when i start up my 87 lt230 quadsport it smokes real bad... light grey smoke.. then itll settle down a lil buts still smoke throughout it running...Do i need to rebuild the top end? does anybody know where i can find a kit for it? and if i want to have a mechanic do it could anybody give me a off the head estimate on maybe what price im looking at for labor fees? if anyone can help me it would be great if u can help me on estimates orwhat to buy or replace[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

thanks alot
Dylan

aim: cms10balla

email:hostetler_truck@windstream.net

 

first off, is it a lt230 quadsport or a lt250r quadracer?

 

my bad sorry its a lt230 quadsport my apologies

 

I am having the same issue on my 87' LT230E. I was getting ready to do the valve guides and cannot get them out. Does anyone have any suggestions? I tried to get a couple of shops to do the top end and neither wanted to work on this old of a unit so I decided to do it myself.

I have new valves, springs, oil seals, but cannot get the guides out. I also have done new rings on the piston.

Any help would be great.

 

post over here, http://forums.atvconnection.co...657/STARTPAGE/149.cfm


Someone will have your answer, I am not qualifed to answer, sorry.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

 

It is NOT the valve guides. You may need valve guides, but that's not the cause of the smoke. Both you guys need new rings. And the really bad news is you almost certainly need new rod bearings and a new rod too. I'd be willing to lay money on it! You can try a bore job with a new wiseco and all that will set you back about $250 and you will be very impressed with the power. You should be able to beat the chit outta it for a good long summer and maybe into next yr, but it WILL start smoking again because the rod is loose. I doubt you will get 2 summers out of it.

To really do the job right and have it last for a long time, you should not only do the bore job with the wiseco, but also send the crank off and have a new rod installed.

$250 for the bore job with new piston 10.25:1 compression
$130 for the new rod installed
$30 for a flywheel puller or $10 to have a shop pull it for you.
+ whatever it costs for a service manual because you will have to tear the whole engine apart.


Even a good shop wouldn't want to remove valve guides because they are SO hard to get out and there is a decent risk of cracking the head. Just forget the valve guides or else have an auto shop knurl your old ones and ream them to specs. That should last a little while anyway. In cars they say knurling lasts about 5000 miles. The right way to do it would be to bore the guide bigger and buy oversize valve stems, but you'll never find oversize stems for a 230. I highly doubt you really need new guides anyway. If you were in dire need of new guides, I would be suspect of the cam and the condition of the rest of the engine.

Loose valve guides will wear the valve seals is all and will smoke only after start up and then stop. You will also loose a bit of compression because the valve closes at a bit of an angle and doesn't seal right away. But I doubt they are that loose.

With the jug off the engine and the rod hanging out, grab the rod and try to rock it side to side. If it moves at all in a rocking motion (not sliding motion - sliding is ok), your new rings days are numbered. Also, take the wrist pin and slide it into the rod. If it rocks at all, your new bore job's days are numbered. I have 2 230 engines in the shop now and both of them are .004 out of round on the small end. They both smoked. One of them was just rebored with a new wiseco and only had a summer's worth of riding on it. I learned my lesson about rods the expensive way.

 

Should i look at buying a rebuild kit for the topend and go from there or what? im not that big of mechanically equipped to that extent of rebuilding and i was kinda hoping for a mechanic that knows what hes doing to do it.. i know the kit is 170$ but does anyone know what labor fees im lookin at for it?

 

I don't know what rebuild kit you're talking about. You usually get a piston (which comes with rings) and a gasket kit. $170 sounds about right.... 140 for the piston and 30 for the gasket set. Its about 70-80 to bore n hone I guess. About $250 altogether, like I said earlier. Tell em you need the best guy there to bore it because the fit needs to be tight due to the rod being loose. Offer to pay a little extra. I doubt they will you charge you extra, but the offer will go a long way in terms of service. Only go .020 or .040 over, because you will need to leave room to bore it out again in a yr or 2 (depending on how you ride it).

You really should get a manual. Even seasoned small engine repairmen may not know certain things instinctively about the 230.... Like where to put locktite and rtv and how much,,,, things like that. They say clymer sucks. I don't know, I only have the factory service manual.

 

so ur saying if i bore it out and get that rebuild kit which is [the piston and the rings + gaskets] ur saying ill have to do it again in 2 years... is there anything that will last me longer in the long run? so i wont be putting 600$ in it in 4 years?

 

2 years if the rod is sloppy, a lot more years if it is tight.

Mine went 15 years on same rod, 4 different bores, before rod was sloppy