Mechanic Claims Rod is Thrown

[Frankentut]

Hello, all!

I am so glad I found this forum. Aside from here, there isn't much out there concerning GZ250s.

Here's my story -- my wife has a 2008 Suzuki GZ250 she loves dearly. We ride our bikes back and forth to work, mostly, and for fun. Hers has around 5000 miles on it. It has been maintained regularly.

We rode them to work two weeks ago, and her GZ250 started making a popping or clacking noise. We made it to the office, but at lunch we went to a local motorcyle shop to let the mechanic listen to it. He wasn't sure what he was hearing, but he agreed to keep it and have a look. this was not a Suzuki dealership; that's out of town.

He calls later and suggests we take it to a dealer. He took the valve cover off, thinking it might be a cylinder issue, but said it wasn't.

So I got the truck and loaded up the bike and hauled it to the dealership from whence it came.

Their mechanic rode it around and frowned a lot and listened and took it in the back. Finally, he came out, and said it was low on oil, and he had filled it back up. He rode it again, and when he came back, he said it was about to throw a rod any second and it was basically ruined.

Not good news at all.

We talked, and I agreed to let them open up the engine and survey the damage and give me a quote on repairs. That's been two weeks ago, and they still haven't gotten around to doing any of that yet.


So I have a couple of questions. First, does that sound reasonable? And next, at 70 bucks an hour, can anyone give me a ballpark on how much a complete rebuild might cost?

I found a 2004 GZ250 Marauder engine on ebay for $299. If that would work in a 2008 bike, I might put the grab on it, just in case.

Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks!

Frank

[blaine]

Welcome,I would grab that engine from E-bay.All model engines will fit.A total rebuild can be quite expensive.Good-luck. :rawk: :2tup:

[Frankentut]

Thanks Blaine! I've been watching and waiting and checking all over the place hoping one would turn up. Seems like I'd better move before it's too late. Even if it isn't in perfect shape, it might be better than what we have now.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Frankentut

Even if it isn't in perfect shape, it might be better than what we have now.

I agree, unfortunately.

Here's the deal:
It is unlikely that anything is really wrong with it right now except the crank bearings.....which aren't that bad to change.....except that the whole engine/transmission has to come out and be taken apart to get to them. Lots of labor involved. My guess: 3-4 hours just to get it apart, a couple of hours to fix, a hunderd in parts and another 3-4 hours to put it back together.
I'll let you do the math.

So then, gotta ask........how come it got low on oil ??
That is a pretty unusual situation for a bike that new.

[GZ250]

Originally Posted by Frankentut

Hers has around 5000 miles on it. It has been maintained regularly.

if bike is maintained regularly where did the oil go OR you never checked for the oil level. It is recommended for GZ to check oil level and my GZ consumes oil and i need to add so I keep an eye.

can't suggest anything on the ebay engine, it is all tricky business. talk/email to the seller and ask about the engine.

[b1pig]

my wife's '07 GZ has just under 1500 miles on it. it had 900 on it when she bought it in Nov'08. She hasnt felt safe to ride since finding we were expecting our first baby (after 17 years of meds, docs, prayer and finally defeat). anyway. short version... the bike ran hot once. after that, the topend was noisy as imaginable. i just adjusted the valves tonite. supposedly, they were adjusted when we got the bike. i doubt that they were. lets just say that 80% of the topend noise (rattle, ticking) is gone. it'll be fully resolved when i can get the right feeler gage.

consult the service manual. it calls for a super-tight clearance. smaller than my gage set goes. it also suggests that the adjustments me made at least every 3,000 miles.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by b1pig

it calls for a super-tight clearance. smaller than my gage set goes. it also suggests that the adjustments me made at least every 3,000 miles.

Just a caution: Just be sure that you are reading the lash specs correctly in inches or MM, whichever you are using. Sometimes running outside the range of your feelers means "pilot error".

[blaine]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

Just a caution: Just be sure that you are reading the lash specs correctly in inches or MM, whichever you are using. Sometimes running outside the range of your feelers means "pilot error".

I experienced the same thing when using automotive gages, they will not go small enough.I had to shop around to find a set small enough.
:2tup: :rawk:

[b1pig]

i agree, guys... thats what i did. i misread the gage i had already adjusted the intake and started on the exhaust when i caught it. so, basically, i adjusted the exhaust valves within spec, but the intakes are a tad outside. i went back and rechecked them and added just enough to keep the gage from slipping in. even so, they're better than what i started with... and the "ticking" is very minimal compared to what was before.