I took my bike down to the shop for a full service as I have ridden over 1000k in the past couple of weeks, anyways, I hadnt noticed any leaks.

So anyways, I get a call from the mech, saying that when he went to undo to sump plug the crank case broke off, thats right, it was overtight and when he "undid it" not only did the plug come out, some caseing came with it.

Wow. I havent seen it yet, but he thinks it can be welded back... what do you think about that?

If i do have to replace, now im reading they are a matched set, and ill need both sides?! cheapest I can find new is 600+ pre delivery and 400 delivered for the pair.


Help?
Anyone got a crankcase for sale in aus???

Every time I wash this bike properly, it costs me $1k this is crazy.

What bike do you have?

04' 400.

If its a 86-95 250 i have a set here

thanks for the offer.

the TRX400ex case is the same case correct?

That sucks, could have been broke from a hit to the plug bolt , doesn't matter now.

A good welder can fix it with no problem but I would have the engine tore down and let the welder have the bare cases to weld. Clean [ no oil ] is the trick to a good weld job.

It isn't that big of a deal, if you did the engine tear-down and rebuild yourself it's a very cheap fix, new seals,cost of the welding.

Check ebay.

Maybe Ballards has one laying around or can find you one cheaper.

Seems to me that since the mechanic actually did the damage, the shop should share in the repair cost.

I agree, To do that sort of damage they would had to of used a breaker bar with a bit of pipe on the end for more leverage, If that was the case they should have called you up & let you know the sump plug wont move BEFORE they butchered it

They probably could have tried warming up the sump plug? Are you from down south (Melb) They probably reefed on it when it was cold as?

All sorts of weird & wonderful things go on in mechanical workshops all over the place, Maybe the apprentice had a rattle gun on it trying to undo it the wrong way? I personally have never paid a mechanic for any work because I know that a lot of them are butchers
Have you ever been in a bike shop & heard them revving the crap out of bikes? I have & felt sorry for who ever owned it

An expensive service that one? Maybe they are going broke and need more jobs to do?

Save yourself some money & do the services yourself, + you can use better quality stuff (than a workshop uses) for the services since you are not paying labour

Just about every part of servicing only takes 10 - 20 minutes, Do it bit by bit, Even adjusting valve clearance only takes 20 minutes or so once you have done it a few times, Changing oil, Spark plugs or fork oil etc only takes stuff all time to do

Edited by XR250INOZ, 30 April 2012 - 01:50 PM.

most expensive oil change ever,   possibly worse than forgetting the drain bolt

personally I would replace every bearing in the case, you gotta slide hammer them out to remove them,  not good for the bearings

I have a 98 XR250 and I have recently had the sump plug drain bolt thread replaced after the helicoil came out. I live in Australia and it cost me $200, which is much cheaper than a new lhs crankcase. The specialist who performed the work is highly regarded and did a great job. I had to completely disassemble the engine, which was new work to me and I replaced all of the bearings also. Overall, it is a big task, but my bike is running again almost as good as new.

xr250inoz is correct... i d be looking at the shop... sounds well sus to me... what a nightmare... hope it works out ok in the end..

good luck

I dont really want to put the blame on the shop, he seemed very honest and knows his stuff, seems honest too.

Engine is coming out... they are going to see if it can be welded without breaking the engine down, I'm happy with this as the mating surface has not been broken. I guess its like pluging a hole?

Bolt is still stuck in the thread, so will have to see what its like too...

May not be as bad as I thought.

large144, on 30 April 2012 - 09:05 PM, said:

Threre are several methods for getting a stuck plug out, any mechanic that "knows his stuff" would not have used excessive force and broken the plug.

if the crank was already cracked...