The Culprit

I removed the connecting rods and the spun bearing. One of the rods was warped and not usable. So far  the parts list is crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons, rings, and whatever bearings need to be replaced.

This project is looking much more like an engine swap than a rebuild. I have been looking for an engine, but prices are high! I am still kicking around the idea of bailing on the project and just parting it out.

Logic would say part it out, but this bike has some great upgrades and I would love to ride it. I have the spare bodywork up for sale now.

Here's some pics of the spun bearing. The two halves have been fused together.

Engine Damage Inspection

I knew ahead of time that the heads looked good. My next step was to pull the heads and jugs off so I could inspect the bottom end.

The only specialty tool I used was a puller for the stator cover. It was about $20 from Corsair Tools. You can find a link to their site on the Vendors page. I would definitely recommend it. Pulling the stator cover was very easy.

As I have pulled parts off I have taken great care to label and bag everything to make the rebuild easier.

After pulling the jugs and pistons we were able to see the problem quite easily. There was a spun connecting rod bearing. That would explain the clanking sound the previous owner was hearing.

Some galling was found on the horizontal jug and piston as well as some scoring on the crank where the bearing came apart.

The jugs are lined with Nikasil. I'll be honest, I am learning about this stuff as I go. So far I have been able to find out that Nikasil can only be cut with diamond hones. You can however deglaze them with ball hones, brushes, or scothbrite pads.

From what I can tell I may be able to save my jugs with a little restoring of the cross hatch.

My options on the Nikasil jugs are replacing them, sending them off to be replated, or trying to rehone them.

After getting the jugs ready I will need to have the crank machined and install new pistons and rings.

My next step is to go further into the bottom end and check on the transmission. A good bit of bearing material worked its way through to the bottom so it needs to be inspected and cleaned.

If any readers have any advice on any of this or find that I have any mistakes please comment and let me know.

Introduction

I recently purchased a 2007 Ducati Monster S4R. When I got the bike it was already in pieces. The bike came with a full service history. As I was going through the upgrades already on the bike it is clear there has been a lot of time and money poured into this machine.

I am a novice mechanic at best and I have no experience working on a Ducati. My Dad is a career car mechanic and I have never seen him fail to fix anything, so I will be learning from him and counting on his assistance through this process.

When I bought the bike I knew it had engine trouble and I figured if it couldn't be fixed I would just part it out. My Dad and I started poking around the engine. The top end looked excellent. The previous owner suggested it could be the oil pump. After looking at the engine this did not seem to be the case.

The 2007 and 2008 Monsters have a deep sump Testastretta engine. The deep sump has a filter screen held in by an o-ring. As we were removing the bottom plate we noticed that the oil seemed pearlescent. NOT a good sign. When we got the plate off and pulled the filter screen out we saw a lot of metal flakes. The flakes were black, silver, and copper colored. We believe it is likely from a failed bearing. We won't know until we get to take more of it apart.

At this point I had decided to start parting it out. While negotiating some deals several people started emailing me encouraging me not to part it out just yet. They suggested that I look at the engine further. My first preference is to rebuild it anyway, so that is where I am right now.

I will post more as the project continues.