Help With a Major Issue Needed

[Jonah]

Hello everyone,

On my last ride, I noticed my 2019 Tracer 900GT is leaking oil at a slow rate from around the front sprocket. I looked online and saw that people had an issue with a broken front sprocket seal,  so I went to take a look at it in hopes it all it is. I unfortunately found out there is a hole in the crankcase, or at least that's what I think it is. I attached a picture of it. 

Here's what I believe happened: my chain was very loose with way too much slack, and on one of my last rides before the one where I discovered the leak, the chain fell off. I was able to put it back on and ride home (short ride), and I adjusted the slack to proper measurement. I also noticed the adjustment bolts were loose. The sprockets are still in very good shape. I believe that the chain smacked the lower front sprocket guard and broke it off along with the crankcase piece it was mounted on.

I have to say that in all my years and motorcycles I've ridden, this never happened to me. I am usually very pedantic about my motorcycle's maintenance, but unfortunately some devastating life events got me distracted from them, including making sure that the chain slack is good. I will be trying to contact my insurance company about this, but first I will be taking it to a mechanic to get an estimate on the repair since that would cause my premium to go way up, and also might try the JB Welb Steelstik fix in case they decline my claim and repairing is way out of my budget.

Do you know what part that is, and how much do you think it would cost to repair such damage? 

Very devastated here, I know it's not an easy or cheap repair and I rely on my motorcycle a lot.

Any help and advice is appreciated.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13QWm7FeT8mJJ8PDKIlnbLCmZvhIMPpDr/view?usp=drive_link

Edited June 7 by Jonah
Added more information

[robzilla]

Hard to tell from the schematics and drawings, but if it is the crankcase cover, partzilla shows the price at ~$96. Hopefully someone else or if you can determine which part it is from their diagrams...

https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/yamaha/motorcycle/2019/tracer-900-gt-mtt9gtkb/crankcase-cover-1

 

Edited June 6 by robzilla

[Lone Wolf]

You may want to review these posts on similar repair to same CP3 engine

https://www.fz09.org/threads/finally-started-the-case-fix.72456/?post_id=953895#post-953895

Previous post showing before repair https://www.fz09.org/threads/cracked-the-engine-case-in-a-bad-bad-place-help-identifying-a-bolt-2017-fz-09.68527/?post_id=905612#post-905612

And this one, be sure to see both pages https://www.fz09.org/threads/cracked-the-engine-case-in-a-bad-bad-place-help-identifying-a-bolt-2017-fz-09.68527/#replies

One thing these failures seem to have in common is neglected chain maintenance. On your bike I see scrape marks on the protrusion a couple inches to the right of the hole. Is that from a chain? 

[skipperT]

You’ll need to replace the crankcases - which will also mean all new plane bearings, rod bearings, rod bolts (1 time use), head bolts, all the gaskets, orings etc, and because the pistons are installed in the upper crankcase you may as well put a new set of rings on it to freshen the engine up. Yamaha doesn’t sell sets of things, so it’ll be piece by piece  

your other options are JB or cold weld (which isn’t recommended will continue to leak) or find a motor out of a wrecked bike. That will probably be the cheapest. 

sorry man. 
-Skip

Edited June 7 by skipperT

[OZVFR]

I've seen two bikes at the wreckers that were written off for the same problem, broken chains damaged the bottom crank case. Not sure on your one but that chain looks incredibly lose unless it's off the rear sprocket, but it could also be the angle of the picture.

It would be easier to look for a second hand engine, at least it would be faster to fix.

Fixing it with new parts is not a job for the inexperienced, probably more expensive as well.

The JB Weld is a bit of a trailer park fix, but if you don't have any other choice...

Edited June 7 by OZVFR

[dazzler24]

Looking at this from a different perspective, is it worth investigating if you can write it off under your insurance policy?  Assuming you have insurance of course?

[Ride365]

Yeah that's not good news at all, has to be more to this story, holes don't just get punched on a crankcase like that. My condolences to the OP, it's either new engine or new bike time. 😔The JB Weld may get you by for a bit, but must be done right and even then it's a temporary fix with likely some weeping/leaking.

Edited June 7 by Ride365

[betoney]

2 hours ago, Ride365 said:

Yeah that's not good news at all, has to be more to this story, holes don't just get punched on a crankcase like that.

I agree, I might be mistaken but that looks like the spot where the threaded boss is for the lower sprocket cover bolt.  I wonder if there was an issue with a loose chain like @OZVFR mentioned?

[Lone Wolf]

29 minutes ago, betoney said:

...that looks like the spot where the threaded boss is for the lower sprocket cover bolt. 

Right - one of the threads I linked to shows a guy who had the same failure and retrieved that broken off part.

I wonder how long the OP has owned that motorcycle and if the damage happened with a prior owner. You would notice that "smack" when the damage occurred. The broken hole with exposed metal doesn't look quite as fresh as some of the other failures.

[jthayer09]

I don't have anything to add regarding repairs; but, If you have comprehensive coverage you should have your insurance at least look at it and give you a quote for how much the check would be if totaled out. You might be pleasantly surprised how much your bike is worth based on your market and can help you make the best decision for yourself. 

[Jonah]

Thank you all for your replies, this is helpful. Here's information I added to the post:

Here's what I believe happened: my chain was very loose with way too much slack, and on one of my last rides before the one where I discovered the leak, the chain fell off. I was able to put it back on and ride home (short ride), and I adjusted the slack to proper measurement. I also noticed the adjustment bolts were loose. The sprockets are still in very good shape. I believe that the chain smacked the lower front sprocket guard and broke it off along with the crankcase piece it was mounted on.

I have to say that in all my years and motorcycles I've ridden, this never happened to me. I am usually very pedantic about my motorcycle's maintenance, but unfortunately some devastating life events got me distracted from them, including making sure that the chain slack is good. I will be trying to contact my insurance company about this, but first I will be taking it to a mechanic to get an estimate on the repair since that would cause my premium to go way up, and also might try the JB Welb Steelstik fix in case they decline my claim.

Edited June 7 by Jonah

[piotrek]

I'd be fixing this if you're strapped for cash and the insurance people say nay. Work a piece of thin aluminum to form a contoured patch... and JB-Weld it around the hole. There is enough surface there I think for a decent patch. Prep surfaces well etc.

Good luck.

[piotrek]

On 6/6/2024 at 10:21 PM, skipperT said:

You’ll need to replace the crankcases - which will also mean all new plane bearings, rod bearings, rod bolts (1 time use), head bolts, all the gaskets, orings etc, and because the pistons are installed in the upper crankcase you may as well put a new set of rings on it to freshen the engine up.

No disrespect intended Skip... but this was begging for... 😁

[skipperT]

9 hours ago, piotrek said:

No disrespect intended Skip... but this was begging for... 😁

Lolzzzz, Piotrek and none taken.

Funny thing is, most techs make more time on things like services and valve adjustments and lose their shirt on engine jobs. The work just takes 2-3x as long as “gravy work”. Motors are very satisfying to tear down and repair, but aren’t encountered as often especially if working on Yamaha. 

-skip

[Jonah]

2nd update:

I took the bike to the local mechanic, one who is highly rated. He says I should take the bike to the Yamaha dealer, and it would probably cost $2,000-$3,000 USD. My insurance would likely cover it, but there's a $1,000 deductible so I'm still looking at a big chunk of money. He suggested I try to JB weld it (he's an older guy, very experienced) and said people do it all the time, especially on dirt bikes; "it should last a long time" is what he said.

So I went on with it the next day.  Drained the oil, degreased the area and cleaned it as best as I could, then sanded the opening and a bit around it, then plugged it with Steelstik. Flushed some oil to make sure no debris from sanding went in there and put fresh oil and filter (it was about time for that anyway). Now only time will tell how well it holds. 

Once again, thank you all for your replies and support!

(and yeah I realize there's still some gunk behind the chain, I did not remove it so I didn't want the degreaser to get on it. I will likely soon replace it anyway and that's when I will deep clean the whole area)