Things to check after coolant loss?

[flynbryan]

Hello all. This past weekend I busted the impeller pump cover on my Crf, and had to run it for about 2mi. or so w/o water in the radiators. :whiner: I have since pulled the cylinder head off and checked the plug for any obvious deposits/ extremely lean conditions, and was shocked to find that the plug looked like it had burned normally! Although I did have to run it w/o water I'd say half of that time was downhill w/the engine off coasting down hill.(thank god!) My question is what else should I check over before I just toss a new impeller cover on and get riding again? Valve clearances? Should I pull the cylinder off and check the piston, rings, and cylinder walls? Thanks in advance for any advise. :thumb:

 

[flynbryan]

anyone?

 

[Nevada Sixx]

was it difficult to take off cylinder on a crf?

i'd change the oil to see if its milky,, maybe just get a new ring just in case while you got the cylinder off. (i guess four strokes use rings?) if it all looks ok, then its probably all ok.

 

[flynbryan]

I'm not sure, I didn't do it. Ask Gomer he just recently took off his cylinder for a piston swap out.

 

[motometal]

with extreme overheating, rings can lose their temper, but I really doubt if you got it that hot.  Was there a lot of steam coming out?  If it really got hot, any remaining coolant in the engine should have been boiling out of there, and realistically you would still have "a bit" of safety room even after it got that hot.  I would say put it back together and ride!  Just keep an eye on things for the first ride or so.

As a teenager, I once drove a Camaro with a 250 6 cyl. about 30 miles after it lost all of it's coolant.  I would drive until it starting knocking and missing, then coast to a stop and let it cool, and repeat.  Anyway, amazingly once I got the radiator fixed, it ran perfectly and didn't use any oil.  Though for sure it was toast.  I realize the car engine is totally different, just thought i'd share the story.