Urgent help needed- cracked oil pan.

[3ackok]

I got too adventurous and a rock hit my oil pan- Breva 1100. It happened in a middle of nowhere, 200 miles away from home. The oil is dripping, initially we sought to keep refilling it and get home this way. But after 30 minutes of riding we had to abandon this plan- the leak is too bad, my rear tire is covered with oil. Staying overnight in Petersburg WV. The plan is to drain the oil next morning, clean the pan and seal the leak with JB Weld. Is it doable? Or maybe someone knows a welding shop in the area capable of fixing the pan (Sunday!). Any other advice from experienced riders is welcome. Towing home through insurance is covered for 15 miles- the rest is $3 per mile. Ouch!

 

[Penis Rotor]

Where is the crack?/Damage? My advice would be park it and buy a new pan and gasket. It'd be a sod to weld and epoxy might not hold with catastrophic results.

Pete

 

[john zibell]

I have to agree with Pete. You might be able to rent a U-Haul or similar one way cheaper than the tow charge. I wouldn't attempt a field repair on this one.

Did a quick search and found this: U-Haul‎ Keyser Avenue, Petersburg, WV 26847(304) 257-1470‎

 

[Mike.C]

Absolutely it's doable, done it several times on dirt bikes that put a rock through a casing when dropped. Repair was a bit of a dog's breakfast, but we always got home. The ability of these epoxy metal products to repair successfully depends on how big the hole is, try to get as much of the original casing parts to plug the hole and then just use the putty to glue them all together. The one thing you absolutely do not want to do is to get large chnunks of metal and epoxy floating around in the casing, it all depends on how desperate you are to get home, we were generally in the middle of nowhere and rescue would have taken a couple of days so the aslternative made it worth the risk.

1st thing is the get the area around the crack as clean as you can, use some Kero and any other solvent that you can lay your hands on. Then use your goop of choice, I prefer Devcon Aluminium Putty, but the Quicksteel has similar products that are very popular.

Good luck

 

[Roblatt]

I've used JB weld on an old BMW sump my wife managed to crack. It lasted about 5 years then we sold the car - still not leaking. MikeC is correct, must be really clean.

Robert

 

[Penis Rotor]

X post from WG.

A few prices, in $AU, no GST.

Crankshaft there are two types. $2050 or $1850

Main bearings. Rear $460 Front $250

Big end shells. x 4 $240

Gaskets, filters and shit? Another couple of hundred.

Labour? 16 hours plus getting it in and out of the frame.

There may well be lots of other bits damaged but those will probably be the biggies. Cost in the USA may be up to 20% cheaper on parts, more on some, less on others, just world pricing.

Your choice of course but how much would it cost to get it home? There will of course be the cost of a sump and gasket.

$339 for the sump and 12 bux for the gasket, oh, and 20 bux for a filter and whatever for oil.

I know what I'd be doing..........

Pete

 

[Mal]

My mate hit a big rock on his HD Sporty recently, with his partner on the back. It cracked the sump, kept riding for ~30 min before the oil light came on and stopped and noticed the damage. He got a trailer to tow it home (like U hall)

Was going to be an insurance claim on the repair but fortunately nothing was damaged internally, oil pan and labor cheaper than excess on insurance. You might be able to make a claim about the stare of repair of the road i.e was it in poor repair, was the damaged section signed etc. (I've never tried myself)

What is the town like? Would someone with a ute/truck be going your way with space to strap her down in the back? IMHO people get more helpful in the smaller towns and won't leave you stranded. 200mile is a long trip strapped in the back of a ute though. Other bikers in that area may know someone you could leave it with (or a mechanic) till you come back and fit a new sump.

No real help from me I'm afraid just sending positive thoughts. But once it's over it will be a cool motorcycle story to tell Bike trips always create stories.

 

[xenarchi]

epoxy it!

I drove a uHaul from Indiana to Jersey with the Breva in the back. Was a fooking nightmare. Cost me a bomb as well, one way rental sucks! Was near 1000 bucks all in. I stopped a million times to re-secure the bike. 17 hours of a slow bouncy drive with a bike in the back of a box truck. Not what those trucks are made for.

 

[3ackok]

Thanks everyone for help. I'll continue at WG http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=35895.0 because it is not a model specific situation and I don't want to continue unnecessary crossposting.

 

[GTM®]

Can you post a pic of the damage? JB Weld might get you home. Post again here.

 

[3ackok]

JB Weld indeed got me home. I'm so glad I didn't spill while riding in the twisties with oily rear tire or didn't kill the engine.

This is the damage are being prepped for repair. You can see the hairline crack running horizontally in the picture.


Fixed


This is how it happened. I know, not very smart.


I am planning on taking the pan out and have the crack welded. Will I need a new gasket?

 

[GTM®]

Great news! If you're going to damage the bike, that looks about the best way ever... thanks for the pictures.

I'd recommend a new gasket, as it will likely tear in getting it off, if it has never been removed before.

 

[john zibell]

It is always better to be lucky than good!! Glad you got her home OK.

 

[dloftus]

Who needs those fancy adventure bikes huh.

 

[3ackok]

There are no emergencies, they are just different levels of adventure
I can laugh now, but it could be much worse.
I will add JB Weld and oil funnel in my list of items to put under the seat.
Is there an engine protector for Breva? I don't think I ever heard of one.

 

[john zibell]

Is there an engine protector for Breva? I don't think I ever heard of one.

This following is meant to be constructive and is from MSF teachings where the best safety device is the rider and thinking ahead. All bikes have an engine protector. It is located between the rider's ears.

 

[Roblatt]

did the sump crack because you hit something, or because of cold water on a hot sump?


Robert

 

[GTM®]

did the sump crack because you hit something, or because of cold water on a hot sump?

Large leap here, but likely a rock to the pan. :whistle:

 

[Mal]

Good to see a pic of a "standard" bike doing what they do best i.e. everything :lol: Perhaps a bit deeper than I would venture for a river crossing on a road bike. I like to keep the wheel bearings dry, but once your commited to the crossing....

Glad it all worked out for you.

p.s. this pic lives on my wall at work

p.p.s. I must say she look absolutely awesome in yellow. I love yellow bikes.

 

[3ackok]

Is there an engine protector for Breva? I don't think I ever heard of one.

This following is meant to be constructive and is from MSF teachings where the best safety device is the rider and thinking ahead. All bikes have an engine protector. It is located between the rider's ears.

John, I agree, but what is life without some risk taking The best rational decision would be not to ride at all, because it is a dangerous hobby, no matter how careful you are.
We sought that the unpaved portion of the road would be about 3 miles to VA-WV state line and intersection there. Turned out that it was still unpaved, but passable. We rode another 8 or so miles and were less than a mile from pavement when we encountered streams. If we started this road from opposite site, and had to return a mile instead of 10, we would turn back.

Todd, you are right about a rock. I took the oil pan off, and sings of impact are clear.

I really like how those bikes are designed. So far I haven't encountered a work I couldn't complete, and I'm no mechanic. Oil pan was accessible and unobstructed, it easily came off once I removed all the bolts. Didn't even damage a gasket. Of course, reading a topic on a subject helped. The bolts around the filter were easy to miss. The pan itself was very clean, not even a hint of a sludge. I took it to a local welder, who quoted me $75 fro the job, provided that the crack will not expand when heated.