Break in problem

[kidtriton]

My replacement Kaw. 900 engine was run for about 20 minutes and this is what the plugs look like. It ran good for about 10-15 minutes and then started missing.

[Technical Support]

Take a compression check to see if you have already done damage - it looks like a lean problem. What happened to the original engine?

[kidtriton]

the origianl engine went due to salt water ingestion, but that was 2 years ago.

then we bought a sbt engine in march of this year and ran it every weekend until july when it burned a huge hole through #3 piston.

This engine is the warranty replacement.

Me and my service manager went through the #3 carb. and i moved the reed valve that used to be on 3 to #1. During the first few minutes of break in, the #1 cyl felt quite a bit warmer than the other 2. But i didnt know if it was because there isnt much coolant flow at idle, so i ran it up to about 4000rpm for a few minutes and it cooled #1 down a bit. Then after about 15 minutes of running between idle and 4000 rpm, it started missing, then you could nail it and it would pull hard for about 2 seconds and then bog bad.

[Technical Support]

If you didn't rebuild the carbs and flush out the fuel system after letting it sit for 2 years - you just found your problem.

[kidtriton]

I'm sorry, i meant that it got salt water in it 2 years ago, and ran for almost another year, destroying a rod bearing and trashing the motor at the end of last summer. So thta engine went due to the water ingestion this past sept.

Then it sat only from sept until this march when we put the SBT engine in it and it ran fine, just like it always had. In fact, we used it so much this year with the new engine that i dont think it was a problem that was there already. After a few months of running this year, it burned #3 piston, and we just put the replacement engine in. I think that whatever burned that piston this year cropped up after we installed the new engine.

My main question is does the 1 and 3 plug look normal (they are dry and gray looking), or does the #2 look more like its running correctly.

[ August 04, 2003, 02:32 PM: Message edited by: kidtriton ]

[kidtriton]

The compression on all 3 cylinders is exacly 80psi.

The serial no is 29958 . Can you tell me what the compression was when it left?

[ August 04, 2003, 04:42 PM: Message edited by: kidtriton ]

[Technical Support]

120 all three - I think you need a new gauge.