mark1342 Posted July 31, 2008 Report Posted July 31, 2008 This spring my banshee was not running right would not start. Even when pull started it would not stay running so I took it in to a local mechanic who does work on atvs and dirtbikes that race at the local track. He said there were carb problems mainly in the pilot jet he replaced them and re synced the carbs. I got it home and rode it for about 10 minutes and it died. Pulled it back and checked the plug one side was good the other was white with pieces of metal on it. Called the mechanic and took the banshee back he looked at it and said the lower rod bearing was shot. I asked if it was from the cylinder running lean and he said the plug looked that way from the bearing and not a lean condition. Does this sound right? When the bearing goes will it make the plug look white? Quote
bansheesickness Posted July 31, 2008 Report Posted July 31, 2008 normaly a white looking spark plug means its running lean. sounds like hes tring to cover his ass, if a bearing can make the plug look white its new to me. lol Quote
shee4speed Posted July 31, 2008 Report Posted July 31, 2008 Yeah,he's covering his ass. The mechanic should have inspected the intakes and evreything around the carbs and prob.would have seen something wrong. Or maybe he forgot to tighten a clamp and it sucked air to lean out the one side. :: Quote
mdhc500 Posted July 31, 2008 Report Posted July 31, 2008 (edited) If he was doing work on your carbs I would say these guys are right and there was something loose and it was sucking air leaning out one cylinder. I always shoot a quick few puffs of starter fluid around all the boots after I have the carbs off and fire it up. If its sucking air the idle speed will change when it gets a dose of the starting fluid. Sorry to hear you are having trouble... Edited July 31, 2008 by mdhc500 Quote
mark1342 Posted August 1, 2008 Author Report Posted August 1, 2008 The plug also had small pieces of metal melted to it. Is there any way it would have melted the needle bearings to it? It would seem to me that if it was hot enough to melt the bearing which I assume is steel it would certainly be way to hot for the aluminum cylinder and piston. Any other thoughts? Quote
Paddleboy Posted August 1, 2008 Report Posted August 1, 2008 do you have a boost bottle? first thing i would do is take off the head and look inside to see how the piston and cylinder look. Quote
mark1342 Posted August 2, 2008 Author Report Posted August 2, 2008 no boost bottle the guy has the banshee at his shop I will have to try to get a look at it Quote
blowit Posted August 2, 2008 Report Posted August 2, 2008 (edited) I would not be so quick to just blame the mechanic. Seems if a problem is not solved the first time, every time by a tech, he is considered incompetent. It is likely that since your pilots were clogged, this may have leaned the bike enough to detonate thus killing rod bearings. The carbs may have plugged again too if an inline fuel filter was not added. The OEM in tank filter sucks. I am willing to wager my left nut that the specs you see on the plug is Al from the top of the piston from detonation. That does not mean to engine is toast but it needs looked at for sure. It is also possible that a clamp was not tightened causing a lean condition but if you yourself cannot do a carb clean, and took the bike to someone you cannot trust, shame on you. I think until the verdict is in, leave the speculation of negligence in the wind. You may have already started the fuse on that motor and he just happened to touch it just before it blew. Who knows. Brandon Edited August 2, 2008 by blowit Quote
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