What do you do if dirt gets into your bottom end?

Overshot34

Hey,

I got just got my bike back from the shop for a new top end.  1st ride out was wet sand and a bit of mud conditions. However the next day the "mud" didn't dry and I noticed a cylinder head bolt is missing, oil has sprayed everywhere, and dirt/sand has gone down the hole.  I only have about 1hr on it.  The bike is a 21 kx250f.

What are your thoughts? Do I assume dirt has gotten into the bottom end and if so what are my options? 

 

I've attached a pic.  I stuffed the blue rag in to stop more sand from falling in.  20230416 100307.jpg?VersionId=NzbAHMNabQdEwtPZbTHYLZRxB

 

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FGR01
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FGR01 4/16/2023 1:36pm
4/16/2023 1:36pm

Don't clean it.  Take it straight back to the shop so they can see first hand what happened.  They need to correct this.

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Moto520
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Moto520 4/16/2023 3:28pm
4/16/2023 3:28pm

Do you think they forgot to put the bolt on?   I would run it and keep an eye on things.   Many would say that’s not the right way to do it but I think you could flush out the engine with oil and run the fucker

1
sandman768
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sandman768 4/16/2023 4:09pm
4/16/2023 4:09pm

Bring it back to the shop as is… don’t be hostile, just let them see it … this is a learning situation if they want to do the right thing…. 

Overshot34 4/16/2023 5:02pm
4/16/2023 5:02pm

Thanks for the advice guys.  From your experience what is the right thing?  Can it be inspected in stages or my gut feeling tells me the whole thing needs to be torn down. 

The Shop

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willbilly
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willbilly 4/16/2023 5:55pm
4/16/2023 5:55pm

I doubt much dirt got sucked into bottom end but it doesn’t take much. That small gap was competing with the crankcase breather. Right thing is to split cases and inspect. 

1
harescrambled 4/16/2023 6:44pm
4/16/2023 6:44pm Edited Date/Time 4/16/2023 6:54pm

Check the bolt hole to see if the bottom is open. If it's not open, the oil snuck out past the gasket, and you have little to worry about. If it's open, it'll most likely be a teardown to inspect. The shop that did the work either did not install the bolt and washer that goes there, or the bolt was not tightened correctly. it's common for the small diameter bolts to loosen up if the head bolts are tightened in the wrong order. The main head bolts get tightened first, then the 6mm bolts

1
GoggleFiend904 4/16/2023 8:38pm
4/16/2023 8:38pm

I would let the shop fix/take care of the situation completely. I wouldn’t risk even a small amount of sand getting in the engine. The life of any bearings they get to will be drastically reduced 

1

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