Sand Inside the Engine? XR600R

here is the pic, if you have less sand than this hold off on the engine teardown..do the compression check first!



this was a well oiled well sealed with grease filter...not only that but all the airbox was greased as was the rubber lips on the seat and intake...this saved me...it was a long beach run that did this...

its just showing how much a well oil filter can take...

I know it worked because I later tore down my engine to fix a base gasket leak, and the piston, rings and cylinder were perfect, in fact I reused them since they had low miles on them...

I didn't think to ask about the date (sorry). I have the stator in my car and plan to mail it out at lunch. My brother-in-law was going to bring over his voltmeter last night to get a reading, but something came up.

In an ideal world, the bike failed because the stator overheated and not due to sand. I'll have to take a picture of the filter later this weekend and report back how much crud it collected.

What is considered good compression for this bike? Maybe a range? I'm guessing it's on the lower end just because it's all original. Also, if the valve clearances are still in spec, would that be an indication the internals were not damaged by sand? Keep in mind, the bike failed after riding for about five hours and the last hour is when it probably got the hottest.

Thank you.

By
B

BBQ BBQ

here is what I would do:

get spark first and forget everything else

clean and filter the air filter and see what you have...look at the intake and airbox boot...

start engine after doing an oil change...if it starts do a second compression test...

I think it should be around 150psi...the autodecomp plays tricks too

since you say you got hot but dont actually have a temperature gauge to go by you cant really say if you just burned up the stator or combination of somthing else...

who knows
what I do know is that the oem nicasil cylinder on oem bikes can take more abuse and run COOLER than other model bikes...so you do have that to your advantage

lastly ne thing at a time...

good luck

If you do have spark but cant start the engine, then its teardown time...at the least lap the valves, new stem seals and new oem rings for your 89 bike...at the least

this depending on what your piston and cylinder looks like

Sounds good to me. I like the idea of at least getting a spark going before doing anything else. One last question though...should a compression test be done hot or cold? Or does it matter?

do it cold, see what you get...then if its low pour some drops of oil on the piston, if it gets better that means your tolerances are too big...the oil seals up the cracks if you will...

cheers

Sounds good. Much appreciated.

If by adding some oil when doing the compression teat and the readings increase this simply shows that the rings are shot. Doesn't tell you the condition of the valves.

word, but its a start...

everyone gets hesitant to open up the engine...I was so many times! jajajaja

since he is hesitant, Im only trying to offer help that doesnt include a complete engine rebuild and can o worms

my first post or whatever said tear it down...since he doesnt have spark, start there...

The new stator and gasket arrived Saturday afternoon. I installed everything and the bike wanted to fire on the first or second kick. I still need to do the compression test, but I did check the valves and gaps were still in spec. I'll check them again when I do an oil change in the next couple weeks.

Looking for some help clearifying the proper way to do a compression test. I was reading through the manual and it says to have the engine warm. It also gives the range (with decompression) around 71.1 psi plus/minus 14.2.

Can someone offer some advice on what the proper procedure would be?

I remember reading that...the decomp thingy takes away a bunch of psi...therfore I remember for my bike for example without the decomp on the cam to be somewhere in the 125psi range...(supposed to be)

do it cold and warm...its just for your better information purposes...do the oil trick too...if youre rings are shot then a simple rering job will get your compression back again!

cheers

Did you get the 125psi cold or hot? Thanks

cant remember...how about I do one soon and let you know...I have a car mechanic friend with a good gauge...

the reason they say WARM is because the piston expands into the cylinder therefore lessening the chance of blowby...therfore getting a better reading...

here is a comp gauge less test.

can you stand on the kicker? when cycling through when starting for example

most guys with very bad or low comp can kick through like nothing

I usually can cycle through with the kicker until it get to TDC and then it locks up when the chamber is pressurized. It's been easier with the weather being so cold though. Once the bike is warm, I can get passed TDC without the manual decompression lever, but it's pretty hard. I'm also 6'1" and weight about 215, so I also have my body weight helping.

I'll try and do the compression test tonight and report back.

Fingers crossed for you and the ole xr600.

Just cruising up and down the street, the bike ran like I remember it. Thanks

so you can stand on the kicker at tdc when warm and it will push down? without the decomp lever?

it wont on my bike...so maybe yeah you NEED to do a comp test...

good luck bud

Elsalvadorklr,

Do you know what size threads the spark plug is? The compression tester I got from a local auto store only has a 14mm and 18mm option. The fourteen is too big unfortunately.

Once the bike is warmed up and put at TDC, I can stand on the kick starter without pushing it down.

I think the compression is fine, but I do want to test it for peace of mind.

I do not know that...13?

I misunderstood your last post...I think you are A OK!

let us know bud!

christian