I think she threw a rod; what do you think?

[Dave77459]

About 90 miles into the ride back to Houston from the Rockport Maintenance Day, Roxie suffered a catastrophic failure. I heard a loud clunk and felt her die. I pulled the clutch, and emergency stopped on the right shoulder. That was kind of exciting, as Dave P./Just Foolin' Around and I were passing cars and fellow VentureRiders.

 

I turned off the power as Roxie spilled out oil. In fact, I'd left a long trail of oil as I made it to the shoulder. I am thankful for my friends, who came to a stop, and who u-turned to come back for me. We had quite a party there on the freeway shoulder. Kreg/Kbay went and got his trailer, and returned to carry me home.

 

It seems to me that she'd thrown a rod. At least that's what we called it when I turned wrenches in High School. I'm not sure what they call it now, or even if that is accurate on a second gen engine. It looks like she lost most of her oil, and there was coolant in the puddle as well. The oil seems to have come out above the front motor mount.

 

My warranty expires in April, and I am glad it happened now, and when surrounded by friends.

 

Is there any way this is not covered by the warranty? I certainly have not heard of a well-maintained Venture engine dying like this. I only have 55,000 miles on her.

 

Dave

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5043/5381986060_f685a1373b.jpg

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5126/5381984660_387194d7a1.jpg

Edited January 24, 2011 by Dave77459
Clarifications

[KarlS]

Sorry to see that happen to anyone, but the positive thing is still under warranty.

[sarges46]

I think that is only the second time I have heard of a major engine failure of these great bikes.

 

Of course you must have done something wrong! Maybe the dealer might try that line with you...but really it should be covered.

 

And it looks like you had an impromptu venture meet and eat....good things for friends on the road.

[DBOB]

Hey Dave. hope you do not have trouble with the warranty! You are lucky, things like this happen to me right after the warranty expires!

Don

[BuddyRich]

Yep ,Its good to have friends around when the oil hits the road. Glad you got home OK. Engine failure is a warranty item last time I checked. I'd have them replace the whole engine if I could.You never know what else was damaged when it blew apart..

[Guest tx2sturgis]

That was caused by mis-aligned trailer axles...I just KNOW it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[skydoc_17]

Hey Dave,

Jean here, I am glad you made it to the side of the road OK! I asked Earl about this as I have never heard of one of these 1300 motor's coming apart before. Here is what he said.

He has seen a few of the high compression VMAX motors come apart, but only one VR/RSV motor. The connecting rod usually fractures the wrist pin, (con rod to piston) or it throws the cap on the bottom of the connecting rod off by snapping the bolts. (con rod to crankshaft) Earl suggested two things, first, get a small note book, and starting backwards, document every oil change, air and fuel filter change, to show the dealer you maintained the bike. Second, if the dealer is only going to replace the one connecting rod and piston, then tell the dealer you want ALL of the rotational parts Magna-Fluxed, because you are so close to the end of the warranty! Chances are, they will replace everything with new parts to save time and money, instead of checking the remaining old parts out.

If the connecting rod came loose at the crankshaft, it is VERY IMPORTANT that the crankshaft be checked out for scratches and scores on the bearing journals. If it came loose at the wrist pin, you may have bent valves in that chamber of the cylinder head. Needless to say, each "Jug" has two combustion chambers in it, and even if you have to pay for the parts, have the dealer install new valve seals in that cylinder head. The dealer makes WAY too much money doing this repair to just replace the entire engine, so don't count on that at all. The best you could hope for is a bent/scored crank, which is replaced, and a new jug, with one new connecting rod and a new piston. I don't know how well you know your dealer/Service manager but I suggest that you start out with a good attitude, but BE FIRM about what you expect for a repair. MAKE him describe what damage has happened! Getting mad doesn't help, but if you are not happy with the service you are getting, ask to speak with the Yamaha Rep. for the area as soon as things stop going your way. Speak to some of the VR.ORG members in your area and ask them if they know a good dealer with a great service dept. because you are going to need it!

Earl hopes this works out for you, remember BE FIRM!

Jean and Earl

[bongobobny]

As Earl said, yup, you threw a rod!! Unless you had the engine apart and did some kind of a mod to the engine it should be under warranty, and will probably get a new engine out of the deal, as it will possibly be more cost effective to replace rather than rebuild.

 

Glad you were able to get to the side of the road OK especially with the rear tire gettring oil soaked. Make sure the rear tire gets cleaned with a good detergent!! The oil puddle looks like the oil was fairly clean. Hopefully you have been keeping records of oil changes so the dealer can't say you didn't keep the oil changed...

[Gary N.]

If I were Mr. Yamaha, I'd want that whole engine assembly back so I could do a very thorough inspection to see what failed and do a root cause analysis. That's what we did at the transmission plant where I worked. Good luck.

[Marcarl]

Wow,,, shirt sleeves ad lawn chairs,,,, glad it didn't happen in Ontario, or anywhere else in Canada,,,, ya'll would have been in a huddle, learning how to hug real tight.

Hope it all works out for ya. I do have a spare 1st gen power plant sitting here, but that might be a little tooo fast for that beast.

[ctraylor]

If you dumped the oil out you probably knocked a hole in the block so the entire engine will have to be replaced or, at least, a short block.

[eagleeye]

In other words, " I was just riding down the road and just all of a sudden, ka-blamm, and that's all she wrote".

 

I couldn't agree more, Any more information than this will not be heplful to you.

Good luck,

 

 

Steve

[V7Goose]

As far as I am concerned, if the warranty is still in effect, this should be covered without much question. Just don't give them anything to use to try and blame you. Just focus on a normal 90 mile run until suddenly it committed suicide.

 

And DO make sure you go in with proof of the regular services as required in the manual! But "proof" is a relative term, and US law is on your side. Obviously, if the dealer has done it all, then no worries. But if you do your own service, then any reasonable evidence is sufficient. Receipts for oil and parts and annotated dates of service on the service schedule are absolutely sufficient, but if you do not keep those, then do as suggested above - sit down NOW and start putting together such a record in a small notebook. If you use a credit card for all your purchases, then your statements or year-end summary can be used to identify dates and merchants for maintenance purchases.

 

Goose

Edited January 24, 2011 by V7Goose

[Dave77459]

I appreciate all the information, I really do. It's causes palpitations to consider that it may not be a warranty repair. If that is the reality, then it is the reality.

 

Dave

Edited January 24, 2011 by Dave77459
Typo

[Guest PlaneCrazy]

Ya, I agree with the above.... You had NO indication that anything was wrong until your engine blew up on the road. Absolutely do not mention that you had two aborted starts and heard noises before the ride.

 

I'm not 100% sure, but I seem to remember reading a paragraph in my warranty that specifically covers this... something about you being at fault if you suspected something wrong with the bike and tried to ride it anyhow.

[Guest PlaneCrazy]

My curiosity is up now. If the failure was due to something else failing on the bike why would it not be covered?

 

If there was a carb problem or something else that caused fuel to flood one of the cylinders, then the warranty most likely would cover that problem if you brought the bike in right away. They would change the filter, flush the carbs, maybe do some repairs to the float valve... whatever. If, however, you suspected that their was a fault and then proceeded to ride the bike anyhow, Yamaha would deny being responsible for any damage you did to the bike by continuing to ride it when you suspected, or you knew that their already was a fault with it.

[okiestar]

Good luck with this Dave.

My 06 TD warranty also expires this year. Keep us posted how they take care of you.

Looks to me like whatever route the dealer takes, the warranty should get Roxie repaired and back on the road.

[elmicko]

I think the real question here is "where did all those lawn chairs come from??" You were all on bikes.

[BOO]

I think the real question here is "where did all those lawn chairs come from??" You were all on bikes.

Just proves you need to carry all the necessaries when on the bike.

BOO

[dmoff1698]

Who threw a rod on a second gen engine.

 

June 2004, I remember it well!

 

Riding a 1999 RSV with 40K miles, at around 60 MPH, 5th gear, 2 up, pulling trailer, downhill etc. Without warning the rear wheel locked up. Man what a ride!!!

 

End result...rod had broken just below the piston, rod fell forward and pushed the ballance shaft out the front and through the case. Yammy never gave me a hard time about it, but I don't know what the dealer said to them. Momma gave me new cases, rods pistons, cylinder, balance shaft, etc, Basically everything forward of the crank except new heads. Those checked out good.

 

I was concerned about not getting a complete new engine due to the shock placed on the entire drive line, but 100K mile later and still going strong, I'm getting over it.

 

Yammaha didn't ask for maintenance records or any other documantation from me.

 

Be patient though, it took them almost 8 weeks to gather all the parts and get it back to me in one piece.

[wes0778]

Just a thought on the cause...

The sever magnetic field caused by all that electric clothing!!!

:stickpoke::stickpoke::stickpoke:

 

[V7Goose]

Who threw a rod on a second gen engine.

 

June 2004, I remember it well!

 

Riding a 1999 RSV with 40K miles, at around 60 MPH, 5th gear, 2 up, pulling trailer, downhill etc. Without warning the rear wheel locked up. Man what a ride!!!

 

End result...rod had broken just below the piston, rod fell forward and pushed the ballance shaft out the front and through the case. Yammy never gave me a hard time about it, but I don't know what the dealer said to them. Momma gave me new cases, rods pistons, cylinder, balance shaft, etc, Basically everything forward of the crank except new heads. Those checked out good.

 

I was concerned about not getting a complete new engine due to the shock placed on the entire drive line, but 100K mile later and still going strong, I'm getting over it.

 

Yammaha didn't ask for maintenance records or any other documantation from me.

 

Be patient though, it took them almost 8 weeks to gather all the parts and get it back to me in one piece.

I'm glad you didn't have any trouble getting them to fix it for ya, and this is usually the case, but it is all dependent on a good dealer.

 

There are many great dealers out that that take care of us and deserve our business, but we all know that there are also some really bad ones - both ignorant and dishonest. Many owners have been told that lots of things, from radios, plastic parts, even wheel bearings, are not covered by the warranty. We all hope that those blatantly wrong statements are simply the ignorant dealers. But there are some who are so dishonest that they actively look for reasons to deny warranty in hopes of forcing the screwed owner to pay huge bucks at retail rates for the repairs.

 

Our main point in some of the advice to Dave was simply to be prepared in advance so he could protect his rights just in case his dealer wasn't one of the best ones.

Goose

[frogmaster]

Dave Zip Code,

 

Sorry to hear this .

 

2 Questions and 1 advice.

 

Q1: What Oil was in it at the time of Death?

 

Q2: Did you add a Trailer Hitch?

 

Advise: Remove all evidence of Trailering before taking Roxio to the Doc.

[eusa1]

Dave,

 

i'm currious to hear what you found out after our conversation this morning?

 

call me back if i can help.

mike

[Pecker]

I have worked at our local Yamaha shop here in Columbia, handling issues just like what you have here. I don't see any reason why Yamaha would deny coverage. Get your maintenance records together (just in case), talk to the service manager and explain what happened, and be patient. The service manager will have to call Yamaha for authorization, that may take several days. Then the mechanic will have to do a tear down to inspect the innards, this may take a few days. After Yamaha has the final repair cost, they will issue an approval, the mechanic will order the parts, and then put your bike back together. My guess would 1 to 2 months and you should be riding again.

Stay in touch with the service manager to see how things are progressing, if you are dissatified with how things are being handled, call Yamaha customer service, they can and will look into things.

Good luck, and if I can help in any way, send me a PM

Dave