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2007 TRX450r Concerns from new owner

4K views 33 replies 12 participants last post by  grown_sexy 
#1 ·
I'm not sure if this is the correct area to post this. I'm new to the sport and website. I've been riding motorcycles all my life. This is my first quad. I purchased a 07 for about $1500. The guy lied and said it only needed a strong battery thats why it wont fire up. He was able to start it,rode it in front of me,i went to ride it,hit the throttle and it cut off. we didn't let it warm up long and it was cold out. it fired up again but after that i agreed to buy it.
I was thinking it started so hey it cant be all that bad. I had it diagnosed by a home repair shop not certified but knowledgeable. the carbs appear to be ok, the starter clutch ok,starter is fine but wont be for long if i continue to hold it in until it decides to fire up.it will fire up but takes a while holding in the starter.i've ridden it off road and thought it was fine other than starting it.sometimes its not as long.
things noticed from diagnosis:
*front sprocket chain cover missing (also noticed jb well in the area like where a chain hit it)
*font caliper piston broke(i replaced it for $15)
*rear brake pads(were worn down to metal -i replaced them)
*front tires (replaced both for 100 pair dunlops off craigs)
*mechanic opened the top of the engine,cam looks good and timing is fine but the valves have no clearance (fee will be $110)
*radiator fan wired to run when switch turns on(mechanic said piece to fix that is about $70)
*while doing oil change i was told it only had about 1/3 of oil in it(oil was drained and after minutes it was black again)i was told that this is a sign of hard riding and gears could be getting worn.
i thought after getting a valve job i would be in the clear but after the oil change i was told that i may want to just sell it and break even.they say it was ridden hard from signs like this.
my question is if it fires right up after the valve job should i get rid of it?i guess this was a deal too good to be true. its not smoking but i was told that could be b/c the oil was so low. now that its full we will have to see.
what do you all think?
 
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#6 ·
yeah,tomorrow when its dropped off for the valve im going to ask him as well what should i do. the person that has it now said the bottom of the engine could be in bad shape if the oils that bad. the top apparently is clean.
 
#8 ·
I don't agree with that. ive sold stuff dirt cheap that was fine for different reasons.maybe i had a surplus or just didn't want it or was to a friend. I was raised that a mans word is all he has. grant it im not dumb and others are crooks but it "could have" been a good deal, still might be. im just saying i thought it would just be a battery deal like he said. he had several quads so i know he's not new to the sport.
 
#10 ·
oh yeah he did say the front brakes needed to be bled. that to was a lie. after i took the bald tires off i found the bad caliper.you cant really see these things at first glance. even the rear pads. i couldnt see that they were gone. but thats small stuff.only a tech or person use to owning quads would know hey,it could be a decompressor issue or valves or carb that could cause it to not fire up at an instant...who carries a pressure guage on them nowadays lol....just saying..no oil leaks on bottom,wasnt smoking,it did fire up,it did stop when rear brake applied and didnt squeal,sounded like a beast,he flew off riding it..thats what you check for on cars right, oh and kick the tires,radiator wasnt leaking coolant..just stuff joe shmo's like me can check
 
#13 ·
if intakes are too tight to shim correctly it will make it hard to start, you may end up doing a valve job and come out smelling like a rose.

fix valves, set decomp, change oil again and run it
 
#20 ·
If they are doing the valves most of the work to peak at the bottom end and measure side play is just a base gasket away, plus they will get to check the piston and cylinder. If it were me I would replace the piston if you think there is any chance your going to keep it.
What did the tranny oil look like? How did it shift? Did you cut open the filter to see if there was any metal in it?
 
#21 ·
If they are doing the valves most of the work to peak at the bottom end and measure side play is just a base gasket away, plus they will get to check the piston and cylinder. If it were me I would replace the piston if you think there is any chance your going to keep it.
What did the tranny oil look like? How did it shift? Did you cut open the filter to see if there was any metal in it?
I just spoke to the shop thats doing the valves. he sounds pretty familiar with high perf engines. he's been in the business of perf engines for years. he mentioned wet and dry sump engines and how in high perf engines they have a pump in the bottom tank that spits oil up over/into the engine. went on to say it couldve gotten black quick b/c of the oil left in the engin. said some run the engine first to all most of the garbage to dump back down into the bottom and then do the change. sometimes you have to change it out a few times if you want a clearer look in the oil. as for the having less oil in the engine while changing it. some of the oil could be up in the engine so when you go to drain it you thinks it was low, you plug up then fill it again, run it,check it only to find its overfilled. theres a technique or something when working with high perf engines or something.

he also said he can take a peak after if i want him to and see if theres any visible internal damage. he mentioned a side cover not a bottom gasket though.

stay tuned folks i jus might become a long time member if this stuff works out. i had a blast riding it. my heart was racing from the adrenalin rush....
 
#22 ·
What you said doesn't give me high confidence in your shop. It takes a few seconds for the oil to drain back to the crankcase, yes there will be a little puddled on the top of the head and in the filter but not much and it will never be overfill because of it because when you shut off the engine to inspect the oil level the Sam amount will puddle up again.

Next you can not measure the crank side play from the side cover, only from the top and once the heads off it's only two small bolts (which should be loose already) to remove the cylinder which makes it a lot easier to inspect the cylinder and the only way to inspect the piston and crank
 
#23 ·
so i texted the guy "any surprises so far with the 450 valve job" and he replies with this...
Intake valve shims are very thin already, will have to see how much thinner we can go. Will know more tomorrow.
.....so, should i be worried? i swear this is nerve racking
 
#28 ·
i stopped looking after talking to him. he had to order some thin shims. the ones he tried wouldnt do the trick. something about 15mm and not being able to go below 11mm or was it 12mm. he said if the valves need to be fixed they head has to go off to a machine shop, new valves, etcs which would alone be $2-300. thats not including him adjusting afterwards. hopefully that wont be the case.
I stopped looking for valves. the reason why is b/c he made it sound as though you cant just buy 4 valves and drop them in.
he did agree about going through the top to see what condition the bottoms in. we're not going that route at this time. so at this point a 2hr job is taking a week b/c of the lack of parts. im impatient as is but oh well.
 
#29 ·
O man it sucks to spend money on a engien and have it blow 10 hrs later. I have been down that rode i think u got a good deal and should just spend the money on a complete rebiuld and you will still have a good deal on a 450 with new engien and no worries.
How come there is never enough time and money to do it right the first time but alwasy enough time and money to do it right the second time.
 
#30 ·
O man it sucks to spend money on a engien and have it blow 10 hrs later. I have been down that rode i think u got a good deal and should just spend the money on a complete rebiuld and you will still have a good deal on a 450 with new engien and no worries.
How come there is never enough time and money to do it right the first time but alwasy enough time and money to do it right the second time.
what are signs that is about to blow? do you think i should just say hey man, lets just order the gaskets you mentioned that will need replacing if you remove the rest to see if the bottoms ok? what if it too looks ok. would there still be a need to rebuild? whats a rebuild running these days? how long do they take? i was thinking about getting the R back, selling it and getting a 660 raptor. they go for 1500 all day long here in atlanta. nice looking ones. dont shoot me for saying raptor. i just want somebody that know about engines to say dude, the motors solid. this bike will rock or dude it needs a rebuild, sell it. is that so hard?
 
#32 ·
I would recommend Rossier Engineering. They built my motor and I was very happy with the service. To have the whole thing gone through I would guess you would be in the $1000-$1500 depending on parts needed. This could obviously be higher or lower depending on parts needed.
 
#33 ·
While this thread is on the subject about rebuilds. I dont mean to jack it. I'm curious, suppose i find a 06 motor that needs a rebuild from top to bottom and i get it for dirt cheap. The goal is to replace everything inside and get everything done first time around and not worry about engine problem after tons of riding time. How much would something like that run for someone's pocket? Lets say a rec rider who's plan is to stay on pump 93 octane gas and do a mild build for trail riding and some sand pits. Also, i should mention, i probably would pay someone to rebuild since i have no mechanical experience. My guess is that he would need a couple days to rebuild a motor with some aftermarket goodies in it.

Any inputs on this would be appreciated.
 
#34 ·
OK so the valves are done. guy put the correct spark plug in it and was able to start it. im like big deal, it been starting. he rode it in the backyard for ten minutes according to him and said it seemed to run stronger as it warmed up. he shut it off and wasnt able to fire it up. he pulled started it right away. basically im worse off now after the valve job. i told him to not start it until i pick it up tomorrow. i want to see if that first startup will still fire the bike up like before. aferwards maybe he didnt hold the starter long enough like i was doing. he said the starter making noises and i heard that when i had the bike. so he wanting to rip the side cover off after we try to start it tomorrow. if he can identify anything bad in it i'll order the part and gasket and put it on myself.he said the gear is a one way and should immediately lock when turned back. i mentioned a retractor gear ive read about. thing ticking me off...im going to ask him if he played around with the decomp. could that be it? the pull start fires the bike right up.the valve job and plug ran me another 130.
 
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