Compression Issues
10 posts from 4 voices-
I recently had the starter clutch replaced in my '06 VStar Classic and have subsequent issues with which I need some experienced advise. The shop that did the replacement didn't align the timing marks before starting the bike after the replacement and ruined a valve. They said it was the exhaust valve in the front cylinder (which they replaced) but I have heard of this error resulting in damage to the intake valve of the rear cylinder. Does this error always result in the same engine damage or is it more of a random damage scenario? Should I suspect more damage?
I was only able to ride about 100 km before winterizing the bike but I seemed to notice a decrease in power. Also, when I revved the engine briefly and then held my hand near the end of the exhaust pipes (Cobra Dragsters) I could feel a noticable difference in the "concussion" exerted by the exhaust gasses. The front cylinder being substaintially less than the rear. Does this indicate that the valve damage may still be present or is this a normal thing with exhaust.
Any advise will be greatly appreciated. -
The only way I know of really knowing what is going on is pulling your plugs and doing a compression check. That will tell you if your valves are seating correctly or not. Some one else may know of some other ways?? But that is a pretty easy check and 100% accurate
Ghost
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When I did the exact thing to mine, it was the exhaust valve on the rear cyl. that I bent.
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Thanks 1CuzdominFL. You gave me some great advise some months back when I was troubleshooting my starter clutch problem. Your advise was right-on. I even mentioned to the dealership about the alignment issue and they still messed up. Anyway, from your experience and mine, it appears that this reassembly error can cause damage to more than one component. I'll do a proper compression test and if necessary I guess I'll take it to another shop come spring and have them investigate further. Thanks again for your advise.
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Thanks Ghozd608. I'm going to perform a proper compression test as you suggested but I'm reasonably sure that the damaged cylinder has much lower compression. I will deal with that issue directly but my concern is that there may be some additional damage that isn't obvious now but may appear later down the road. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with damage other that exhaust valves.
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You may want to consider checking it out now, as you can go back on the 1st dealership, and get some reimbursement if they caused more damage. If you wait until spring, it will be very difficult going back on them as there is usually a time from that they warranty any repairs.
Just a thought.
Ghost
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No problem, I've learned from others' mistakes and others can learn from mine. Really it depends on how far off the timing is and in which direction. That decides what gets bent or broken and what doesn't. Pretty sad that a dealership would mess it up though.
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Man, that sucks, vakonman. I hope you don't have to pay to get this all fixed.
I don't know what you have to do any more to get good service. The dealerships all seem to have bad service, and the truly good places are so busy that you have to wait a month to get an oil change!
I recently had my 4000-mile service done on my bike (at the dealer) and they spilled oil or something on the exhaust. It smelled so bad that I could barely stand to ride it for the first 50 miles. I almost took it back, but I didn't have time (and I figured whatever it was would burn off soon enough).
I hope you can get this straightened out quickly (and correctly).
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vakonman,
If you lived closer to South/Eastern, Wa. I would say bring your bike over and we could put it together correctly. I have taken mine apart so many times doing mods to it I think I could do it Blindfolded
, I never had enough time or money to do all the upgrades at one time. But At least When I bought my Raider, I decided since I have 2 bikes I would not take the Raider apart until I had a fairly substantial amount of changes to do, and I would do them all at once. Hope you get your ride staightened out, Be sure to allow yourself plenty of time as when warm weather gets close everyone gets busy, and parts get put on back order etc.
Good Luck
Ghost -
Thanks Ghost,
I felt the same concern you mention about the length of warranty the dealership would honor so I had the service manager print onto the work order/receipt that they recognize that they caused damage and that they would repair what they had damaged. No time frame mentioned. I have confidence in their word, however, I have not much confidence in their experience and expertise.
Twice, after they replaced the valve that they damaged, they have told me the bike was good to go. The first time, it started and idled fine but I road less than 10 km and had to take it back. It was back-firing and missing so badly that I barely got back to the shop. I investigated online. Turned out they had not reconnected the Kuryakyn Hypercharger properly. I supplied them with the information and a couple of weeks later they said it was good to go again. This time when I rode it the clutch slipped badly in third, fourth and fifth gears. Back I went. A few weeks later they replaced the frictions at their expence and told me to ride two or three hundred km and bring it back for adjustment of the clutch - there is no cable end free play. By this point we were into December and where I live that's well into winter, so I must wait for spring to put on more kms. It was when I was winterizing that I detected the suspected compression issue. I hadn't noticeded it because of the back-firing, missing, slipping, etc.
That's why I'm askin' if anyone has a heads-up about other things that may occur from this error down the road. The dealer seems willing to honor their warranty and repair the bike but they have missed obvious problems. I appreciate that when I identify troubles they repair them at no cost, but that won't last forever so I wanted to be armed by spring with knowledge of any potential future hidden trouble caused by them. Maybe I'm parinoid but they had the bike in their shop for 3 months already (for a 3 hour job) so I've lost confidence in their workmanship.
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