I gone done effed up....

[mealexme]

So I thought it would be a good idea to fit a quick throttle, which involved removing the air box to get to the "other" throttle cable adjusters. Anyway, the problem is, a bolt had seized and had to be drilled out (I rounded the head, then EZ outed it, which snapped it half way down) and as a result, and because of where the bolt was located, I think a bit of metal shavings and/or grit (the air box was dirty) has entered the engine.

Having a look with the throttle open, I can see a few grit sized bits resting on the intake/exhaust valve (not sure which). Are these going to do any damage to the engine if they get into the combustion chamber? Are they going to act like sand paper or are they likely to literally get sucked into the chamber and either burnt to dust or blown straight out of the exhaust?

I guess I'm just looking for a bit of reassurance at the moment, because there's not an awful lot I can do about it at the moment

[Guest]

Clean that out before you start the engine. If it's just a little and really tiny bits it probably will be fine but, why take the chance? You don't want it causing damage from erosion and, more importantly, you don't want it blocking oil passageways leaving you with potentially a much bigger job on your hands.

Ez outs are only for use on bolts where the head has broken off due to over torquing. A common mistake and one I only made once. They are not for use on seized bolts, that will very rarely work and most often end up with the situation you describe. You're better just continuing to drill (or use a carbide cutter in a Dremel when you have a hole big enough to fit it in as this offers more control) then use a dental pick to clear the threads before running a tap down it.

You can often avoid all that using special sockets for gripping rounded bolt heads, cutting a grove for a flat blade, knocking them counter clockwise with a hammer and chisel or punch, or in the case of Allen bolts, hammering in a torx bit. Judicious application of proper penetrating oil like PlusGas helps a lot. WD-40 sucks in comparison.

Edited June 16, 2018 by Meggark

[megawatt]

Depending how big it is, it could bend a valve and eventually the head of the valve could snap off. Do everything you can to remove it, including removing the head.

[Guest]

Just reread your post (a few glasses of wine down me) and realised you said there's some on the valves. Definitely get that out. EZ outs are very hard metal too so you don't want bits of that getting smashed around the soft aluminium head.

[mealexme]

I dont think its parts of the EZ out. The tool looks complete. I think its more just bits of dust/dirt from the air filter to be honest, but theres a chance of there being tiny bits of the bolt that was drilled out sat in there too. There are probably 3 or 4 bits there in total, that look about the size of grains of sand. The bit that snapped off has been removed

I was hoping for "it will be fine" rather than "it will destroy your engine"

[megawatt]

Put an airline into the spark plug hole , with the valves open and give it a blast.

[Guest]

Post a photo? I think maybe I'm getting the impression that it's worse than it is, I was expecting swarf from the drilling.

[Bender]

There is a small chance of damage, how lucky do you feel?, I would clean it up with make shift hoover attachment and start it up, I have run a few turbo conversion with no filters on inlet for a couple of years, I wouldn't recommend it but hey ho

[Bianco2564]

There is a small chance of damage, how lucky do you feel?, I would clean it up with make shift hoover attachment and start it up, I have run a few turbo conversion with no filters on inlet for a couple of years, I wouldn't recommend it but hey ho

 

This would be the way I would tackle it,piece of silicone hose on a Hoover.Don't however tape the hose up fully to the Hoover pipe,the extra load on the motor can burn it out,been there done that.

What you can't see though is any dirt or swarf that may have fell in the open valves and now sat on top or down the side of a piston.

As has been said the dirt can get trapped between valve and seat,bending a valve and potentially failing.

No-one on here can say with any guarantee that your engine will be ok, decision and its consequences are ultimately yours.

Options I see you have are;

Clean it out to the best of your abilities,Hoover's ,airlines etc. Borescope the cylinders If you can.Then pray to the motorcycling gods and run it.

Or take the engine apart.

We have seen many race engines that have swallowed dirt through bad filtration sometimes it passes through without issue,other times wear seats out,scores the liners or gets stuck on a valve seat losing compression.

Just pot luck.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

A flexible rod with something like petroleum jelly on the end can remove bits of crud quite well. If the valves are closed hopefully nothing has got into the cylinders. If in doubt I'd try the rod trick around the combustion chamber as well.

[SlowBusa]

Always worth keeping a couple of these

http://r.ebay.com/i5PsAN

I just replaced an old one with this guy and postage was really fast

[fastbob]

I always use Blu Tac on the end of a suitable stick to tackle situations like this . A very powerful torch is an advantage too .

[fastbob]

Always worth keeping a couple of these

http://r.ebay.com/i5PsAN

I just replaced an old one with this guy and postage was really fast

 

Too right ! I make sure I have mine within easy reach before I even loosen the bolts on any cylinder head cover . It only takes one locating dowel to drop down the cam chain tunnel for things to go wrong .

[Joeman]

If it's part of the bolt it will be magnetic so a long magnet might be able to get some of it out.

Got a hoover?? Have a go at sucking it out.

Also the long magnet down the plug hole to see if you fish any out of the combustion chamber and a hover over the plug hole to see if you can suck anything out.

I wouldn't move the bike or turn the engine until at least trying those steps

[mealexme]

unfortunately I've not had a chance to work on it today. I had to give my friends mother and daughter a lift to see her in hospital, plus its been raining all day, and I've not got a cover to work under

As for a photo - the million out of focus photo's I've tried taking on the phone would suggest that the answer is no

I did have another look today though and I still can't tell what it is thats down there, sat on the intake valve. I did have the air filter out the other day and tried to clean out the area in front of the filter, which was full of dust/dirt, which may have fallen down. I couldn't see anything glistening in the torch light, so I'm still unsure if its small metal shavings or dirt.

Either way, I think the plan for tomorrow is to get a magnet, then some bluetack and finally a vasalene soaked rag. My other worry then is what Vaseline is going to do if any residue is left over.

I think a pray to the motorcycle gods is in order, before I hit the start button.

Thanks for the help, I'll let you all know if any blue smoke appears in the next few days...

[mealexme]

Oh, also, I do have a can of pressurized air (I bought it to clean the keyboard, and its not very powerful but I might give it a go, aswell as a vacuum cleaner).I don't know the ins and outs of the engine. It looks like the valves are closed at the moment. Are they all likely to be fully closed when the engine is off, or is one of the valves for one of the cylinders likely to be open? If that makes sense? I want to make sure I'm not forcing the dirt into the cylinders with compressed air.

The bikes fuel injected if that makes a difference

[SlowBusa]

Each Cylinder will be in a different state of the combustion cycle

So Exhaust valves on one cylinder will be closed and another cylinder the exhaust valves will be open or partially opening/closing

[Joeman]

Get a mini vacuum attachment kit from Amazon for a few quid. That will let you get deeper inside the engine.

[mealexme]

I taped some hose to the vacuum cleaner, and that seems to have got all the visible particles. I can't see anything else down there.

Now to hope that nothing has gotten into the combustion chamber and pray before I hit the start button.

Thanks for all your help!

Dear motorcycles gods, today I ask for your forgiveness for my incompetence. I would like to thank you for all you have given me. All the fun, freedom and sense of community I wouldn't get from driving a car. If you could grant me the miracle of life when I press the starter button, without any scoring or other detrimental engine issues, I will be eternally grateful.

Amen.

[Grumpy Old Git]

I'd run it for a short while and then do an oil change (just in case).