Up a creek

[moto9]

I drowned my 08 300 in a deep water hole, drained it on the spot but I had to ride it out of the trail.
When I got home I did several flushes with diesel fuel until it came out clean.
I now have 225 hours on the bike same crank and main bearings.

[Cruiser]

Originally Posted by GMP

I only say this from seeing it a few times. Once my friend, an experienced A rider and pro mechanic, used one of those Twin Air air boot covers and washed his KTM air box. Well, unknown to him it leaked and filled the lower end partially with water. He didn't try to start the bike after washing so the water sat for a few days. Soon after he discovered this and got the bike running, it developed a roar from the lower end, classic bad main bearing. What happens is the steel races/balls/rollers rust very fast, then its all over. Saw the same thing after a mass river drowning in an enduro back in '99, lots of parts sold soon after. I flushed my KTM out with gas when I got back to the truck and with diesel later at home after pulling the top end, no problems then. I did not attempt a restart with a low end full of silty river water.

That water crossing that year took a lot of bikes.. I'll try to scan some pics later and post em.. great but wet time..

[KicksonR66]

OK so another dumb question, how do I get the diesel into the crankshaft (for lack of a better word) sump if tranny is sealed off? Albeit its probably too late.

Thanks for link GasGas

Cheers

[GMP]

moto9,

Your bike has sealed crank bearings(first year), so you squeaked by.


Kickson,

Ideally you should pull the motor and pull the top end off. Just keep filling and draining the crankcase until its absolutely clean. While rotating the crank slowly, shoot some contact cleaner down the lube holes in the cases over the main bearings to flush out any debris. Do this before the diesel and a couple times during. Rotate the crank slowly and listen/feel for any roughness, however slight. All it takes is a grain of sand to trash a main bearing. If you feel something that cannot be flushed out your bearings are toast. If all is clean and smooth, let the lower end dry out a bit and lube the mains and rod end with 2stroke oil, and reassemble. This is a long shot though in your situation.

[KicksonR66]

Well, bearings are toast, she's whistling dixie.

Thanks for input forum, i'll try and put my next question in the right thread context next time.

Cheers

[Jakobi]

Not sure how I missed this thread. Sorry for your findings.

Like everyone said, water is the enemy and you want it out and away from the bearings asap. There are also 2 ways that water can enter the crank. Either through the exhaust or through the intake. A good fitting filter and quality oil should keep most the silt out and make life a bit easier. The exhaust will let everything fill up pretty nicely though and should also be drained either by removing it or tipping the bike up on the back wheel. Once everything is clean and water is gone the idea is to get the bike started and back up to running temp as this will allow any residual water to evaporate off.

[KicksonR66]

Hey Jakobi,
Yep, that was a huge mistake on my part. It sat for 2 days with water, I tried to flush but no luck, it was sure whining. Live and learn.

Hope all is well down under.

[Jakobi]

On the bright side you'll know you've got a fresh bottom end. Make sure you replace everything while it apart. Will be good to carry you through many more trouble free years after this!