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2006 Prowler 650 H1 Engine problems

25K views 14 replies 3 participants last post by  Fairmont79 
#1 ·
Hello all, I recently bought a prowler 650, and soon after took it on a long ride. Went over lots of quad trails etc. Anyway, on the way home, I was on an open gravel road running at 6000 rpm (I know I shouldn't have lol), when the engine suddenly started making a very loud rattling noise. I pulled over and stopped, and the engine quickly died. Anyway, I tried to start it right away, and the motor barely turned over once, did that several times, then it turned over and fired up. Ran fine but continued making a super loud rattling noise.
So, I towed it home, and have since been trying to figure out what is wrong with it. I can't seem to tell for certain where exactly the noise is coming from, but I have confirmed that it is not the clutch, and my valves are within spec. I have good compression, but I noticed that my oil is quite low. In fact I just put a quart in and it is now about the right level. I also took the intake off, and can see that at least the intake valves are not bent.
If it somehow relates, since I got it, it has had a knarly backfire upon decceleration, which I believe to be because there doesn't seem to be an exhaust gasket. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
BTW, the noise sometimes goes away while idling, but under any throttle it is always painfully loud.
I'm guessing the problem resulted from a combination of too many rpms and low oil, so if anyone can tell me what is likely to be the culprit, or if I'm completely sunk that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
 
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#2 ·
Welcome to the forum! These things do rattle a lot, most of the noise is the clutch rollers at rest, they have just enough room to vibrate creating noise. As to your motor, drain the oil, check for any metal. If you have good compression chances are the top end is good. Pull the rocker arm cover and see if it had good lubrication. The bottom end on these are splash fed, so low oil may have been your issue. I'd recommend a good wet clutch compatible synthetic 10/40, or 20/50 oil. There is a sump at the bottom of the motor held on with 4 torx bolts, any broken parts usually end it here, plus it is recommended you clean the screen every 6 months or so. Download a free service manual at K&T Lawn Equipment, or Country Cat.
 
#3 ·
Hey there and thanks for the reply! I am fairly positive that this noise is unnatural and not supposed to be happening. It started very suddenly and is extremely loud. :) I did take the rocker cover off and everything seemed to be in good shape. timing chain was not loose, valves seemed fine, only thing was the cam lobes seemed kinda worn. So I need to drain the oil, the pop the sump off and look for any metal shavings or broken parts, then go from there? Thanks again
 
#4 ·
Could the one-way bearing make that kind of noise? If your rockers and cam are looking worn you might try to check your oil pressure to make sure you're getting enough on the top end, but that could be from being a quart low. I'm not sure about the '06 but the '07's oil pump driven gear were prone to failure, the teeth would break off the gear (it happen to me) and cook the top end. Bevel gear maybe? They updated those also. Just throwing a few thoughts out there.
 
#5 ·
Oneway is a possibility! I forgot all about that! When mine let go, it was sudden! One big bang, then complete silence except for mama and her WTF? LOL
My piston broke at the pin on one side, bent the rod, and smacked the head! Piston was up out of the bore on one side! Stock parts going back in it except for the exhaust system!
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the replies all! So I'm plannning on going to change my oil today, probably pretty soon. As to after that, what is a good action plan? I'm understanding that my problem is due to a lack of lubrication, but what is likely to need replaced? do I need to pull the engine? How do I confirm if the oil pump is shot?
Thanks so much!
 
#7 ·
Alright, so I drained the oil, and was surprised at how little came out despite filling it up all the way yesterday. I have been struggling for the last hour trying to get two of the torx screws out that hold the little sump thing in. two of them came out easy, but the other two are directly above a frame crossmember and have very limited access. any tips?
 
#8 ·
That is a pain, I used a 1/4" wrench with the bit.


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#9 ·
I tried that, but despite using a screwdriver to push the bit up into the screw, it stripped one of the star heads. they seem to be far tighter than the other two, I guess maybe someone went to take it off but gave up when the came to these guys... just a random guess :) Is it imperative that I get the sump off? I didn't see any metal shavings in my oil, but I suppose those would be in the screen anyway.

Also I had a thought... I've been hearing that the first thing to go due to low oil is the camshaft/valvetrain. Seeing as my cam lobes seem kind of worn, is it plausible that the noise is entirely because of the worn lobes? or do I probably have a deeper problem as well?
 
#11 ·
Sump screws are a pain! Put that on a todo list for later. Top end is usually the first thing to fail when you lose oil pressure. The bottom is pretty much bullet proof! One way bearing could be your problem as they have been known to fail. Don't need one anyway! I yanked mine out 3-4 years ago and never regretted it! You could cut your filter apart, but usually the screen in the sump traps most pieces. Pull the plug and rotate by hand, you may hear a metallic sound as you pass TDC, but that is the compression release and it is normal. See if you can feel anything that may cause concern. They use hi quality bearings on these, I've pulled many cases down to bare bones and have only found two bearings that were suspect!
 
#15 ·
Worn lifters will cause you headaches!
 
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