This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

2010 FE 450 - Seized Piston -

B

boulderberg

Joined Oct 2009
33 Posts | 0+
I was on a transfer section at the recent National Enduro @ Upton when my bike died on me. Did the quick basic checks.... oil full....coolant full.... battery terminals all good.

Long story short I finally couldn't diagnose the problem myself so I took it to the shop. Turns out I have a seized piston. Bike only has 32 hours on it.

The shop is going to dig into the bike a bit more to see why it happened since I had oil/coolant in the bike.

Anyone out there have any thoughts as to what might cause the piston to seize (other than no oil/coolant)? Would it be a bad oil pump? I'm thinking maybe oil was getting to where it needed to be.

Also, it sounds like I have two options to get the bike fixed.

1. Have the cylinder re-nikel siled or......
2 Just get the OEM cylinder (which is back-ordered until mid-August)

Anyone have experience w/ having a cylinder re-nikel siled? Just wondering if I should go the OEM route and wait for a new cylinder.

I'm a bit of newb when it comes off-road riding and wrenching so still learning a lot as I go.

Have to say the bike has been a blast to ride but a seized piston at 32hrs kinda stings when you pay $9K+ for a new bike.
 
I wouldn't trust KTM with that date

id use electrosil in vic or send OS for replate or source new from OS

at a guess either the oil pump wasn't working properly or the oil ring broke up.
 
The only other case that I have seen so far on this site of a seized piston was because the oil pick up screen was clogged with clutch debris, thus causing oil starvation.

Have you dumped the oil and or checked the oil pick up screen?
 
I haven't dumped the oil yet. Is the oil pick up screen different from the screen down near the oil plug?

I'm running a rekluse... not sure if that adds to the debris more than usual...
 
boulderberg said:
I haven't dumped the oil yet. Is the oil pick up screen different from the screen down near the oil plug?

I'm running a rekluse... not sure if that adds to the debris more than usual...
Click to expand...

No, it's the oil screen down by the drain plug. There is also a screen on the scavenging line on the head that needs to be checked.

How long has it been since you changed the oil? Let us know what you find on the screen.

Dale
 
Dale- I think we're talking about the same screen for sure...(down next to the drain plug).

I've been absolutely meticulous about my oil changes.... change oil at 6 hrs...change my filter pretty much every ride.

I did the race on a clean filter and fresh oil change.

I do recall when I changed the oil the day before the race noticing the screen seemed to have more debris than normal and it was more of a white substance..... NOT lots of metal debris. There wasn't a lot of white substance...but enough for me to notice.

If that oil screen got clogged would that be enough to stop oil flow and seize the piston?

I also have heard of some folks complaining about a white substance that was applied to the motor at time of production.... wondering it that's what I'm finding and caused my issue?

BTW, the bike has 32 hrs on it.
 
To answer your question, yes, if this screen gets clogged up it will block the intake to the oil pump and could cause this seizure to happen. There will be much more damage to the engine if this was the cause and the pressurized lubrication system that feeds many other parts would have also starved for oil.
 
Ok... good to know. The damage to rest of the motor does not sound good.

Dale, are you familiar w/ the white substance that apparently was being used at point of manufacturing? Do you know what its called and why it was even used?
 
the only white substance i know about was in a few fuel tanks on some 390`s. you would think that anything used in the manufacturing process would be long gone out of your motor at 32 hours.
 
DaleEO said:
the only white substance i know about was in a few fuel tanks on some 390`s. you would think that anything used in the manufacturing process would be long gone out of your motor at 32 hours.
Click to expand...
And how would it get from the fuel tank into the oil?

Blocked oil pump. Blocked passages. Broken passage or someplace where a plug is supposed to be in the oil system open to dump the oil back into the sump. Relief valve stuck open dropping pressure. Not sure how much of those would be possible with this bike.

Contamination coming into the cylinder via the intake or the oil. Water in the oil.

Stuck/broken ring. Broken valve. Broken cam drive causing valve to hit piston.
 
Codemonkey-

Thanks for the ideas. Hoping to connect with the shop tomorrow and plan on sharing some of the ideas on what the problem may be.

I really hope we can diagnose the problem as I'd hate for this to happen again.

Will report back once I learn more.
 
CodeMonkey said:
DaleEO said:
the only white substance i know about was in a few fuel tanks on some 390`s. you would think that anything used in the manufacturing process would be long gone out of your motor at 32 hours.
Click to expand...
And how would it get from the fuel tank into the oil?
Click to expand...
It wouldn't, it's the only white substance problem I've heard of.

Lot's of guessing going on here, let the shop take it apart and figure it out.
 
boulderberg said:
.
I do recall when I changed the oil the day before the race noticing the screen seemed to have more debris than normal and it was more of a white substance..... NOT lots of metal debris. There wasn't a lot of white substance...but enough for me to notice.
Click to expand...

Any white substance in your oil could mean you have water mixed with oil (It goes white)
Possible waterpump failure.

Did you check the oil after it failed ?
 
Did your bike ever ingest water? Say from a big creek crossing that didn't go well?

(just brain-stormin' out loud...)

Best of luck! E-Ticket
 
DaleEO said:
To answer your question, yes, if this screen gets clogged up it will block the intake to the oil pump and could cause this seizure to happen. There will be much more damage to the engine if this was the cause and the pressurized lubrication system that feeds many other parts would have also starved for oil.
Click to expand...

I don't think that that is true DaleEO.

the weakest point lubrication wise with the new engine is going to be the upper thrust face of the cylinder. I would expect boulderbergs bike to need a re-nikasil, a new piston and then to cure the problem and that would be all.

can we take the liners out with the engine in situ on the new engine?

regards

Taffy
 

Similar threads

S
FE390 2010 rocker arm seizure
Replies
5
Views
597
Taffy
Taffy
N
Help on oil pump FE 390
Replies
3
Views
956
Nomadahowfar
N
W
2010 Fx450 crank no start after engine work
Replies
3
Views
476
waylon
W
F
FE570 low idle issue, outside of the usual suspects! (I think)
Replies
1
Views
418
rikschipp
R
E
Hello from España! new owner of a Husaberg FE 501 1996 project bike.
Replies
1
Views
424
Taffy
Taffy

Register CTA

Register on Husaberg Forum! This sidebar will go away, and you will see fewer ads.

Recent Discussions