How To Fix Locked Up Atv Engine

Modern ATV engines mimic the performance and efficiency of a modern automobile engine. Due to this reason, the symptoms of an engine failure are often quite common.

ATVs are built for off-roading adventures and therefore their engines are more prone to wear and tear due to the conditions it is driven in, but why else would you want to own an ATV if you don't drive it like that.

Engine failure is perhaps the costliest malfunction in an ATV as is with any other vehicle and this is exactly why you should know all about the symptoms of an engine failure and how to diagnose it properly.

Here is how to tell if your ATV's engine has seized: If the engine doesn't budge and gives a 'click' sound on attempting to start it electrically or when the crankshaft doesn't turn when you manually try to turn it using a rachet on the crank bolt, you should be certain that your ATV engine has seized.

Simply put, if the piston in your engine doesn't move, you would not be able to start the engine. I have listed below some of the scenarios when we can have jammed pistons.

Engine is Silent

You need to make sure that all other components of the ATV are fine, like the battery etc. If your vehicle gives a click sound when you try to turn it on using a self-starter and after few attempts, you should be able to smell as if something is burning in your engine.

The second way to ratify the first step is to test the engine oil. Burnt oil is dark black and loses its viscosity, meaning, it shall be more like water than thick oil. There is a bright chance that the oil is leaking through the engine and you should be able to observe it when you leave your vehicle idle for some time.

The conclusive way to declare that the engine has seized is by removing the pull start in the rear end of your ATV and try to manually turn the crank shaft with a help of an appropriately sized rachet. If you are not able to rotate it, it means that the engine needs to be opened to check what is causing the crankshaft to be jammed.

The engine oil helps avoid pistons to cylinder contact and it forms a thick film on the walls of the cylinder, if your engine leaks oil there is a high possibility that the pistons might collide with the walls of the cylinder, generate a lot of heat and damage each other in the process.

Physical Deterioration

To check for physical aberrations in your engine, you need to remove the cylinder head cover and inspect the surface of the cylinder head to look out for any physical defect.

A piston moves several times inside its cylinder walls, and it shall produce tremendous amount of heat if the pistons were to come in contact with the cylinder. This can cause the piston fusing in with the walls of the cylinder and getting jammed when these parts cool off.

Extreme cases of physical damage are when the piston breaks free from its connecting rod and collides with the cylinder head or the connecting rod putting a dent on the engine block. The physical inspection of the engine will reveal these deformities clearly.

In other cases you shall notice the ATV engine's timing belt getting wear and tear and resultantly causing the inlet and exhaust valves getting beat up by the piston which in turn cause damage to the connecting rods and the crankshaft of the engine.

Engine Overheating

There are two types of cooling mechanism in an engine, one is cooling via Air and the other most common type is through the liquid cooling.

When the heat inside the engine gets above a threshold, the water is allowed to pump inside the engine through its chambers which helps to absorb the excess heat and it keeps the engine temperature normal.

If for some reason, the thermostat which is controlling this mechanism, is disturbed, and you start to observe your engine losing power gradually, you should check out the temperature reading of the ATV after every ride. If it indicates the engine heating close to the danger zone, you should get your engine's thermostat replaced immediately.

Another possible casualty is the head gasket of the engine, it is often observed that when the car heats up above a certain level, the gasket blows off which leaks the coolant on the piston which destroys rings and the surface of the piston.

If your engine has seized and you try to crank it up using the self-starter, you might end up burning the engine wires, the way to check it is by observing the accumulation of smoke and burning smell coming from around the engine area.

Engine Noise

The next key performance indicator breach is when your ATV engine starts to give off a rattling sound when you are driving it. There can be a few causes for this abnormal sound of the engine:

When the piston expands due to heat and hits the walls of the cylinder and especially when the lubrication inside the engine is inadequate.
Shaking or vibrating piston are often experienced when the connecting rod and/or the crankshaft are broken. The piston cannot rise and fall in a perfect vertical within the chamber and it gives off knocking sound as it touches the cylinder walls.
The piston connecting rods striking with the crankshaft, each time it completes one stroke.

You should be well aware of how your ATV engine normally sound like, any deviation from the normal noise should prompt you to investigate the reason for the odd sounds your engine is making.

Causes of ATV Engine Seizure

Following are some of the most common causes of engine seizure in an ATV.

Hydrostatic Lock in ATV Engine

This is caused when the water reaches the combustion chamber of the engine. Unlike oil, water is incompressible, hence the piston and the piston connecting rods often break under pressure its pressure. Sometimes the water makes a hole inside the cylinder walls while it attempts to escape the force the piston creates on it.

Leaking Oil or Low-quality Oil

Oil does two things: it provides a slippery medium that disallows any harsh contact between the piston and the cylinder walls and the second is that it keeps the engine cooler by absorbing some amount of heat.

If the engine is leaking oil then that means the engine will have less fluid flowing along the walls of the combustion chamber and hence we can expect to get more wear and tear of the pistons, the piston connecting rods, and crankshaft.

If the engine is using a low-quality oil or if you use a non-recommended grade of oil, you can drastically shorten the life of your engine. If the oil is too thick or too thin, both are dangerous for the normal piston movement. Hence only recommended oil should be used in an ATV engine.

Debris in the Combustion Chamber

If some debris makes its way inside the combustion chamber, it can possibly jam the piston by closing the space between the piston and the cylinder walls, or the piston surface is going to get pounded and it will ruin the rings and texture on its surface.

Thermostat Valve is Broken

Thermostat valve opens when the engine needs to be cooled down by the coolant which is passed through the engine. Thermostat needs to be closed to keep the coolant from entering and this is how an optimum temperature is maintained in ATV engine.

If it doesn't open when required and closed when needed, the engine can become too hot or too cold to function. If the engine is too cold. A hot engine can induce a considerable damage to the engine while a cold engine is a bit less damaging, but it will use up more fuel of your vehicle.

Timing Belt De-Synchronizing Camshaft and Crankshaft

The crankshaft rotates the gears using the timing belt which further synchronizes the camshaft. Hence any wear that results in any of these parts can disturb the timing of the opening and closing of the air and oil valves.

Continuing the up and down motion, a piston will collide with the closed valve and cause damage to the piston, piston connecting rod, cylinder, and of course the valves.

How to Protect Your ATV Engine?

The signs of a possible engine damage must be detected well before the actual calamity strikes because the cost of labor and the cost of repair is very high. It is certainly a better option to get a new engine installed, however, it is still not a cheaper option. It may be the best deal for you if you can trade your faulty ATV's engine for some discount on your new engine's bill.

Here is how to ensure ATV engine does not get seized:

Regular changing of recommended engine oil. The ATV engine oil needs to be changed every 3000 miles. Since it is subjected to harsh terrain and high RPMs, the oil gets worse quicker than a normal automobile.
In case your ATV has been fully immersed underwater, you need to drain the water out of the engine completely and avoid starting the vehicle until you ensure the water is completely drained out of it.
Ensure that the thermostat is checked periodically and that the coolant isn't leaking.
Change the ATV engine's timing belt according to the manufacturer's manual.
Do not ignore any weird noise that might come off from the engine and get it checked by an expert mechanic.

Conclusion

Keep your ATV engine protected from dirt, water, and sub-standard oil and you should be fine for most of the time. There is an added precaution which you should always take, irrespective of which vehicle you own, which is periodic inspection and maintenance of your vehicle as recommended by the manual.

Change the engine oil on time, get your engine properly checked if you hear knocking, or when you experience your engine losing power or getting over heated.

It is very important that you make use of all your 5 senses while detecting that your ATV's engine is about to seize or has been jammed. Smell if your engine or its wires are burning, see if there is no physical damage to your vehicle's engine or an oil leak, hear if there is any strange noise coming from the engine, touch the oil sample to feel if it is viscous enough and taste.. okay maybe you might want to stick to using the 4 senses only.