dreaded white smoke in exhaust

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WindNWing

WindNWing

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May 21, 2010
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Location
Jackson, Ohio
Two days ago I got white smoke from the right exhaust on start up which lasted about 30 seconds and then cleared up. I just crossed my fingers (which did no good at all) and it never appeared the next three rides. It came back today and is continuous. :head bang: :head bang: I rented a compression tester only to find out that there was no adapter to fit my heads.
My question is: Could there be anything causing this besides a leaking head gasket or cracked head?
:beg: :beg:
All suggestions are welcome :thanks:
 
gary what happen ...this dont sound good .....has the bike been rained on a lot ...it might have water in the muffler ....but it sounds lik it is blon head gaskit not cracked head wit it starting small andthen getting continuos ....

but tis is an easy job gary it dont get any easier to do than a oldwing .....

id would st it up and run it ideling with fan on it to see wat plug gets steamed cleaned ....and to check to see if the cooling system had anythingto do ith it ....athermosat just about did my bike in FLA ...i just bearly caught it in time ive neve had one in sence at all ...and never will ... :mrgreen:
 
If you do replace the head gaskets be sure to tighten the bolts in the correct sequence and use the correct torque wrench.
 
If you need to replace your head gaskets......DO NOT GET THEM FROM SABERCYCLE! They use Chinese made gasket that blow out in less than 1 year! My buddy has a GL1000 that he replaced a head gasket on because he broke a timing belt and had to replace a head. He bought Sabercycle gaskets (against my recommendation, mind you beforehand, based on past experience) and in 7 months it blew out. (As expected!) Others on this site have had the same issue with their gaskets. There are other non-critical system stuff that they have that is ok, but stay away from critical system gaskets, seals and belts from them.
 
In my first post I said the smoke had become continous because it billowed smoke for five minutes and only stopped when I shut it off. I have started it at least a dozen times since with no smoke!
I did run a compression check today and cold I found 160 on all but # 1 cylinder which was 150.
Warm they all stayed the same except #3 cylinder and it dropped to 155.
My question now is...1, could a blown head gasket be intermittent and 2, could one still show good compression?
Thanks for the advise and if I replace the head gaskets, they will be OEM. :yes:
 
I suppose that it is possible for gaskets to leak a little when the motor is cold and reaseal when fully warmed. It may be possible to simply retorque the the heads to get more use before failure. Wait. Is it possible some kid is pouring water in your exhaust? Have noticed and drops under the bike? Does the smoke have a sweet smell?
 
It sounds to me like you have a just minor leaking head gasket, 5 lbs variance in compression I think is pretty normal.
I've seen the same with head gaskets that aren't leaking but in your case that cylinder could be the one that's leaking.
And yes even with a leaking head gasket you can have good compression.
 
so im asoming that the cooling system is rtaying up or are you adding anything if not id sat your loking good to some degree.....retorqueing the head sounds good or cecking it ....start right at the cylinder thats givin the somewhat different reading and go fust a touch more if i close to what its suppose to be....them try it and ride it to see if it hangs in there ....if it is a weken gaskit need to retrorque before testing anymore .....good luck gary
 
I think......coolant from the exhaust - THAT MUCH - I expect would be accompanied by a slight, but noticable misfire on the cylinder that is providing the coolant.

I've had many engines that sat overnight, then ran rough for just a minute in the morning when first started untill the cylinder blows all the coolant out. When the engine is operating temp. the cooling system is under pressure. When you turn the engine off, the coolant will dribble into the cylinder untill the pressure goes down. During the next cold start the flame is quenched for a minute, then starts to run smooth, and gives no other clues untill it gets much worse.
 
Yes Joe, the coolant level is down. Yes Ron, missing on start up. Yes Gary, replace your head gaskets. :head bang: :head bang:

I may try the re-torquing first. Thanks for the comments.
 
I think when you have a blown gasket or leaking gasket don't the spark plugs get a steamed look to them.???..Have you taken a look at the plugs yet??, are they wet with coolant ? I don't know I might be wrong on this...???? Am I wrong on this???
 
I thought for a second about suggesting stop leak, but then thought better of it. If it were to plug a passage in the head and cause a local hot spot on the head, it overheat the head without ever showing up on the temp gauge.
 
wel gary just change the head gaskit ....yo spelled it out ....its blown no nee to investigate any longer ......gt your tools out ...find a god spot ....have at it :builder: :mrgreen:
 
scdmarx":2pkpjy7u said:
I've had many engines that sat overnight, then ran rough for just a minute in the morning when first started untill the cylinder blows all the coolant out. When the engine is operating temp. the cooling system is under pressure. When you turn the engine off, the coolant will dribble into the cylinder untill the pressure goes down. During the next cold start the flame is quenched for a minute, then starts to run smooth, and gives no other clues untill it gets much worse.
Click to expand...

Sorry I couldn't find this at the time of my last response. This was a bore scope looking into the spark plug hole of a Ford Triton motor. The concern was "runs rough at cold start up". I pressured up the cooling system with the spark plugs removed and went to lunch. When I got back I found coolant in 2 of the cylinders. Otherwise, this vehicle ran fine with no other clues pointing toward a blown head gasket.

[flv]https://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6553/cqaf.mp4[/flv]
 
Wow, great information, to know... I wasn't sure about the plugs but I read that somewhere.. I knew about the bubbles, and I think the smoke is white and has a sweet smell.... :smilie_happy:
 

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