Proper Course of Action for leaking head gasket?

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Lostboy Steve

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So after trying to get my single carb working, I went to top off my coolant and chocolate milk was all I had. Strange, rode it 30 miles on Saturday with no overheat and just the normal stumble that I've been trying to resolve.

Tonight I plan on compression and leak down tests, but I have to wonder if the piston sealing area is ok and it isn't just a leak from the oil port to a water jacket. I had noticed that in between the left head and block had been looking sort of spongy dark and wet. Not dripping or anything, but just not light color and dry like the right side.

I know myself well enough to know that I could easily pull both heads, do all the valve seals, have the heads checked and decked, lap the valves and get into all other types of labor. I'd prefer to make this as inexpensive and easy as possible until the winter.

I have another engine but unsure of its condition. Turns smoothly and seemingly has compression.

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Could this be water pump seal failure? Normally head gasket will give you obvious indicators ( steam, burning coolant smell, poor performance, nice clean plug on one cylinder, etc) that it is faulty unless it is between water jacket and oil return galley. Let us know what tests you have done before pulling the heads.
 
Ansimp":14ivvoj8 said:
Could this be water pump seal failure? Normally head gasket will give you obvious indicators ( steam, burning coolant smell, poor performance, nice clean plug on one cylinder, etc) that it is faulty unless it is between water jacket and oil return galley. Let us know what tests you have done before pulling the heads.

The only smell I had was from the breather tube. I noticed an irregular amount of steam coming from it with the filter off and when I smelled it, it smelled like classic head gasket. Oil seems uncontaminated though. I will post some results later tonight.


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What's the word on the headgaskets anyway? Are they a known issue? Bike in question has had the speedo swapped I believe. Title says 35k but speedo says 55k. Did I mention that this thing had a side car on it at one point?


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Well, not a piston sealing issue. Everything there is wonderful.

This bad boy has a waterpump with a metal impeller that looks newer and doesn't have any play in it.

Does this look like "blue devil" to anyone? I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this system has been "sealed" with some sort of liquid sealer. I flushed the crap out of it yesterday and then when I get home today it has this glaze coming out of it.

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Yeah. It's "blue devil". I've seen it a million times in automotive systems. Problem is it's nearly impossible to clean it out of the system. No matter how much you flush it stays dormant.

Here's a picture of a BMW radiator hose that was on an engine "sealed" with blue devil.

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Wonderful!

Well if you pull the heads and the thermostat housing, you might be able to get most if not all of it out? Leaves the radiator...hmm, pull it off and backflush.
Makes me wonder now why it was put in.
 
dan filipi":fj4kgdik said:
Wonderful!

Well if you pull the heads and the thermostat housing, you might be able to get most if not all of it out? Leaves the radiator...hmm, pull it off and backflush.
Makes me wonder now why it was put in.

Yeah me too, but I don't think I have to pull the heads because my leakdown tests were good. Absolutely no leaks.

Here's another picture of a Subaru block with blue devil in it:

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I have a backup radiator if need be.


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I suspect the blue devil was put in to seal up the head gaskets. And yes after 30+ years they do go bad simply from age.
 
slabghost":1kd8eslk said:
I suspect the blue devil was put in to seal up the head gaskets. And yes after 30+ years they do go bad simply from age.

You think that stuff would survive my leakdown test though?


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I suspect the top right of the gasket is the culprit.
Who thinks I should forego the head gaskets and just get this sealed up instead?

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In this last picture where the pump shaft goes in, what is all this junk? Should I be worried about that carbon goop?


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[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=193260#p193260:2dxukcio said:
joedrum » Mon Jul 17, 2017 8:40 pm[/url]":2dxukcio]
...I've never seen an oldwing motor look like this one


REALLY?!?! :shock:
My 1100 has been in this same condition 3 times now.....it's been well documented here, the issues I've had with oil getting into the coolant, but no coolant in the oil. Replacing the head gaskets fixes it until the engine gets too hot(in traffic in 100+ deg weather).
Mine is torn down right now, and I'm in the process of replacing the head gaskets on it for this same problem.... :Awe:
 
AApple":784t9ndd said:
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=193260#p193260:784t9ndd said:
joedrum » Mon Jul 17, 2017 8:40 pm[/url]":784t9ndd]
...I've never seen an oldwing motor look like this one


REALLY?!?! :shock:
My 1100 has been in this same condition 3 times now.....it's been well documented here, the issues I've had with oil getting into the coolant, but no coolant in the oil. Replacing the head gaskets fixes it until the engine gets too hot(in traffic in 100+ deg weather).
Mine is torn down right now, and I'm in the process of replacing the head gaskets on it for this same problem.... :Awe:

So it was your head gaskets? Did you do compression and/or leakdown tests? Did you have the heads decked and whatnot when you replaced the gaskets? My bike doesn't even get to the middle during normal hot days and if/when it does the fan kicks on and it shoots back down to 1/4.


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aussiegold":3dp766dl said:
that oil looks a bit milky to me, might be the picture . off with its heads i reckon and flush the bejasus out of it. :BigGrin:
the only milky part is the white crud in the top of the front cover. The oil that drained is nice and clean.


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