Hi There, just discoverd my dealer serviced 1200 2103 mts that had no symptoms and no loss of oil. Has developed an fuel error warning and now dealer says lack of compresssion due to barrel ovality? Any others had this issue, they know of one more. Ducati metalurgy or lurgy? cheers , chris
Did a quick google and nothing came up. I'd be interested in how your dealer came up with that diagnosis based on a compression test. Andy
They come up with this, because bike not starting, but wind open throttle to start and clouds of smoke, I am awaiting dealer /ducati findings?
The cylinder barrels are bored straight into the alloy and then Nikasil coated. The Nikasil is very thin and very hard and should last for many thousands of miles. The barrels will not wear oval but a broken ring could damage the Nikasil coating.
Dealer latest I s that the barrels have warped due to excessive heat as per a previous bike recently, it seems I am awaiting ducati goodwill, compression checks being made today,
Hmm. I thought a proper cooling system would have prevented that. Maybe the castings are extremely thin. Remember the porous cylinder head issue?
So are you saying that the dealer had taken the heads and barrels off the engine, taken a close look at them, and has established that there is a warped barrel? Or is the position that the engine has not been dismantled, the barrels have not been measured, and the dealer is merely indulging in speculation/guesses about the cause of the problems?
Latest, comp front rear down to 85psi, added oil comp back to 145psi, dealer now says most likely rings, maybe scored barrels,
Sounds likely. With luck a new set of piston rings would do it. Possible but less likely barrels would be scored. The stuff about oval bores and distorted barrels sounds pretty unlikely to me. Just my opinion for what it's worth.
Has the bike ever over heated badly whilst you have owned it ? What has fuel consumption been like way previous to this fault it has now ?
If a dealer diagnosed bore ovality before piston ring/bore damage without even stripping the engine, I wouldn't let them near the bike to repair it! Sound like a bunch of chancers that are likely to stich you up mate. Run a mile to a good independent Ducati specialist.
Whilst not quite so forthright in my comdenation of the dealer, I am a little taken aback by the conclusions the dealer came to without proper examination before coming to a diagnosis. I wish you every fortune with Ducati as from experience it would appear that not all dealers have the same relationship with them which could influence decisions. Andy
Re the dealer, as its out of warranty, could they simply be offering suggestions so the OP has a chance to make in informed decision as to whether to open it up or not and the likely investigation costs?
