THERES A HOLE IN MY ENGINE,WTF?

[stirlinggaz]

(long story alert! lol)

Hi all,
i just bought a 125cc 2t engine off a supposedly reputable bike breaker.
when it arrived, i noticed the clutch arm was a bit sloppy with no springing back & no resistance.
so i removed the gear oil drain bolt & out came....nothing!
i then removed the clutch cover casing for a peek. (thinking the seller had kindly drained all the old oil & perhaps the little spring on the clutch rod has became dislodged)
the clutch was as dry as a bone & there was light surface rust on the "anti-backlash gear"
on looking at the shift gear on the gear shift pin, i noticed someone had obviously lost the reduction gear spacer & replaced it with a rusty nut!
this alerted my suspicions & upon closer inspection, i saw a hole in the crankcase!
just above the gear claw arm assembly, there is a hole in the casing!
big enough to stick a pen through, into the main part of the engine. (where the crankshaft is)
also the outer clutch cover is cracked.
im presuming the hole is serious enough to make it unuseable?
& being cast iron, it would be difficult /impossible to weld?
i suppose jb weld or similar would seal the hole, but has any damage likely to have altready occurred? & would it hold?
i contacted the seller to inform him of the damage & received a rather curt couple of replies.
first one stating the price i paid was a bargain (i paid £112 in total, £87 for the lump & £25 postage, bearing in mind this is a 23/24 yr old 125cc 2 stroke engine, that had no oil pump,no front sprocket or sprocket cover,no carb etc)
the other saying that the gear oil wouldnt go through the hole!
it would, the gear oil goes a bit higher than where the hole is.
the reply also stated that he would look at another engine to see if the hole was supposed to be there, lol
& there was no way i was getting a refund & he would repair it.
(quite how he would repaair it, i havnt a clue, unless hes thinking of sticking a blob of jb weld over the hole)
what do you guys think?
either way, im gonna lose out.
if i send it back to him, thats 20 odd quid postage.
am i entitled to a refund?
any advice welcome!
cheers,
GAZ

[Kickstart]

Hi

Cases will be cast alloy and not easy to weld up.

If there is a hole from the crankcases into the gearbox / clutch area then the engine is unlikely to run as it will just blow mixture into the gearbox and out of the gearbox breather, plus suck air in through the same way.

If there is a hole from the crankcase area out of the engine then even less chance it would run.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Ariel Badger]

Even if you can get the hole TIG welded there will be damage from running dry. Send it back.
Small claims court is your friend
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[MaybeGuy]

Ally mig welding is easy enough to get right, and could probably be built up to fill the hole entirely, then ground flush again.

I wouldnt trust jb weld for something like that. Plus jb isnt very good at filling voids.
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Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!!
Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

[stinkwheel]

Neither as described or fit for the purpose intended. If second hand goods are being sold by someone "acting in the course of a business", the Sale of Goods act applies.

An engine with a hole in it that has been run without oil is not an engine, nor is it spare parts. If it had been described as a mud anchor for a boat or a door stop, you might have had more difficulty.

Tell him you are rejecting the goods as unfit for the purpose intended and want a full refund.

If in doubt, call your local Trading Standards office for advice. It's what they are there for and have always been very helpful when I've called. You don't even need to say who is involved at this stage, just ask for advice on how best to proceed.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[baldy]

Take it back to him and throw it through his window and call him a cunt. Then take your pick of the other engines he has and walk out with one.
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One day i will rule the world, just not today.

[ZRX61]

[Kickstart]

[stirlinggaz]

hi,
i feel a bit of a fool...
i compared 2 engines side by side...
& there should be a hole there!
a small hole a couple of mm in diameter.
not the smashed hole i have, but it now doesnt worry me as much.
as soon as i say the hole, i stopped puting it in the bike, just in case.
the other issues i can sort myself.
the guy was being a right c*nt though.
saying hes never had to replace clutch plates in over 200 engines!
a lesson learned, i guess.
cheers,
GAZ

[Walloper]

Small Claims or the cost to weld an engine (and the questionable reliability of such a desperate repair) are probably less worthwhile than getting the pikey to replace the block with a spare, like he said.
'Sold as Seen' or seven day return etc. is normal spiel for these things.
Small Claims is a possibility but can you wait?
It may gee Harold Steptoe's decision making dept. up a bit and he might refund/replace for you. But equally, he may be prepared to take his chances with legal action gambling on the fact you might not bother... Tiz how some cnuts do biziness.

Speak to the guy again ask how exactly he intends to make good the deal. (It is still a deal/contract as far as legal matters go.) Oh fcuk you did get/keep a receipt....
Do not lose the chance to negotiate yet. If you canny speak to him you will have no chance at a quick resolution.
Do not worry. If this all fails and small claims doesn't work you can always go back later and pour a gallon of petrol through his letterbox.


Bon Chance.
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W-ireless A-rtificial L-ifeform L-imited to O-bservation P-eacekeeping and E-fficient R-epair

[Pete.]

Gaz, put up a couple of photos of the engine and the hole in it. There are more ways of fixing a pencil-sized hole than welding it up.

What bike are we talking about?
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good