Somebody talk me out of this...

[pKp]

Hey to all - newbie in the house!

Okay - so I'm looking at buying a Steamer. Guy has an '98 that has some issues. Here's the story -

Riding along, all the sudden smoke from the crankcase breather. Evidently lots of smoke. Takes it home and does a compression test thinking broke ring. #1 tested to 75, the other two tested fine. No leakdown noted.

Seller says he has taken good care of the bike - second owner, good maintenance record. Says the bike ran fine before the smoke.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated...including RUN AWAY! :lol:

[nightrunner]

Lots of smoke out the breather would certainly scare me away, unless the price is a bargain anyway.  It does sound like a broken ring.  

The others will be along in a few hours.

[Sin_Tiger]

Could be a few things, clutch, gearbox. Unusual though.

Don't ask me, I'm a sucker for limping puppies :roll:

[Mustang]

Takes it home and does a compression test thinking broke ring. #1 tested to 75, the other two tested fine. No leakdown noted.



Any ideas would be greatly appreciated...including RUN AWAY! :lol:

the compression test is the dead giveaway that it will need motor work
probably pistons and rings and new liners is the cure and will involve about a thousand bucks IF YOU DO IT YOURSELF
second mortgage on the house if a dealer does it .

could be a valve but I would suspect the above scenario
you wont know until it is torn down and inspected

you could try checking the oil and see if it is full of gas like maybe possibly a float stuck and flooded the crankcase with gas ...........that would produce smoke

but the low compression on #1 would make me RUN AWAY unless he's giving it away for free or damn close to it

[Nick Calne]

sounds like a parts donor bike.  Buy it for buttons and sell the parts to members on this site for a profit!

[BruKen]

Are you a gambling man? Sure does sound like a broken ring but it also wouldn't be the first time somebody overfilled with oil. Take a sly check and see if you can see any oil weeping about the clutch cover and round the airbox. You never know, you might stike gold.

[pKp]

Hey - thanks for all the ideas. I suspect rings on #1 as well.

But, through all my searching I could not find a single reference to rings breaking on a Steamer. And, the bike only has 18,000 miles - according to the owner.

My second though was the mysterious "laid the bike on its side and oil rushed through the breather and into the valves" story. Anyone have any thoughts on that theory?

Plus, there is at least one posting for "the valves were way out of adjustment causing a low compression reading."

Seller wants $1,900 for the bike...I'm thinking $1,000 max.

[Geoff D]

Don't ask me, I'm a sucker for limping puppies :roll:

Hmmm you too, that makes two of us  :roll:

[pKp]

Okay - got the Steamer! Thought I'd throw up a picture or two - very proud owner. Honestly this thing looks better in person than in the pics.

Into the motor now to find the source of the crankcase smoke. Still suspecting rings on #1. Checked valves and most were in spec - only 2 out .05 - 4 out .025. Not sure what shims are in there yet - hoping for 2.8 or better.

Getting ready to pull the head tonight - will do a compression check (again) before I proceed. Any thoughts on cam removal? Head removal? Seems pretty straightforward.

...scalpel...

[coachgeo]

look forward to those pics

Where are you? US, other side of pond orrr???

[BruKen]

Good luck :) the head removal is pretty straight forward. Keep us posted and lots of pics please.









Its when the broken rings are in the crankcase that life gets interesting :D

[ramseybella]

Okay - got the Steamer! Thought I'd throw up a picture or two - very proud owner. Honestly this thing looks better in person than in the pics.

Into the motor now to find the source of the crankcase smoke. Still suspecting rings on #1. Checked valves and most were in spec - only 2 out .05 - 4 out .025. Not sure what shims are in there yet - hoping for 2.8 or better.

Getting ready to pull the head tonight - will do a compression check (again) before I proceed. Any thoughts on cam removal? Head removal? Seems pretty straightforward.

...scalpel...

Nice looker looks better than mine, you pay the 2K?
Let us know how it comes along.

[pKp]

Found the problem. TWO broken rings on #1. Here are a few pics of the operation:

First - just a glam shot to show off my clean head - PO must have used synthetic and changed regularly. Can eat off the valve shims! Made my head bolts stand at attention for this shot...




Now to the dirty work - #1 looked good at first, but then a peek at the back-side revealed the damage:





Problem well in hand:




Damage done:



The best news is the sleeve for #1 looks great - no damage! Very lucky...

Now checking #2 and #3 for signs of ring fatigue. I suspect I will go ahead and replace the rings on all three for peace of mind.

Nurse...ready to close...

[Mustang]

that looks like broken piston to me ............not rings
for 450 bucks you can have three new pistons and rings with wrist pins

[pKp]

Holy cow! You are right! Haven't looked at rings for a while...

Okay - so it's a new piston. Hold the rings...

Any idea what would cause that kind of carnage? I suspect #1 was running very lean. The other two spark plugs looked fine - #1 was totally white.