Progress Being Made!
Stopped by the dealer this afternoon to get an update on my Rocket. Cliff was real nice and let me back in the shop to see it torn down.
To my surprise, she was on the operating table with entire rear drive train, radiator, side panels, exhaust, bear claw, etc. all removed. They started working on it right away. Kudos to British-USA. Due to shop workload, I hadn't expected any work on it for a couple more weeks.
The offending part that punched a hole in the lower engine casing was also removed. Turned out to be about 1/4 of a gear from the transmission. As I examined the hole in the block, it appears that it had been previously lodged in the casing. (The hole no longer looked like it had anything stuck in it).
Don't know which gear it was, becase the lower pan was reinstalled. But looking at the fracture, it appears to be a clean break of hardened steel. If it had not gotten stuck in the block, it had the potential to sieze the drivetrain. I feel very fortunate.
Good news - - the repairs are covered under warranty. The dealer tried to get a new engine from Triumph, but was told none were available. Out of warranty would be about $5000 in parts alone.
So it's going to be a new engine casing reassembled with parts from my existing engine. Estimated turn-around is about 30 days. This is much better than I had expected. My September Bandera trip is still a possibility!
I was very concerned about reusing parts from the old engine. Without magna-fluxing the various shafts, crank, etc. there is a possibility of undetected internal damage. Metal fragments could have wiped the bearings. Internal oil galleys could be restricted. The list goes on. Cliff told me they would replace all the bearings and seals and any shafts that were bent. I asked about the upgrade package and depending upon the amount of parts requiring replacment, this is still a possibility. Really hope the transmission gets upgraded at least.
Even so, without a complete overhaul, the break-in on the short block is going to be a partial one. Will the piston rings be replaced? If not, will the old ones re-seat? Is break-in oil going to be used? Will the engine have to go through a 500 mile and 10,000 mile checkout all over again? These and many more questions will be asked as things progress. Stay tuned.