Coolant getting in oil / Cracked Cylinder

Thunderchief said:

I would never be happy with this bike, no matter how good the work. I would go to this mechanic and tell him I wanted to trade it in on a different/new motorcycle -- now.

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I think the mechanic is an independent, one-man-shop, not a dealership. So there probably aren't any bikes to trade.

How is it going?

sorry for your plight!...very interesting thread, however...terrible outcome from seemingly slight oversight of putting rags in plug holes while doing inspection procedure...massive time/expense for the mechanic if he accepts full responsibility for his cause of this ruined engine...hope you & mechanic find a mutually agreeable way out of this situation...could be the engine transplant will be successful & reliable...let us know, please!

No update at this point. As far as I know, the salvage motor hasnt even come out of the crate yet.

I don't have anything to say that's appropriate for a public Internet forum, at this point. I'll update as soon as anything changes.

Anything yet?

No. He has had the salvage motor for more than 6 weeks, and still nothing. He won't return calls, eamils or texts.

Its going downhill fast...I canceled my Colorado trip yesterday...

I'm exploring alternatives, but so far, there are no good options.

naustin said:

No. He has had the salvage motor for more than 6 weeks, and still nothing. He won't return calls, eamils or texts.

Its going downhill fast...I canceled my Colorado trip yesterday...

I'm exploring alternatives, but so far, there are no good options.

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Man, that really stinks. Sorry that this has been such a hassle for you.

You tried everything, gave him all the opportunities to fix it and still nothing.

Get yourself a lawyer.

sorry to hear that, sounded like things were going to work out. Seems strange that he got the motor, then nothing........tried stopping by?

I was thinking about this the just the other day. That blows. How far away is he from where you live? I think a face to face meeting is in order...

How easy is it to find a lawyer who would take it on a "if you don't win you don't pay" kind of arrangement? I'd be concerned that the lawyer fees would soon exceed the value of the job, given the small value of the case.

Small claims court

yeah, small claims court makes sense, no additional cost other than the minimal filing fee. In small claims court you represent yourself, so no lawyer required.

small claims court may have a limit of the amount that you can sue for, this may not cover the cost of the replacement engine and or labor or damage by grease monkey.

I still think that you need to personally go up to him and find out what's going on. Granted, its been awhile since it appears like anything has happened, however, if you start any kind of legal proceedings right now I can almost guarantee he isn't going to do anything at all from this point forward...

Yeah....

I spent more than the original cost of the work he was supposed to do and bought a nice aluminum utility trailer this weekend. Good to have, regardless...

Yesterday, I installed a wheel chock on it.

I did stop by his house last week, but he wasn't there or wouldn't answer the door. Apparently - He's busy rebuilding motors for a number of guys who are part of an amature racing series.

At this point, I don't know where else I can take it. I don't think the Honda dealer wants the project - and I'd be embarrassed to take it there.

I bought a factory shop manual in case I end up attempting to finish the job myself. I'm over my head there for sure, and don't have any specialized tools that I might need.

naustin said:

I don't think the Honda dealer wants the project - and I'd be embarrassed to take it there.

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I'd try talking to them about the situation. You never know, they may try to help. It depends how far apart it is and how organized the parts are. They would not have to worry about the engine parts, as they would be swapping in a replacement engine and hopefully the guy has not starting actually removing the old engine yet. At this point I would just want to get the bike and its parts back, source your own replacement engine and once the shop gets it all back and together again then take the legal action.

I finally had contact with the mechanic. He never called me back -- but he sent me a short email indicating that he finished two or three other projects, and that my bike is going on the lift today. He said he expected I'd be riding next week.

Still don't know how much he's going to charge me, or if he's going to eat the cost of the replacement motor or the time to do the swap. And, still have no actual documentation of the mileage on the replacement motor. He said it was 16k, but the crashed bike had a wrecked instrument panel, so the re-issued salvage title just indicates unknown mileage. Not sure how that detail will be addressed...

Holding my breath... Better to get it back in one piece and running - regardless.

naustin said:

Still don't know how much he's going to charge me, or if he's going to eat the cost of the replacement motor or the time to do the swap.

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You had a fully-functioning motorcycle with no shims bouncing around the combustion chambers when you dropped it off. You should be charged the cost of the work he was going to do originally (valves and fluid changes). Anything beyond that is a result of his mistake, and if he's honest, he'll eat it.

A few recommendations:

1. The exhaust system had coolant run through it, and that may not be good for the catalysts. If they end up clogged, you may have performance problems.

2. The valve clearances on the new engine should be checked, only those outside of the spec should be adjusted and you need to be provided with a full list of the measurements for each one. Comparing that with data from the next check in 16,000 miles will give you useful information about what in the engine is changing (if anything).

3. You should arrange with the mechanic for a no-charge visit after 1,000 miles or so to go over the fasteners that were disturbed and make sure they're still properly torqued. This was SOP on the bike when it was new from the factory and should be repeated after such major surgery.

And, still have no actual documentation of the mileage on the replacement motor. He said it was 16k, but the crashed bike had a wrecked instrument panel, so the re-issued salvage title just indicates unknown mileage. Not sure how that detail will be addressed...

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If the engine is in good physical condition, I wouldn't worry too much about it. They live a very long time, so whether it's 6K, 16K or 60K is probably not going to matter.

Your bike will have the same dashboard and ECM as it did, so the odometer will read the same thing. The new engine is technically a salvaged replacement part and won't have any effect on your title. You might check with your state's motor vehicle department and see if they keep records of engine serial numbers and update that information if they do.

--Mark