I parked my lakota sport in the garage after today's ride and when I shut it off I heard something like air blowing out. I checked one of the tires and to my amazement I spotted steam flying out from under the engine. A closer inspection revealed this-
And a more distant pic to show the location. It's on the bottom of the front end of the block.


I doubt it is, but can any lakota owners see if it's some kind of vent or something that's on their engine as well? Oil doesn't leak out when parked or when the engine is running, it just shot out steam for like a minute when I shut it down after a pretty long ride. I'm not sure if this occured today, or if I just noticed it today, but I remember nailing a rock in an unseen area under the front end and I hope this isnt the product. If so, does anyone know where I can get a replacement? I may just put epoxy over the hole and invest in a full chassis skid plate.

 

are you sure thats a chip it looks pretty uniform to me sorta looks like a pry point that you would use when splitting the cases

 

That is what I am hoping, I havent noticed it until now. Why would they make a pry point that goes all the way through the case though? Things could go in/out. I'm hoping for some input from some lakota owners so I can be sure.

 

Is there any oil left in the motor. I think I would go get it repaired

 

There is some oil, but now that I think I need to add oil frequently. Before I do anything, I want a lakota owner to see if they have the same hole, if not, I will take action.

 

being there is no damage around the hole I don't think the pic shows a problem - the problem is somewhere else. Given your oil clue - It almost sounds like blow-by (pressure in the case caused by failing piston rings or valves).

 

I looked over the engine block and there is another hole just like this way ontop of the case so I believe it is just a slightly enlargened pry point. I think my piston/rings/sleeve are toast anyway. I bought it used and the performance is nothing like what other lakota owners describe it as even with aftermarket parts. I plan to bore it out to 335 or get a .040 overbore soon to fix that problem.

 

My Lakota has the same slot but oil comes out. If oil is coming out it means you have a bad crankcase gasket because that area is supposed to be a sealed area. I also had to keep adding oil because it was going into that area. So I'm in the process of rebuilding my motor.

 

Thank you, finally a straight answer. When I look into it I see a bead of white gasket sealer so I believe it is sealed. There is no dirt sticking to the area or any dark spots so I dont think it's leaking from there, but when I rebuild my engine I'm going to replace all of the gaskets just to be sure it doesnt leak. I'm going to get larger valves and new piston so it should solve my problems.

 

My 2001 Lakota has the same slot. I put JB weld in it nearly 2 years ago. Never had a problem with it but figured it couldn't hurt to seal it.