84 honda spree pump failure - fried rings/scored cyl+piston
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 1:52 am
I have an 84 Honda spree which seems to have committed suicide. The last few rides it started running strange and on the very last ride it went from making a strange noise every now and then to nothing but horrible noises. It never occurred to me until the top end was trashed to check the oil lines and when I did they were full of nothing but air.
Ive read of pumps failing the opposite way and dumping about a quart of oil into the engine, however in this case it seems an air bubble got into the system somehow. I did re-bleed everything in the initial cleanup of the bike and the pump pumped oil just fine for weeks and then just all of the sudden stopped pumping all together.
I had already had a 48mm bbk in mind before this tragic event, so at least now I have a real reason to get one, other than more power. My plan is to 86 the pump all together and get an oil pump plug, which raises a few questions, especially with the bbk involved: If I run premix (which I believe everyone is running 32:1 with these kits) and am going down hill with the throttle closed (aka compression braking) is there a risk of torching the rings/piston/cyl due to lack of fuel/oil?
Another thing, after I pulled the cylinder I noticed lots of metal shavings in the cases, I can also feel the rubbish in the crank bearings upon rotation of the crank, but once it works its way out of the bearing they turn rather smoothly. Should split the cases to clean everything up and replace the bearings, or can I get away with washing the cases out with mineral spirits. Keep in mind, this bike also has about 8000 miles on it.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Ive read of pumps failing the opposite way and dumping about a quart of oil into the engine, however in this case it seems an air bubble got into the system somehow. I did re-bleed everything in the initial cleanup of the bike and the pump pumped oil just fine for weeks and then just all of the sudden stopped pumping all together.
I had already had a 48mm bbk in mind before this tragic event, so at least now I have a real reason to get one, other than more power. My plan is to 86 the pump all together and get an oil pump plug, which raises a few questions, especially with the bbk involved: If I run premix (which I believe everyone is running 32:1 with these kits) and am going down hill with the throttle closed (aka compression braking) is there a risk of torching the rings/piston/cyl due to lack of fuel/oil?
Another thing, after I pulled the cylinder I noticed lots of metal shavings in the cases, I can also feel the rubbish in the crank bearings upon rotation of the crank, but once it works its way out of the bearing they turn rather smoothly. Should split the cases to clean everything up and replace the bearings, or can I get away with washing the cases out with mineral spirits. Keep in mind, this bike also has about 8000 miles on it.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!