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Advice on Suzuki dRZ400 engine failure? Advice on Suzuki dRZ400 engine failure?
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Travellers' questions that don't fit anywhere else This is an opportunity to ask any question, and post any notice you wish that doesn't fit into one of the other sections.
Photo by Alessio Corradini, on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, of two locals

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  #1  
Old 20 Jun 2016
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Advice on Suzuki dRZ400 engine failure?
Hi folks

I'd really appreciate any advice. I ran out of oil on my DRZ and it cut out. Have replaced the valves, gasket and piston. But my question is - will there be damage in the bottom end? (I'm in Maun, Botswana and it will be a pain to get int the bottom end) I want to avoid the risk of the engine seizing and snapping the chain or locking the wheels while riding, but equally I'm not ready to scrap the bike!

Thanks!

Hamish
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  #2  
Old 20 Jun 2016
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How out of oil did you run it - till you noticed it?, it started smoking? rattling? locked up?

The DRZ bottom end is all roller bearings which tend to be a "bit" more resilient than plain bearings to oil issues but these things are all a matter of degree. If you've got the top end off I'd get the sides off as well, check how smoothly things turn and see if anything's gone blue. If it all looks / feels ok I "might" take a chance but if anything feels "gritty" or discoloured then ....

Pics would help as then a real mechanic might have a sensible answer
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Old 20 Jun 2016
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It depends how low your oil got..

If you had enough to keep the bearings and crank lubricated then you might be okay.

If you let it run completely dry then you might as well just start looking for a new engine.

Part of DRZ400 long distance ownership is checking the oil level every day and swapping the oil every 2000 miles.
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Old 21 Jun 2016
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Not the same model bike but I bought a klr 650 whose lender had run it out of oil to the point the cams siezed in the head and literally smashed their way out. I put a second hand head on without touching the bottom end and it had run fine for 60,000kms since then. So thats the best case outcome, and if you're lucky you may be in the same situation. Roller bearing bottom ends are very resilient and will survive on very little oil. If your engine still turns over over smoothly and selects gears fine you are possibly ok and in that case it's probably unlikely that anything will then fail dramatically, rather at worst you'll feel increase vibration over time indicating a deteriorating bearing. Good luck

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  #5  
Old 22 Jun 2016
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Thank you for your help!
Cheers folks. I really think appreciate the advice. To give you the latest;

- After replacing the valves, gasket and piston, we tested it thoroughly and it ran fine, so we decided to give it a go and carry on.

- crazy incident 10kms out of town; running fine then it cut out. Heart sank, thinking it was game over. Turned out the mech had overnight end the plug and the expansion of the head blew it out! We replaced it, got the bits out and carried on..

- Then we did 350km on gravel through the desert near the border with Bots and Namibia - only problem was boiling coolant as the bike got super hot as we drove it through thick sand. But we cooled it and carried on fine.

- Today another 300km though to Grootfontein in Namibia and she hasn't missed a trick. Just amazing

So I'm feeling hopeful that the bottom end has survived unscathed. Will get it fully serviced in Windhoek. And I'm learning a lot about keeping a DRZ alive on a long trip!

FYI, there had been about a cup full of oil left (maybe half), so it seems it might have been just enough. Thanks again!
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