Seattle, WA
Alright ladies and gents, I need some advice/help. I took my 07 ZX14R into the shop a month and a half ago and they still havent even looked at it beyond when it arrived and they turned it on. There is some serious hard knocking going on internally and the guy said it would be cheaper to buy an engine (which he said would be $500-600 but when I looked, it was more like $1800-3000) than rip it apart and rebuild it.. but they havent even done an initial inspection. What do you guys think. Should I take it to another shop? Look for a new engine? Wait? Oh I was trying to get it back by March 13th because a buddy of mine is buying a duc and we wanted to ride, but that is looking out of the picture.. can anyone hook me up? Anything helps guys.

People's suggestions from Facebook:

"I'm gonna say it's your cam chain, which is notorious for coming out of adjustment. But run some heavy mixed cleaner through it, (techron, mixed with some a good amount of seafoam) some of them I've seen are so balance sensitive that even gunk build up can cause issues. No garunteees, but for 10 bucks it's worth a shot. I'm gonna say it's most likely your cam chain adjustment though"

"I'm with *** on it being a loose cam chain unless you've overheated it or ran it out of oil. Automatic cam chain tensioner's suck. Get a second opinion."

"06 and 07 zx14s. Had the worst set ups. And several dealer issues and recalls. If you can start it at idle. Feel and listen to the motor from all sides. Figure out if it's one piston slapping. (Which it sounds like to me) or something else. Also pull your oil plug, drain it into a container. Pour a fresh quart through while the plug is out and then strain and sift through your oil. Look for metallic flakes or tiny Small pieces of brass.. then pull your tank and check your plug gaps. Which one slaps will be burnt and gapped wrong (normally not always)"

Here's a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq_fVDTPLj8

* Last updated by: LadyLegs on 2/28/2015 @ 9:30 PM *

It's entirely possible to over-rev one of these engines despite the inclusion of a rev limiter. Missing a shift at full throttle will do it. The video sounds like a valve hit a piston due to over-rev and bent the valve resulting in a non-firing cylinder and the accompanying rap.That's definitely something more severe than camchain rattle.

Even if it's a bent valve they could still verify by doing a leak down check. And even then it's not THAT big a job to pull the head and do the valves. The only other question would be is there damage to the piston. I still maintain that a good shop would at least do a proper diagnosis before pronouncing the motor dead.

Mad

If a valve gets loose and hits the piston, it usually means replacing the piston. The main issue is that all metal flakes are now all over the engine. This may be why the shop is saying to replace the engine. I would bring it to (don't ride it) another shop and get the second opinion. Like Maddevill says it can be diagnosed. Valve and piston can be replaced but all metal contamination circulated inside the engine may cause long term reliability issues. So if the piston is damaged (i.e. a big hole on top), you most likely need to either replace the engine or do a complete re-build.