2002 Honda 350 Fourtrax LOCKED ENGINE

3465 Views 9 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Tyson, Sep 10, 2019

Tyson

Discussion Starter · Sep 7, 2019 (Edited)

So I just bought a 02 Honda 350 fourtrax that wouldn't start, just clicked the solenoid. I got a deal on it and the guy said he was riding it last week and it quit and wouldn't start. The pull start is off of it as part of the pull start is broken, where the rope wines around the coil spring slips and it won't recoil.

I got it home and the next day I looked at it and did some testing and got a new solenoid and put on it, still clicks. Checked the battery and even boosted off a brand new lawn mower battery, same thing. I then thought it was the starter. I took off the starter and dissembled it to see the condition of the brushes and they looked to be fine. I bench tested the starter with jumper cables and it spun as it should, then I hooked the jumper cables to the bike, red to the live wire for the starter, and black to the frame where the starter mounts too. I set the starter on a block of wood on the ground and hooked the other end for the jumper cables to it, red on live and black where it bolts down. I then turned on the key, hit start button, and the starter spun as it should. So I then thought it was just a week starter. I planned on getting another starter beginning of the week and putting it on.

I thought today its raining and got nothing else to do so so I went to the garage and fixed the pull start temporally and put it on, thinking I could atlease try that. Well i got it put on, tried to give it a yank, and nothing, it was stuck. Couldn't pull the pull cord out.

Now I'm thinking that the engine is Locked up some how. Great! That's not good at all and definitely not what I was expecting. I put it in natural and of course it rolled when i pushed it back and forth. I then put it in gear and it would not roll forward but it would roll back. I then put it in reverse and it would roll forward but not back.

I have no idea what to do at this point. I do not really want to spend a ton of money for a mechanic and I do not wanna take the engine all apart. The guy i bought it from said it quit and he couldn't start it again, so that would make sense if it is seized. He also said it just had a fresh oil change, so can't see it getting welded from not having enough oil, but that would explain why it quit.

I would really appreciate any ideas or any suggestions anyone has and what your thoughts are.

Hope to get this figured out soon and it's not a big expensive job.

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Tyson

Discussion Starter · #2 · Sep 8, 2019

I went to the garage and it now it won't shift out of neutral. It did when I went to the house for lunch. I'm thinking now that it was a mistake buying the bike and I should just sell it, If it is gonna be too much for me to fix.

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Tyson

Discussion Starter · #4 · Sep 9, 2019

Duck0fDeath said:
None of us had ever done a top end rebuild...until we did. It's not like a vehicle that you need in order to get to work. It just takes a can do attitude, a manual (found on this site) and a few tools and parts. Alternatively, you can try and sell it cheap to someone who will do the job.

Not sure about your specific model, but on some of these older Honda's you can put the oil filter in backwards, causing the top end to be starved for oil and lockup. Might be what happened to your rig caused by the previous owner.

I had the "can do attitude" and started taking it apart. Watched a bunch of youtube videos. I'm working on taking the engine out, which seems to be the hardest part of the whole job. I am as far now to disconnect the drive shafts and take the engine out. Just gotta figure that part out on how to do that. It is all time 4x4 so it is even harder.

It seems to me that the timing chain snapped and got jammed up, or the tensioner broke and is jamming it up, or something like that.

At least I'm learning from this project, right?

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Tyson

Discussion Starter · #6 · Sep 9, 2019

It is a Fourtrax, so I think a Rancher is the same thing?

I don't need to remove the engine to open the head, no. I was going to remove the engine so I could open the side casing and check the timing chain and tensioner, but I'm going to check the head before I remove the engine. A guy I know who works on this kinda stuff said he thinks it could be the piston. Picture below is the spark plug that was in it and that is the reasoning he thinks it could be the piston.

I was hoping to clean up the frame if I took the engine off, but if I dont have to remove the engine, is there a way to clean up the frame without damaging the engine? I dont want to just take a water hose to it with the engine there.

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Tyson

Discussion Starter · #8 · Sep 9, 2019

Okay so here it is... I took the head off and took it apart and what I found... THE ENTIRE PISTON AND CRANKSHAFT WAS TORN TO PEICES!!!

So... yeah.. guess I'll have to spend the money and I could even resell and advertise as brand new crankshaft and piston and make some money at the same time.