Cannondaleriders

Well Im new here. Just recently bought a 2001 fx400. I have been poking around ehre for a bit but have some questions. Ive ridden it only once since I got it. Rode for a solid 3 hours. Oil all over the engine. Runs good never died. Removed the tank and found what I believe is the vent hose on the right spar missing a clamp and the hose off. Should I have oil this far up the vent? I topped off the oil before the first ride and have since changed it. May have been overful? Also while servicing the air filter I noticed a broken line that goes to the ECU. It is the 500 series. The other end is just hanging down in front of the radiator. whew. Sorry for such a long post! Someone HELP!

Well changed all fluids, reconnected vent to air box, filled oil about 3/4 up dipstick. No more oil puking problem! Also while having everything apart found none of the vac lines were connected. Ran all new lines from airbox, ecu, crank case vent and FPR. Went riding about 5 hours this weekend and on the way back to the truck she died Wouldnt restart. Starter just clicks. Well today I tested my battery and no load just sitting has good 12.4 volts. When I try to crank it over dropped down in the 3s. New battery is charging up as we speak.

Am I on the right track here? If it does start with the new battery I will make sure it is charging. What would cause a battery to just fail?

They do just fail.Just make sure its charging once running.Good job on fixes.

Well still wont start. Good voltage on new battery. Starter still just clicks. Pulled starter and tested by just turning the shaft outward and bolting to case. Seemed to be good to me. Pulled the cover where the gears for the starter are also looks good to me no metal and all turns freely. Pulled the clutch cover off and didnt see anything that looked like it grenaded on me.

So My next question, I tried putting in fifth gear and pushing the machine and it doesnt rotate freely. Should it? When the engine died I was wide open going through the gears and it just quit running. The more I think about it the more I think I maybe dropped a valve

Any ideas what my next step should be?

Pull your filter and if it is paper cut out a section and squeeze it in a towel in a vise and see if there is any metal in there. If it packed with metal you may have lost the big end rod bearing. If it is clean pull the spark plug and see if the tip is mashed and if so that is a dropped valve but if it is ok that does not always mean that you did not drop a valve just less likely and sometimes the rod bearing fails so suddenly that it does not get back to the filter.
There are only a couple of batteries that seem to survive the vibration so close to the engine and that is deka and yausa... I have had the cheap ones fail in as soon as just a couple of hour ride.

Alright Ill check into all the things you have mentioned here in the next couple days! Sucks this was only the second time I have been able to ride since I bought the machine. Im willing to put the time and money into fixing it. If i do need a complete rebuild I think I will send it to someone for repair. I don't want to go crazy just a reliable fully updated engine. Who's the best for this, what should I expect to pay and also whats a decent turn around time?

The fx happens to be an animal that I am not very familiar with... the differences are not huge but it kind of depends on what failed as to what direction to take. Another thing to check is for up and down movement of the crank at the flywheel as those cases have a different configuration bearing there which is a bit on the small side but can be machined for the larger bearing assuming you have the orig fx and what we call john deere bolt case.
If you had a major failure normally it might be a better deal to grab up a complete built motor from a reputable builder here but most of them are going to be later and that would need quite a few things changed to work one way or another be it on the motor itself or harness and ecu.

I feel your pain! I got two rides before I figured out I had a busted water pump impeller stud on the cam. This site has a wealth of info and I have been reading it since Feb. and trying to soak it all up. I live in OK a few miles from Black Widow and Brad has been a blessing for me. We opened the engine up and found a very tired engine, as well as the broken cam. It is in the process of being rebuilt with all the latest updates and modifications. Can't wait to get it back and head to the dunes!
I am not sure of the location of other builders... they may be closer to your location. Don't let just anyone work on your engine!
Black widow has an engine exchange program that may interest you too. Give him a call and talk your situation over with him!

Good luck!
Kelly


But when it runs...!

Well thanks for all the info! How do I identify the John Deere case? Long day at work didnt get a chance to dig any deeper tonight hopefully soon!

The early John-Deere case will have an 8mm bolthead visible under the flywheel cavity, and it
runs up in the right main case wall next to the mainbearing -- that case type will have the smaller mainbearing, and a mated crank.

Many of the early fx's had their motors replaced at some point or another so if you have a hyd clutch it is probably not a jd case. I would be surprised if it has an orig motor with alot of hours or did someone have it rat holed?

How much did you pick it up for if you dont mind me asking. Because if you got it cheap and have had a major failure with that case or have dropped a valve I hate to say this cause I am not a fan of parting but the best advise may be keeping some key parts and parting the rest and finding a killer deal on one that is already updated because it may cost you less than paying someone to fix what you have... heck that may even be the case if you could do all the motor work yourself but especially if you are anxious to get back riding.