know what you have.
Question is, what else can you buy with what your going to spend fixing it.
 
Well just to update here.


It was a blown piston - I saw it - pretty bad. So I replaced the piston and cylinder used ($179) real clean from a sled s 3k miles. Then the head was pretty messed up so we decided to replace that as well - $50 used - real nice and clean. Had it all installed (labor cost me $400) and she runs great now. Also noticed the collant tank opening was egged (warped) so we changed that out as well.

All in all - about $625 to fix my mistake!

I wont be doing that again - expensive lesson.

Then the rain came and have had no chance to ride! oh well.

Anyways thanks for the support it helped me in my panic......
 
What would worry me is the long term effect on the bearings. I would have at least split the case and inspected the bearing for hot spots, then dunked it in a bath of 2 stroke oil to displace the coolant out of the bearings
 
Backwoods M Max said:
What would worry me is the long term effect on the bearings. I would have at least split the case and inspected the bearing for hot spots, then dunked it in a bath of 2 stroke oil to displace the coolant out of the bearings
Click to expand...

well I guess I missed my chance for that.
 
Backwoods M Max said:
What would worry me is the long term effect on the bearings. I would have at least split the case and inspected the bearing for hot spots, then dunked it in a bath of 2 stroke oil to displace the coolant out of the bearings
Click to expand...

Exactly what I said a month ago. If there's coolant in the bearing channels, which is where the oil pump puts the oil, you could run into issues.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
At this point what it is it what it is. I tend to think new oil would push any antifreeze out rather quickly. Even with a mild burn down I split cases clean and inspect everything prior to re-assembly. Its a little more work but not knowing 100% there isn't a little something in the bottom of the engine would haunt me! No better time for crank case seals anyways.
 
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