Modern Buddy

The engine seized on my four-stroke Stella this morning. I'm a year past the warranty so I'm facing a major repair bill. Does anyone have experience with an engine rebuild for the 4T? Were the LML parts easily available? Are they relatively expensive, as compared to other brands? How much did the overhaul cost?

Do you know the cause of the seizure?

Massimo of Orange County is the mechanic and he opened it up yesterday. It's the worst-case scenario - the crankshaft. I don't know what caused it to break. All regularly scheduled maintenance was done (oil changes, valve adjustments, etc.) and it was not driven it hard. But I did drive it a lot, with over 10,000 miles.
It's going to be an expensive rebuild. Does anyone know if it is possible to buy an entirely new, assembled engine from Genuine?

I think you can buy an all new engine in tact. I remember hearing the owner of my home shop say he did a full engine swap on another one, and was able to get his hands on an engine that he just dropped in there.

You said crank shaft was the problem but can you elaborate on the details leading up to the seizure I. E.

Speed you were traveling, how long she had been running when it happened, time since last oil change etc...

This is the second case of 4t crankshaft failure I have heard of and both have happened around 10,000 miles. However the other scooter had a polini 165 kit fitted.

I am wondering if there are a dodgy batch of cranks like there were on the 2Ts.

Regarding the drive before the seizure and condition of the engine, it warmed up for 3-5 minutes then I then drove it for about 10 minutes with stops for a few red lights. Immediately before it died, I was going around 50 mph (indicated) for 2-3 minutes. The last oil change was roughly 800 miles ago and included a paper filter change and a cleaning of the wire filter. I rode it a lot (10,000 miles) the first two years I owned it, but only approximately 800 short-trip city miles this past year.
(edit added) It's a straight stock Stella - no mods.

I would put a note on Scooter Community Classifieds to see if someone has a wrecked 4T or engine from one laying around. Considering what you can purchase a leftover 4T for, rebuilding the motor probably doesn't make sense. You might also put an ad on scoot.net and scoot list.net. All of these sights are free. I'm sure someone has a wrecked or theft recovery laying around somewhere. Sorry to hear about your troubles, good luck sorting it out.

Willie B wrote:I would put a note on Scooter Community Classifieds to see if someone has a wrecked 4T or engine from one laying around. Considering what you can purchase a leftover 4T for, rebuilding the motor probably doesn't make sense. You might also put an ad on scoot.net and scoot list.net. All of these sights are free. I'm sure someone has a wrecked or theft recovery laying around somewhere. Sorry to hear about your troubles, good luck sorting it out.

Thanks for the advice Willie B. There was nothing on scoot.net's classifieds or reddit's scooter classifieds. I even looked for LML's at scootercommunity.co.uk. I just placed a parts-wanted ad on scoot.net.

We'll have to see if the 4Ts have the same crank failure problem as the earlier 2Ts. Unlucky for me, it didn't fail while under warranty.

You'll probably get more hits on Scooter Community Classifieds on Facebook. Seems everyone in the scooter scenes stays connected there. Good luck

Try searching on Google for Salvage Stella 4Ts. I was looking some time ago and there were several.

Even more bad news.

Massimo didn't recommend repairing the engine because the cost of the parts and the labor would probably be more expensive than a new engine. He said there was a strong possibility the crankshaft failure also damaged the crank case/engine block.

A new engine can only be purchased from a Genuine dealer and the following are the quoted prices. The retail price for a new engine is $1,489, plus tax, plus a $95 shipping charge. With an approximate labor cost of $400, the tab is north of $2,000 dollars.

Because it is a relatively new and scarce engine, I've had no luck with motorcycle/scooter salvage yards from Los Angeles to San Diego. And I've had no luck yet on your kind recommendations (scoot.net, Facebook scooter community, etc.). Thank you again for your help.

So unless I find a cheap salvaged engine, my Stella is totaled. Assuming the worst, what kind of value would you put on it if I were to sell it as is?

Not much I wouldn't think. The 2 stroke Stellas have the versatility of fitting various engines from various Vespa and LML offerings, unfortunately the only thing that fits your scooter is a $2K motor that you haven't been able to source. This really sucks. Give it time, I'm sure an engine will surface soon. Good luck

rondothemidget wrote:Even more bad news.

So unless I find a cheap salvaged engine, my Stella is totaled. Assuming the worst, what kind of value would you put on it if I were to sell it as is?

It must have been a pretty catastrophic failure if they don't think the case or top end is usuable.

It may be worth taking it to another shop to get a second opinion. If it really was at the level where the entire engine is jacked, you would have heard some horrific noises- think a bucket of bolts down a garbage disposal.

It may be that the shop is hesitant to do a rebuild themselves (and own it if they didn't do the rebuild correctly) so is steering you towards an engine that they can just drop in- while still making money on the markup.

Also, $400 in labor sounds somewhat high. At $80 an hour, that's 5 hours. On a 2T, it takes me about 45 minutes to remove and reinstall an engine, and I'm not very practiced. I've heard scooter shop guys refer to it as a 15 minute process.

With the different frame in a 4t, maybe it is more complex, but to the tune of 5 hours to install an assembled motor? I don't know- that could be another thing I would get a second opinion on.

Finally, this is around the point where contacting Genuine directly may be of service. Obviously you expected to get more than 10,000 miles out of your investment before it was rendered essentially worthless. Out of goodwill, they may be willing to discount the price of that new engine.

On my 2t, I went through 2 crank failures, 1 every 1800 miles. I am done with trusting LML to build anything of precision.

It didn't sound like a shaking a can of ball-bearings when it died; it just lost power like it wasn't getting any gas. There were metal shavings in the crank case which lead Massimo to believe it was the crankshaft. And he quoted a labor estimate of $400 because he hadn't done an engine replacement on a 4T before and wasn't sure how long it would take.

I just sold it to a scooter enthusiast from Phoenix so I am now an ex-Stella owner. He bought a wrecked 4T with a working engine from a friend so he will Frankenstein the two together. He'll have a great situation now with extra engine parts. I hope he enjoys the shifty as much as I did.

That's a shame. For under $2000, delivered, you could have gotten a 200 4t engine, adapter swingarm link, and cable from Tasso UK (LML parts co.) and spent an afternoon replacing it yourself. But better that Frankenstein lives on somewhere than to let it Rust In Piece.