hard to beat

i have just had a bike in that absolutely had me beat.

it was bubbling in the radiator so i claimed that it must be the headgasket. no problem. i pulled the head off and scraped away the old stuff (a JBS gasket and they never come off clean) , i made a note that there was a dark ring around the liner but then proceeded and put another HG on. still bubbles.

so i pulled the head off and using a wooden block i cleaned up the head surface and the block, wiped everything spotlessly and fitted a second new head gasket. still bubbles.

as some water was in the oil and the water level appeared to go down i decided to strip the engine and fit new 'O' rings to the liner. still bubbles but nothing in the oil.

so i stripped it again and due to that liner being proud - i changed it for a nice used one i had here. still bubbles.

so far head off twice, stripped engine twice.

swopped with another head. still bubbles.

swopped radiator hoses. still bubbles.

swopped the w/p housing and gasket. still bubbles.

sure coolant was going missing, sure it had to be head gasket but i'd tried everything.

i had noted that even the second liner was proud and convinced - as i'd always been - that it was the HG. i was out of ideas bar one. even though i could feel nothing and it's against my better engineering principles - i decided to rub down the joint between the two crankcase halves at the block and just infront and behind the liner.

this was done with some p400, jizer and an index finger.

sorted.

BTW, something isn't right as i say, that liner is proud by .15mm AND that stopped the block cleaning the case joint. also the squish is 0.8mm which is.....

i tell you this tale because i didn't stick with my first thought and also remeber, we can all follow someone elses work! wonder what they make of my stuff in 10 years time....

regards

Taffy

Taffy, not sure if you have seen my other thread (http://www.husaberg.org/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&p=95485#95485 ) but i have a similar issue, except the bubbles are appearing in the oil. The problem has only presented after i have had the head off to replace inlet valves and a broken valve spring. Initially i got milky oil due to an incorrectly fitted water pump seal (my bad), but since then i have put 10 litres of oil through and still get milky oil (even when running the bike for only a minute with no coolant in the system). The oil will return to normal appearance in the inspection window but this takes about an hour or so.

Could i be getting some kind of leak similar to the problem you described with the cases? Would the introduction of air into the cases result in highly aerated oil (i thought the cases were "open" to the atmosphere to prevent vacum pressure build up).

you could try running the compressor down to a safe level and then pumping up the system through the air bleed in the head.

shame you didn't go to DVSK system. you really should have known better than going back to conical. NOBODY should be running conicals.

do you have the seal in the cover with it's back to you (so you can see the little circular spring).

have you been checking for bubbles in the radiator coolant? levels when you rev it? this is the best way to find out whether it's w/p or HG.

come back to me on that.

regards

Taffy

Problem Solved.

4 changes of oil following a good flush with Diesel fuel and no more milky oil.

Total fluids required to flush the system following muppet install of water pump seal (put it in backwards) - 12 litres of oil, 1 litre of methylated spirits, 1 can of carby cleaner, 3 litres of diesel and a bottle of engine flush. Thank god for stainless steel oil filters.

I suspect the problem was some methylated spirits used to get rid of the coolant in the first instance didn't evaporate. Right now though i don;t really care, the bikes running and i have an appointment with the bush on the weekend.

And i would have loved to fit better valve springs when the head was apart.

Couldn't get it past the Minister for War and Finance though : (

Lucky she hasn't been down to the shed and seen all the empty oil bottles!

.....somewhere in there was a thanks - i think!

regards

Taffy

Sorry Taffy,

The other thread on my problem did specifically give a thank you.

However, you Sir deserve more than a thanks, if not just for your comments on this problem, then for all the wisdom imparted through this site that has not only helped me, but a bunch of others i know personally and i'm sure there are many, many more out there in the same boat.



Andrew

cheers for that andy and sorry i didn't look up the other thread to see that (i presume) someone else knew the problem. had a lad call me same thing earlier in the summer. he'd paid a workshop for two engine rebuilds....ouch!

regards

Taffy

i thought i'd offer you all an intereseting footnote to this story.

i have just had a liner back from langcourt's and it is cracked around the top 5mm under the top edge. basically the shoulder for the liner's location in the top of the cases has been broken away from the main liner body on the right-hand side at 2 o' clock.

no wonder i couldn't keep the friggin thing from bubbling. bet none of you have heard of that one before!

regards

taffy