Transmission Problem!!!

[HondaRiderAX]

My bike is a CRF450R 2006. I added some tranny oil today and took off to ride in the mud. As I was washing it, I noticed I did not put the plug back in. AHHHHHHH!!! I can't believe I did that. I have been riding since I was 2 or 3 and have been working on my bikes my whole life. Never taken one to a shop and my dad is the best mechanic I know. So this was just a stupid mistake. I drained the oil and a lot of water came out and it was not super dirty, but there was definitely dirt in the oil. Should I flush the tranny with oil many times or should I tear it apart and check everything out. It seemed to be running fine and shifting. I hit neutral a couple of times but that can happen anytime. I wasn't running it too hard so there wasn't much stress on it.

Thanks

[gchprime]

Pull the inner and outer clutch covers and look for chunks. Don't run it again until you are sure there is no more crap in there or you'll be replacing the whole thing.

[HondaRiderAX]

i was also thinking of doing that as well. I think that it will be fine because it was running fine, either that or it is on the verge of exploding. Thanks for the advice.

[ahamza]

Someone once told me deisel is a good tranny flush. Anyone else ever hear this?

[gchprime]

Someone once told me deisel is a good tranny flush. Anyone else ever hear this?

Hmmm, not sure what that might do to the clutch plates. Curious to hear from the more knowledgable guys here.

[SidewinderX]

I believe that if I were you I would tear it down and soak the crap out of it with brake cleaner. That stuff works miracles as far as cleaning goes.

IMO: Better safe than sorry.

[punkrock MX]

ive heard of mixing paint thinner and a cheaper motor oil together is a good way to clean the transmission.

[gchprime]

ive heard of mixing paint thinner and a cheaper motor oil together is a good way to clean the transmission.

Except paint thinner will not react well to the rubber oil seals. I wouldn't recommend that. WD40 would be OK as it is intended to be a water displacer, hence the WD in the name.

[ttr2255]

Removing the covers for inspection is a good idea. After that i would fill trans with oil and run the bike on a stand using all gears until the case felt warm. Than I would drain the oil out and carefully inspect what was suspended in the oil. Based upon how the oil looked or what was in it I would than make my next move.

1- If the oil was clean, refill and run it.

2- if the oil had mild debree and or water, repeat procedure until clean oil drains out

3- If oil was really chunky, I would reflush one more time and decide from there if tear down was necessary. (most likely it wont be)

DO NOT FLUSH WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN SPECIFIED FLUID. NO FUEL OR THINNERS!!!!

[huffster]

If the grit from sand and dirt gets into your bearings a simple flush will NOT get that out of your bearings. Running the engine to help flush will also only grind the bits of sand into the bearings.

I would highly recommend that you tear that thing down all the way, thouroughly wash/soak and blow out any and all bearing that are in the tranny side of the cases and reassemble....This is a new bike, correct ?

[Shawn_Mc]

Id fill it with Diesel and start it for about 10 seconds and then kill it and drain it. Do that about three times, then take the cover off and give everything a good look over. As long as you dont ride it, running the trans without oil isnt going to hurt it and diesel is pretty slippery stuff too so you wont damage anything. The idea is to get everything really clean in there. After your satisfied its all good in there, Id run some ATF through it, then drain that and then go back to your normal trans oil whatever that may be.

Run the clutch lever in and out while your idling the engine too, you need to flush whatever is in the clutch plates and crap out of there too...

Id probably take the chain off and let the trans spin in all the gears while the thing was idling too.

The diesel will get that sucker clean in there so be prepared for a lot of crap to come out.

Id run about 750cc of diesel, so it'd flow pretty much just like the regluar lube...

Or you could split the cases...ya know..whatever...

[ttr2255]

using diesel is not a Good idea as a primary line of defense.

using diesel is most likely unnecessary and could possably cause damage to any or all of the following parts; clutch plates, bronze bushings, starter sprag, needle bearings and seals. The diesel will not flush out completely and cause the oil to wash of the moving parts while under pressure. Therefor you would likely end up with metal to metal contact.

I say it's unnecessary because there is probably hardly any debree in the trany, most of whats in there is probably water. An oil flush should work fine, and you will see most of whats in there come out with the first draining.

Lets face it the drain hole is only about 10mm, I'll bet hardly any dirt even come out. And if you do it the way I sudjest Yul risk nothing and once you drain the oil you could decide your next step from there.

[motoclay]

I dunno how u could think diesel will hurt the tranny??? That is prolly the best thing you can run in there at this point, its real thin so it will work its way into all those little crevasis and push whatever got in, out. Its not gonna hurt the damn clutch plates, if it does, i would say that is the easiest thing to replace. I mean sheesh, thats a consumable anyway. But, it wont hurt them in the least. Its a purdy stupid stunt, but you admited it and its cool, i would consider pullin the cover just to give it a good eye, but you really cant see any tranny gears without some case splitting. Good luck bossman, thats a purdy bad deal, but, it can be fixed with some time and patience.

[HondaRiderAX]

Yes it is a new bike.

I flushed it with paint thinner and GN4 oil (using different ratios each time) about 5 times with running it for a short time in between each time. Then I just ran it with only GN4 oil. The good thing was that I was riding in wet weather and the dirt where I was riding was mostly tree debris, so it was mostly soft stuff. I got most of the dirt out that I can see and I filled it back up with HP4 oil that I normally run in it. It still shifts fine and there are no weird noises. I think it will be fine. Thanks guys.

[BobbySands]

Make sure you carry a tow strap with you when you ride!

[SimonDuke]

Just a quick tip; When you pull the bike apart, even when changing the oil get a small pot and put any screw you take off (even oil caps) in the bowl. That way when you reassemble the bike if there is anything left in the bowl you know you have missed something!! It works for me!

[jespertheil]

Use diesel....

I did that once when the yamaha i was riding back then dropped a srew from the ignition magnets into the crankcase.

Remove the clutch parts first and clean them all.

Then take one of those air spray guns you use to maintain cars with preventing them from getting rust. Here in denmark we often use a chemical in them called "tectyl". Fill that sprayer with diesel and spray that thing inside with 5 liters or so of diesel. Just lean the bike over allowing it to run out at the same time, hopefully with all the leftovers of water and dirt.

Now take the cheapest motoroil you can find and fill it, still without the clutch parts. Shake the thing for some minutes and turn the engine a few times without starting it.

Drain it, install the clutch and put it all together. Fill it with the correct oil, remember to install the plug...?

Go ride it and change the oil again right after you are done and it is still hot.

[Jigggawatt]

Atf works well as a flush

[MORETORQUE]

Diesel fuel is a great cleaner but that was when it was cheap. I use it to clean or degrease practically every thing.

[Kenaroo]

I think you have enough to go on. I personally like the deisel flush process but I'd add a little atf in the mix as well. Id do a 10 to 1 deisel: Atf mix for flushing.

But if you have the time and want to make sure it absolutely clean, I'd do the tear down and clean it out that way.