| Author | Message | ||
     Pizzaboy |
after my last track day, i took my bike home and put all of the street stuff back on it to ride it to work that evening. on the way down, the oil pressure light came on. i checked the dipstick to find that the oil level was way low, so i added a quart of oil to the bike from the local store en route. light went away while i finished the last 1/2 mile of my trek. upon going home, i hopped on the freeway to find that not only did the oil pressure light come back on again, but now my CT's started climbing out of control. i pulled over to give it a break when i found myself close to 240 degrees, and checked the oil level once more. the oil was above full on the dipstick, and temps were still way too high. knowing that i had less than 2 miles left to make it back to my front door, i went for it, 240 degrees the whole time. she made it, so i let it cool off over night, to check what had happened the next day. when i drained the coolant, less than 3 oz came out. i drained the oil to find a milky solution and much more of it than what normally comes out. first thought was the obvious head gasket, but i wanted to be sure. after borrowing a coolant pressure test tool from a friend to confirm lack of pressure holding in the coolant system, i ordered myself a new set of head gaskets; to the tune of $50 EACH, i might add!!! today i tore bike down (for the now 3rd time this year, i might add  ) in preparation of removing the heads tomorrow. i pulled the spark plugs tonight to get some clues as to what happened. tl:dr found water in the oil, now that its torn down, which head gasket was the culprit?  Upper:front, Bottom:rear judging by the spark plugs, i think i already know which gasket needs changing. and to answer your next question, yes i plan to replace both gaskets, regardless. | ||
| Skntpig |
Rear | ||
| Dannybuell |
Are there thicker head gaskets for this engine? Is there an EBR response to this condition? | ||
| Boogiman1981 |
danny no not that i know of, there are thinner gaskets... i doubt they have a position on blown head gaskets. as best i can recall it's not a widespread 'condition' | ||
| Rodrob |
With that little coolant, you might want to have the heads checked for cracks.  | ||
| Pizzaboy |
im definitely stumped now that ive taken the head off. i really was expecting to see some obvious cause for the problem, but im coming up short! there was very obviously coolant getting into the combustion chamber, and to the oil. the gasket is tough to read but doesnt seem to be obviously damaged, there are no odd spray patterns made from a coolant leak on the head or the piston to speak of. i took a straightedge to both the mating surfaces for the head gasket, and they looked great. the only thing i noticed that was slightly odd, but unrelated- a little extra carbon build up on one of the exhaust valve stems. im having a hard time just replacing gaskets and putting it all back together now with the thought that i could have totally missed the problem, and have to come right back to where i am now. could the head bolts stretched? is the cylinder wall cracked, or head somehow? this is depressing; im going to miss my local track day event this weekend, and how the heck am i supposed to get throttle therapy!? here's a link to gallery of most recent pics and progress http://s1019.photobucket.com/albums/af319/pizzilla /buell%20drama%20712/ | ||
| Gofastalot99 |
Check picture #7. I can't tell but it almost looks like a crack from the spark plug to the exhaust valve. | ||
| Pizzaboy |
I can't tell but it almost looks like a crack from the spark plug to the exhaust valve. that was a mark i made from the tool i was using to knock some of the carbon off of the face; i havent cleaned it as well as id like to yet | ||
| Ohsoslow |
have your heads pressure checked. they could be cracked |
