My engine just blew!!

[dserver]

Well i'm sure something is terribly screwed up! 2001 X1, I had another thread on here about a pretty awful sound I was hearing->http://www.buellxb.com/Buell-XB-Forum/Buell-X1-M2-S3/My-bike-is-noisy-and-i-love-it-But...

But yesterday I started it and it sounded fine, took off to go get something to eat, and while on the interstate the oil light came on...followed by the most awful gut wrenching clanking i have ever heard.
So I pulled over to the side and had a friend come and pick me and it up.

Got it back to the house, and had my HD mechanic come over and have a listen. I started it for him and almost immediately told to kill it. So we took the oil filter off and low and behold its full of glittery oil, I ran a magnet through it and didn't pick up much so i will assume its aluminum.

So we kinda think the oil pump may have went kaput.. but not sure yet, we didnt have the tools to investigate further. So my question to the forum is, what else could possibly have been damaged by the oil pump failure if thats what happened. And if it did go how much to repair (ballpark) Do I need to split the case?

When we really start tearing into it will will take plenty of pictures to document this adventure.
So any advise will be awesome (possible parts i will need, part #, w/e could possibly assist)

Thanks a million if you made it his far. I lack much in the way of grammar/punctuation.
But i try ( :

Thanks again,
Chris

[squidbuellie]

More then likely you fried the crank bearing by the time you hear the noise your motor went south.
So more then likely your looking at around $2500

[dserver]

Wow, lets hope not. I coulnt see putting that kind of money into a bike i only paid $3300 for.
Is that including labor?

[buellxb9rs]

The crank is about $700, if that's what happened, Plus deals and such. It may not be bad at all, just have to open it up and see

[dserver]

Well that seems a little easier to swallow.. So what should I do first to avoid taking it to a shop. I'm not the most mechanically inclined, but I have been learning to do alot on my own. So should I pull the entire engine off, or can I start somewhere less involved that still may give me some insight into the extent of the damage.

[buellxb9rs]

These engines are probably the most simplistic you can get. It wouldn't be difficult to tear apart. I would, however, start with checking the oil pump as that's just a few bolts to remove.

[dserver]

Ok i will start there as planned. I began to do it than the rain came in.
I drained the oil as per manual, and then started to take the feed hose off but that damn clamp was proofing to be a pain. How do you get it off? And then there is the oil filter hose connection, what all do i have to remove to get at that connection?
Maybe ill try again tomorrow when i have light and hopefully no rain.

[buellxb9rs]

Do you have a service manual? If not, check buellmods.com. They may have one for you, it will make it a lot easier

[dserver]

Yes I do have a manual, and I read every step but it never mentioned that i would have to "cut" the crimped on hose clamps! Yeah that was my road block but after some searching I figured it out.

[Jramsey]

Yes I do have a manual, and I read every step but it never mentioned that i would have to "cut" the crimped on hose clamps!


No need to cut the hose crimp, the hose is male 1/8" npt on the oil filter housing end and the oil pump end is a female swivel which screws onto a 1/8" npt x # 4 fitting.

Two wrenches required on the pump end, one(9/16") for holding the fitting in the pump while breaking loose the female swivel (5/8") the filter end wrench size is 7/16".

Here's a pic of the hose and pump fitting.
http://imageshack.us/a/img827/310/oilline001small.jpg

[dserver]

Ok so I finally got the oil pump out. This is what it looks like.
http://i47.tinypic.com/261fcb4.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/2n6sswj.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/f0yntc.jpg

When I twist the top of it it spins freely but then it sticks.. normal? Also the last pic of the limited internals, those gears never never separate they stay just like that regardless of weather or not I rotate clockwise or counter?

[dserver]

This is up in the hole where the oil pump was.
http://i46.tinypic.com/2sb4jra.jpg
The next step logically I assume would be to take this cover off and inspect what kind of damage may be behind it?
http://i50.tinypic.com/4qfxph.jpg

A guy at work told me to remove the plugs and see if they were white, which according to him would indicate a over heat. So here is a pic of my front plug...
http://i48.tinypic.com/2qyrp.jpg

Hopefully this will be easy to fix, but with the oil pump looking pretty good I will presume this is not the case......"cry"

[dserver]

And BTW I would like to know if I take that cover off, will i possibly destroy or loose anything? I wont take it off until I hear back. Any tips?

[buellxb9rs]

It shouldn't stick, does it happen in the same place each time?

[buellxb9rs]

You will be fine removing the cover, but you need to remove the cam sensor cover first, take off the cam sensor and rotor cup, then you can remove the cam cover.

Make sure you mark the place of the cam sensor as it will be much easier to put back together timing wise, there should be two screw holding this on, and one bolt in the middle of the timing cup.

[dserver]

it sticks kinda randomly but maybe in the same place? I will check more thoroughly tomorrow.

And thanks for the feedback about the cam sensor cover, I will have a look at the manual and see exactly what that is.

Soo!!! awesome that this community exists to support enthusiasts and noob mechanics like myself! I feel so much more comfortable doing this!
I will update through the journey w/ pic and what not as necessary.

[thatdirtykid]

Hope its not your crank, the cases in my 02 are pressed together, and although the crank is only about 700 labor quote was 1800. I bought a parts bike and made my money back. Good luck!

[dserver]

Ok Im pretty sure im going to need an new oil pump or a kit to rebuild this one, but i think a new one would be better ( and if im buying a new one i have read that there is a high performance one i can get?) The pic below is the inside of the pump and if you look closely you will see a piece of stuck metal and also notice how beat up it is.
http://i45.tinypic.com/2m60ht2.jpg

The rest of the pics ar of the internals behind the timing plate.

http://i49.tinypic.com/152f0qd.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/21kk02w.jpg
http://i48.tinypic.com/2qwfxoz.jpg
http://i50.tinypic.com/9fphcz.jpg
http://i49.tinypic.com/11t9ykg.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/166mg2.jpg

I know these picture leave much to be desired, and make it hard to diagnose, but I tried to cover many angles and get as close up as I could.

Since it appears to me as if i will need to dig deeper ( i dont see anything wrong) If any high performance upgrades can be made during my rebuild please let me know what you suggest! (with links preferably)

Once again I want to thank everyone who has looked and contributed to my cause!

Chris

[buellxb9rs]

Upgrade your gaskets, of course, you can put new performance cams in if you want. Cams appear to be okay from the pictures. As for the oil pump, there isn't a high performance pump that I know of. There is a high performance drive gear though.

And I think you will need to dig deeper to find the problem.

[konarider94]

There is a high performance drive gear though.

the performance is no different, its just made of a different material that is less prone to failure. but i cant recall the last time i heard of someone failing the drive gear.

[buellxb9rs]

Yes, the performance isn't different, but, it is always sold as the high performance gear.

[pikeben08]

The oil pump gear is known for failure.

[Iamarchangel]

Plug information is wrong. Most people don't know what "lean" means or how to read a plug. Yours is just fine.

Oil gear is different material as stated. If you try, you might be able to find the original. The newer ones are the performance ones (compared to the old). Yours, oddly enough, looks good.

What does make me wonder is the white stuff in the gear pictures. If that is soft, it might be water in the oil which does not lubricate. If it is hard, it could break down and block the oil flow which runs through the shafts.

Did you find any metal pieces/filings in the cam gear compartment?

[dserver]

Some metal was present, mostly flat flakes, but only a few from what I could see.
So what should I do next? Primary side? Ro jut go ahead and take the SOB of the frame?

Thanks again!
Chris

[dserver]

Umm where is the edit button..? That last sentence is " Or just go ahead and take the SOB off the frame" lol.

[buellxb9rs]

Primary is separate from the engine oil, so I think you may just need to pull that sucker out.

[dserver]

I thought so, but will still check.
Where can I buy a new oil pump? Leary of ebay-ing the pump for some reason.
Whats The part #
Thanks.

[dserver]

"THIS IS NOt MY PIC"
But can I get at my engine like this? It looks comparable to my bike, and appears to be much easier to do.
http://www.nrhsperformance.com/pictures/engineright.jpg

[dserver]

Ok I know I need a new oil pump, but I have know idea where to get one online? I would rather not get a used one. I am about 2-3 steps away from having my bike in two pieces like above.

[NookieMonster]

Are you doing this outside??

[dserver]

ATM yes, all openings have been plugged up. With much hope we should be acquiring a house with a very large garage!
But once I get the engine and swing arm off i can bring it inside my current location.

[Rhino1]

Go for it. You're almost there anyway. It's not as bad as you think, but take plenty of pictures/document stuff. My biggest headaches when I've gone to this level is properly routing wires/hoses, etc., so I take plenty of pictures...

[dserver]

Thanks for the reply, yes I can see the headache already... I have taken a few pics and labeled several with masking tape and sharpie.
My question now is do i have to hang the tail section to remove the frame?
I'm kinda waiting on a second set of hands to assist with the final steps.

[blu1hockey]

Updates?

[dserver]

Updates.... Not really. I think im going to buy a oil pump and see if it works. My buddy thinks it will be fine.
Will a 03 firebolt oil pump fit? It appears to be the same and at a decent price I can try it and see if it works, and not be out the 400+ to test.