Howdy,

About a week ago I let my dad ride my LT230S for a little while around my cousin's property. He was revving 2nd out quite a bit but I wouldnt say really bad, and I've done alot of riding screaming in 3rd for LONG periods of time because 4th would just bog too much. But anyway, he was riding around and out came a LOUD squeak and the motor and rear end locked up dead and he slid to a stop. I came over to check out the problem and I went down the common 230 list: chain - wow, suprisingly good! (haha), trans - fine, clutch - fine, ok lets start it - oh F**K!!; locked up solid! I called my uncle who's a professional mechanic for just about everything and his diagnosis was that I had a spun lower rod bearing. So I get home, pull the motor (oh so very reluctantly!) and open 'er up. I notice when I drained the oil there were buttloads of little fragments and metal particulate so I figured for the worst. I go to take off the nut that holds the gears (clutch & oil pump) on the crankshaft and WTF this motor's messin' with me!!! she turned relatively easily. Then I realize that was in reverse so maybe its not a spun bearing but a blockage in the cylinder (well that's not so great either) because when I turned it back the other way it went and then locked at what i would figure to be the upper region of the stroke. I pull the head and find carbon deposits, but no blockage. Now the motor will turn completely in either direction but at the top of the stroke there's tons or resistance. Aside from that I dont know what else to think of; unless a bent valve stem or broken rings but neither of those would completely fit the symptoms.

I honestly have no clue.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated as I really want to ride next week as the weather is finaly getting warm by me.

 

anybody?

 

Seized piston possibly on the exhaust side???????Just stabbing a guess. It has happened to me before and that is what it was. Was my fault, tuned wrong and it just got to dam hot...

 

yea i thought that at first too, but even when the head's entirely off it is still hard to turn.

and while im at it, IF i ever get this thing back together, how do i set the timing? i see no marks or anything on the cam gear or chain.

 

Crankcase bearings? But that would just explain the noise and the lock up. Don't know about the timing, I think you have to get a measure and look it up in a manual for your specific quad. Sorry couldn't help more. Wouldn't it be nice if it were just a bearing.

 

sounds like the wrist pin, when the piston gets to a certin point the angle of the connecting rod jams the wrist pin and stopes the engine. more than likely if you take the piston out it will be deformed were the wrist pin goes thru

 

Your uncle has it I think. I had a very similar scenario happen with my Quadsport back when I had it. At higher RPM the bottom end on these starves for oil and the main bearing seizes. That is why it is still hard to turn over even with the head off. In my case I let someone ride it that didn't realize 1st was down and then 2nd was back up. I heard the engine screaming and couldn't catch up to him before it blew. Mine was locked up completely, yours isn't as bad but the end result is you still are going to need a new bottom end.

 

yup u got it!!! i just went ahead and diassembled the whole thing and sure enough, a locked up lower rod bearing! i just sent it out today to Vince's Cycle to get it rebuilt.

thanks for the help everybody!