Metal shavings in crankcase oil

[99 kittys]

I just pickedup a 99 kitty for my 3 year old son and was going through it and upon draining the crankcase the oil was full of fine metal filings. It looked like metallic gray paint. The motor runs great and there doesn't appear to be any play in the shaft. Does this mean the crank bearing is going or could it be something in the governer. What makes me nervous is the governer was bypassed. Thanks

[THX_138]

Tear it down and rebuild it NOW.....

.... before you end up snapping the connecting rod or worse and having an engine that is either unrepairable or cost prohibitive to rebuild.

just my $.02 of course

[99 kittys]

Well I just tore it apart and it was the crank bearings. They are still intact but they are on their way out. I would highly recommend against bypassing the governer without richening up the fuel mix or increasing the jet size. Had I saw the loose bolt and zip tie on the spring when I picked it up I probably would have passed on this machine or at least offered the guy less. But for $600 I guess I still did ok. Oh well time to order some parts.

[72]

If it was one of the crank bearings, wouldnt the metal have to get past the crank seal to enter the oil in the gear case? Because you have it apart, you might want to look at some other threads about connecting rod mods or replacement. Kids grow up fast.

[99 kittys]

That's what I thought at first. I didn't find anything wrong at all in the gear case. All of the governer pieces looked like new. I almost didn't tear it down the rest of the way. Glad I did because both crank bearings are rusty colored and feel gritty when you spin them. Also the exhaust side of the piston was scuffed up. The bearings must of been worn just enough for the filings to get past the seals. Going to look into the rod update. Thanks.

[kidsperformance]

is the lower rod discolored??

[99 kittys]

No luckily I think I caught it just in time. The rod isn't discoloredand the bearing feels good. If I didn't decide to change the crankcase oil it would have been a disaster.

[kidsperformance]

the crank might be out of index. which could have the wobble affect going on the small gear inside the box. I've seen that happen before.

[99 kittys]

could that cause the metal shavings in the gearbox and my crank bearings and piston problem is just a coincidence? The gears looked like they were meshing evenly.

[72]

Look at the drive gear ( the one connected to the crank, smaller one) and see if you can notice an area of 4-8 teeth that has a wider or offset wear pattern. It might be subtle, this is what kidsperformance is talking about and yes this could cause what you found in the oil. Crank bearings being tan color is more common than not (its a fuel and oil related) , I say have the crank alignment checked and change the bearings and seals because you dont know the history of the machine (its ten years old) but mostly because you have it apart. 2-cycles tearing up the area around the exaust port is the result of their design, garbage ends up being pushed back and forth and sometimes it sticks.

[99 kittys]

Thanks for all the help. I took a good look at the small gear and sure enough about 1/3 of the gear is only worn 20% of the way across the rest is worn 90% of the way across. I would of just contributed everything to the bearings and put it back together.

Next question is where is the best place to get the crank trued and maybe get the updated rod while its apart. I think I remember where I had my Yamaha Banshee crank done years ago when I was racing but not sure about these little guys.

Thanks,
Bill

[kidsperformance]

I do them...pm me