Broken quadrunner, is this worth fixing or should I scrap it?

[dsmith222]

I have a 1992 Suzuki Quadrunner 2wd 250cc I bought it for $200. The seller said it needed an airbox, and a spring and needle for the carb, about $29 worth of carb parts and it would run. I took it to a repair shop and they said that the engine was seized??? However before I bought it, I pulled the pullcord and it wasnt frozen, the engine cranked over, it was hard to pull but it cranked. Is it possible for the engine to be seized but still turn over? My only guess is maybe he forgot to hit the compression switch before he pull started it, in that circumstance it doesnt pull at all unless you hit the switch and then maybe he thought it was frozen. I am wondering is this thing worth fixing or should I just sell this for parts? I am wondering if I should take it to another shop and get a second opinion on it? I was really looking forward to getting this thing running and now I am really bummed. Thanks for any advice.
D Smith

[95wolv]

If it pulls hard, you could try taking out the plug and spraying some WD-40 or penetrating oil in, letting it sit over night, then see if that frees it up. See if you have spark,make sure gas it getting to the cylinder, then once you free up the piston,see if you can get it to fire. If it turns over after freeing up the piston,a good carb cleaning,a fresh plug and fresh gas may be all you need. Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

[jaybeecon55]

I always thought that the term 'seized" meant that the rotational parts of the motor (crank, piston, rod etc.) were somehow locked in place so that they could not move. Since you have proved that this is not the case, I wouldn't put too much value in what that mechanic said.


Definately try 95wolv's advice and see what happens.

[dsmith222]

Hey thanks Wolv! Your advice worked. I took out the plug and sprayed some wd40 in the cylinder head and let it soak. The next day I pulled it has hard as I could and it didnt budge. I pulled it so hard I thought the pull cord was going to break. I was discouraged and I was ready to sell it for parts. Just at that moment my curious new neighbor came outside to see what I was doing. He told me that he had an old king quad which is basically the same machine and he said these old suzukis never die. He grabbed onto the pullcord and pulled as hard as he could and on the first try it finally freed up and pulled over! I couldnt believe my eyes. He had a 50 pound weight advantage over me I think thats what did the trick. We got it running for a few moments with some starting fluid but I will need to get the carb cleaned for it to run on its own. It pulled over much easier than before once that wd40 had a chance to work its magic. I guess the moral of the story is, if your engine wont pull over, get someone bigger and stronger then you to pull it before you call the engine a complete loss! haha

[Scooter86]

I have seen that before. Sometimes you can "unstick" a seized engine and get it running again. there is still damage to the piston/rings/cylinder wall though. Eventually it will fail again.