I have a 2009 Foreman. I changed the oil and stupidly put the oil filter on backwards. I drove it this way for about 10 minutes. As I was driving I heard a squeaking sound getting louder and louder and my engine seemed to bog down and it eventually died. I let it sit for a short bit, started it up and drove about 50 feet and the squeaking and dying repeated. This is when I discovered I had put the filter on backwards. I turned the filter around to the correct position and reinstalled. The bike starts up and runs perfectly fine now, except that there is a ticking or tapping sound. I do not hear the ticking much when it is in neutral and idling but it is quite noticeable when it is being driven, especially when shifting gears or when starting from a dead stop.

Does anyone have any ideas about what could be wrong? Is it serious? Will it get worse? Costs involved for repairs? Any thoughts you can provide will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

When you put the filter in backwards on one of these, it essentially blocks all oil flow through the engine.

Unfortunately I think you may have damaged the piston/cylinder, crank and or rod bearings, oil pump and who knows what else.

There is no real way of knowing until the engine is disassembled, but unfortunately I'd expect it to need to be fully rebuilt, which is going to be expensive.

Anyway, welcome to the forum, and sorry to hear about your misfortune.

 

Thanks for your reply. Just wondering if somehow I could get this covered under warranty. Any thoughts?

 

No, the warranty covers defects in materials and manufacturing, so damage caused by the owner making a mistake wouldn't be covered.

You might go talk to the folks at the dealership and be honest and tell them what happened. Maybe they can give you a deal on repairs, especially if you have it done during the off season.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. It has often occurred to me that if they cast a little protrusion on the filter cover so you couldn't put the element in backwards it would prevent this kind of thing. I know you aren't the first.

 

I would drain the oil, open up the filter housing and inspect the filter. Look for metal shavings, debris, anything out of the ordinary etc... But unfortunately as previously stated you probably did moderate/severe damage to something internally inside of your engine.

My guess is it is something valve or camshaft related if you are hearing ticking. If you damaged your piston, cylinder, or crank you would probably be getting a knock or a slapping noise. It's just a guess.

Sorry to hear.

 

Yea you probably tore up the motor a bit .. Just drain all that oil out and change the oil filter look around for metal shavings.. Put in some cheapo oil run that a few hours change it out again to a good brand of oil... if the engine isnt smoking let it knock it'll probably still run for 5000 miles...

 

Thanks for all the input guys. I did as suggested and changed my oil. I had to look really close but I did see very tiny pieces of metal on the filter. Only a few. I've ridden it about 100 miles since then. I will change the oil again soon. I will post back every now and then with updates. Future readers may find this helpful. Hoping for only moderate damage. Thanks again!

 

Run it till it blows up

 

Is the tick still there, and does it burn oil?

If not I'd probably also run it until it demonstrates problems.

 

Im just posting back. I've burned about 3 more tanks of gas. Still running fine. The ticking does not seem as loud and it is not burning oil. Will post back in a few months.