This question might be aimed squarely at the water-cooled crowd.
While riding my 2001 748 to work today I started losing power, heard some clattering, and had the oil pressure light come on. I got it off the highway and could hear a clattering in the engine. I shut it down and noticed a low-viscosity fluid dripping (but not spraying) onto the ground. I traced it back to the radiator hoses on the left side of the bike (I already had my fairings off), but I couldn't stay any longer because I had to get to work. A nearby business owner let me put it inside his fence (thanks!), and I'm picking it up tomorrow to take it to the shop.
I had noticed some clattering the other day while riding with no earplugs, and had set up a time next week to have the guys take a look, but had kind of chalked it up to not knowing what the bike sounds like w/o earplugs. That's also why I had the fairings off - eliminate a possible source of clattering and make it easier to troubleshoot.
Any ideas? I can't imagine that loss of coolant would cause that clattering. It's a 2001 748, maintained properly by good mechanics, with no engine work done (853 kit, etc.) It's got 23k miles on it, and I'm thinking it's entirely possible that a hose might have split - but that doesn't explain the clattering to me. The 18k was done last summer.
I realize I've given precious little detail, but I had to get to work and couldn't hang around. Plus, I am going to be up all night, and need something to think about for the next ten hours. ;)
I'm hoping nothing grenaded.
Water pump?
BUT you mentioned low oil pressure...
Maybe water pump grenaded and the chunks are now in the sump blocking oil flow creating a low-oil condition and the clattering noise...
Could be way off...Hope its not catastrophic failure...
I don't know. Would that account for the other symptoms - the noise and loss of power? Not being a smart-a@@ - just don't know.
I DO like this possibility, though, because a water pump replacement would be relatively cheap, easy, and fast - like a girl I knew in high school. Any possibility of damage to the engine in that case? The oil temp gauge was reading in the nominal range, so the reactor wasn't in meltdown.
Just saw your edit.
Don't know - I'm definitely not an expert. I saw no evidence of oil on the ground, and the sight window looked good, so it's not as if I LOST the oil... possible.
Hopefully I shut it down before things went totally pear-shaped.
I've never owned a 748 or anything, just trying to match a possible condition with the syptoms you stated. It looks like access to water pump is fairly easy after fairings are off- maybe pull it and check might be a place to start? Or just pull fairings all together so you can get a better look at things- drain oil and inspect maybe...
Gotcha. My 748 isn't painfully different from an S4, of course, so I figured I wasn't too far off base by posting.
Yep, water pump is right there and easy to see. I wish I had more time to do that, but I'm working twelves only have a little time off tomorrow. If I want to get the bike running again soon, I'm probably best off letting the pros get their paws on it.
It's times like this that a second bike would be nice again - so I could have the luxury of time to get more involved.
The clattering could be the water pump bearing or coolant in the oil. Do you see what looks like a chocolate milkshake floating on top of the coolant in the reservoir or foam in the oil sight glass? On a water cooled Duc the oil and water are separated by the pump seal. Did the bike overheat?
Ah, now that you mention it, I did see a little "head" floating atop the oil in the sight glass.
The bike didn't overheat, because I shut it down pretty quickly, not wanting to risk further damage.
So... possible water pump failure. Doesn't seem unreasonable. I should have trusted my intuition when I started hearing the noise the other day, though - engines don't just start doing things like that for no reason. I may have been confused the additional variable of just having swapped out the clutch pack and going with an open clutch cover - and the different sounds were too many variables for me.
Good stuff, guys - thanks for the help!
Figure this out...?
Sorry, been away - as has the bike.
The verdict is bearing issues in the bottom end. The juice - for me - is not worth the squeeze to fix it, considering that they've offered (at my request) to give me a good trade-in on a used Hypermotard 1100S they just got in on trade. It already has the tank upgrade, even. Not a bad deal.
This does remedy that new-bike jones I've been having.
Quote from: Sapper on July 26, 2011, 10:30:59 PM
The verdict is bearing issues in the bottom end. The juice - for me - is not worth the squeeze to fix it, considering that they've offered (at my request) to give me a good trade-in on a used Hypermotard 1100S they just got in on trade. It already has the tank upgrade, even. Not a bad deal.
This does remedy that new-bike jones I've been having.
Sorry to hear about the 748, but it isn't the first time I've heard of such a thing with the crank. If you did decide to keep the bike, it's usually easier to get a used engine and swap it out yourself. It would run about $800-$1200 by the time you got the engine back into the frame. Out of curiosity, how much they gonna give you on it as a trade-in? Just curious, as I sure couldn't buy it. I just bought a Bimota DB2 on Saturday and still have to get it shipped.
Bearing issues? That sounds more like the effect rather than the cause. I guess you haven't had a chance to look yourself? The dreaded loose flywheel nut could produce symptoms like you were having and at some point, the case itself right behind the pump impeller can crack, leading to coolant in the case. The 748's run pretty warm as it is, and the case cover can still produce a small crack. If I were you, I would drain the bike and pull that left side cover to get a good look at what's happening back in there. You may be able to salvage several 1000's of miles or the bike itself if it's not really a bearing issue.