We know what your motorcycle means to you. It's an agile and affordable vehicle witch unaccountable advantages had kept it among the most used means of transport.
Even if we do all we can to keep our motorcycle engine in good shape, there are faults that shorten its lifespan, forcing us to replace it.
One of the most common faults that the motorcycles suffer is the engine seizure. It is said that an engine has a seizure when it's been exposed to hi temperatures that affect its functioning, being even able to fuse metallic parts.
This is one of the most severe failures an engine can suffer, it appears when the temperature of the engine suddenly raises a lot of grades, causing a locking or jamming of certain parts like the crankshaft or the engine cylinder.
➤ How do we know an engine has a seizure?
By the failure nature, the main sign of an engine seizure that's working is the progressive lose of acceleration and strength, so it's easy to notice how the velocity decreases and the motorcycle starts moving with less strength.
Along with these, another obvious sign of an engine seizure is the sound it produces. An engine seizure begins to be noisier, with sounds of metallic crushes like a bell. The engine parts start to seize up or lock themselves, which produces that, when the motorcycle is running, it sounds like a rumble.
How does an engine seizure happen?
Usually, the overheating causes the crankshaft or the engine cylinder to block or jam, which is originated by some of the following causes:
● Lubricant failure
This happens when the engine loses pressure or when the oil doesn't has the requested attributes to keep the components well lubricated, or has a low viscosity level.
● Cooling failure
The cooling failure is common when the engine has been turned on with a low level of water. That can make a sudden temperature increase and cause the seizure.
● Crankshaft imbalance
If the crankshaft isn't well balanced, an irregular piston wear can be caused when the motorcycle is turned on. That will cause an excessive friction in the area.
Advices to avoid engine seizures
In 2T engines you must verify constantly that the exterior cooling fins are clean, besides doing the right mix of fuel with the oil advised by the manufacturer.
Generally, this kind of engine failure can be avoided by being vigilant about the engine condition. On the other side, you must watch the engine temperature, checking out that the cooling liquid and the water levels are right. Also it is convenient to acquire good quality lubes and keeping them in the optimal levels, so the engine parts can work problem-free.
If I have an engine seizure, what sould I do?
Engine seizure repair
Steps to know if I have an engine failure in my motorcycle.
Having confirmed that the engine has a seizure, it is necessary to dismantle it and verify the scale of the damages.
Once you've found the stuck parts where the damage is more serious, use a special liquid to loosen them and unblock them.
Clean them and then order them
After dismantling the parts, go to a professional for the rectification and mechanization of the damaged parts or mount a scrap engine, which is also an excellent and affordable option.
What should you know to avoid a motorcycle engine repair?
There are a lot of things to do to avoid an engine seizure; everything depends on the attention and a right maintenance, along to the use of quality lubricants and cooling liquids that help improving the motorcycle performance and its lifespan.
The scrapping engines
If your engine has kicked the bucket and you are looking for a cheap alternative to replace it, we give you a few tips.
What should you check before buying a scrapping engine
- -The background of the motorcycle, if it has been scrapped because of a failure, disuse or accident.
- -Verified mileage on the engine.
- -Make sure it is 100% compatible with the make and model of your motorcycle. Sometimes the manufacture year is different to the registration year. The chassis name can help us to know for sure.
- -Above everything else, it is very important to know how the functioning guarantee works. In some cases the guarantee covers only professional assembles in a mechanics workshop and it won't cover a self-made assemble.
- -Depending on the scrapping, the engine can include some parts or not, so make sure it has all you need.
What do we check in our engines?
- - If it worked before dismantling it.
- - We verify its mileage, on the mileage indicator and on its ITV card.
- - Cylinder compression.
- - Presence (or not) of hits or external cracks, along the condition of its clamping brackets.
- - If the engine has not an optimal condition for its selling as a group, we proceed in two different ways; when we can repair it, we do so and verify it before selling it. If it can't be repaired, we disassemble it to sell the parts in good shape and discard the others.
Storage and shipping for our engines
Before we dismantle the engine, we proceed to the complete emptying from any liquid to proceed with its cleansing. We protect every hole so any kind of particle gets in the inside. Then we storage it on a specific shelf for engines.
To ship them, we use a special pallet that we complement with specific foam protections to avoid any damage during the transport.