Hey guys, I'm new to this forum, but I'm going to have to start off with some nasty business. I recently came across an extremely good deal where a buddy of mine sold me his 02 Speed Triple for cheap because it was making a tapping noise and he didn't have time/money to fix it. I thought it'd be a valve or valve guide causing the noise, but long story short it turned out to be rodknock and the bearings were decimated. I ended up being persistent and decided to try and find a new (used) engine. I happened to find what seemed to be the only engine in all of CA that could work. It was an engine from a 04 Daytona 955i, and after one very long and expensive road trip I successfully retrieved the engine and started the process of hooking it all up. Everything was going great and I just about had it down to just connecting the air box and gas tank, however when I went to finalize the torque of the engine mounts to spec, I cracked the crankcase. All of the mounting points lined up correctly, but upon further inspection I noticed that the rear lower mounts had very small gaps between the bolt head and the mounting point on the engine block. I never saw that different engine mounts or any spacers were required when I researched the swap and it was such a small gap I didn't see it before it was too late. So now I'm sitting with two 955i engines, one with toasted rods and one with a cracked case. I don't have a lot of money to go drop on another engine at this point, but I don't want to give up so I'm considering some options and this is where my questions come in. 1. Order a new crankcase and swap everything over. How difficult would this be? I'm willing to put in the time for it, but if it's more of a pain than it's worth that'd be good to know before jumping in. 2. Swap in the crankcase from the S3. As far as I can see there isn't any damage to the case itself, but does anyone know if this is possible? Are the Daytona 955i and S3 955i identical in all those components. That would be great because it'd save me the money of ordering a new case. 3. Weld the crack. I know a couple professional welders that could do this for me and this would probably be the fastest and cheapest option, but would it be safe to run like that? I've been doing research but it's hard to find definitive answers because it's such a specific situation. Any advice would be much appreciated, I fell in love with the speed triple the moment I first saw it and I really don't want to let this one go. Thank you guys
Armed with the chassis ( VIN ) numbers from the engines you have check out the part numbers here http://www.worldoftriumph.com/triumph-motorcycle-parts.html or here https://ie.fowlersparts.co.uk/browser/manufacturer/triumph for the respective part numbers and see what is common between them. If you use the fowlers site ( original triumph part numbers ) you can put the part numbers into the parts browser to check what models they fit ( like the crankcases ) saves a bit of time.
It would not be safe to run it like this but that could easily be welded. I know it’s been months since you asked the question and I hope it’s sorted but that’s what I would do.
Thanks for the response. Unfortunately it hasn’t been sorted still. Since this happened I’ve been so busy between college and work that it’s been collecting dust in my garage untouched. I want to get a legitimate weld done too. I know some people that could possibly do it but I’m not sure what material the case is made from. I tried looking it up and didn’t find an answer. It seems like cast aluminum maybe?
Yes, it’s cast aluminum. A major concern when welding aluminum, is that it pulls quite a bit when it cools. Since this is not only structural, but precision is crucial, it’s a bit risky to weld it. I’ve welded cases, cam covers, etc. without issue before. I’d definitely weld it, if it was mine. Just wanted to give you the heads-up in case you still haven’t gotten that sorted out yet. Good luck
