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Holy Smoke!!

Joined Jan 2007
89 Posts | 0+
Ayrshire, SCOTLAND
Hi, everyone.
I've just converted my lever choke to a cable choke, re-fitted my header pipes after having to weld one up because it snapped, checked my valve clearances and timing and re-fitted a new spacer washer to my clutch pushrod after I lost the original whilst replacing the clutch plates.
Started her up and she's quite smoky.
Smoke looks white / light grey and appears when revving the bike.
I don't think it's coolant getting into the cylinder because the level in the radiator hasn't dropped since i got the bike just less than 12 months ago.
Breather pipes are also routed away from the airbox, so I don't think the problem lies there.
Don't really know if I'm using oil because I change it every 3 rides anyway.
I've only had the bike running a couple of times since undertaking the above work for around 5 or 10mins on both occasions.
Should I ride the bike this weekend and see if the smoke dies-off after the engine has been given a good hard run?
If the smoke doesn't dissappear, where should I start?
Reed valve?
Valve stem seals?
Piston Rings?
I really hope I don't have to strip the bike down.
Cheers,
Ross
 
Pop the seat and air filter off to check and see if there is oil laying in the intake boot.
 
nsman - the breather pipes don't vent to the airbox on my bike, but I checked the airbox boot anyway and it's dry - no oil or water.
I've also checked the reed valve - It looked OK. Both sides of the reed were a little bit 'rough' when running your finger along it - is this OK?
It wasn't chipped or split, so I gave it a wipe-down and re-fitted it.
The oil looks a bit 'greyish' to me which suggests I'm getting coolant into the engine which could also be causing the white/ light grey smoke.
My oil has usually been quite dark up to now.
I don't seem to be loosing coolant though (looking at the level in the radiator).
Does it take much of a coolant leak into the engine to cause white smoke and the oil to go grey?
Where should I check 1st - Cylinder head gasket?
Can coolant leak from the water pump into the engine?
All help appreciated.
Cheers
 
OK, I'm going to reply to my own reply.

Having done a few searches and looked at a few similar past problems, I have come up with the following:

1) If the WP seal has gone, I should see water from the weep hole, correct?
There doesn't seem to be anything coming from the weep hole, so I'll assume that the water and oil seals are OK.

2) I'm going to change the oil a few times and run the bike to see if it's still turning grey-ish and blowing white/grey smoke. I'll also keep a very close eye on coolant levels.
The smoke MAY clear up and the oil MIGHT get better (fingers crossed).

3) If it's still blowing smoke it's either a leaky head gasket or buring oil, correct?

4) Either way, I'll have to pull the head and inspect a) head gasket, b) piston / rings and c) valve stem / seals / seats.
Anything which is worn outside tolerance will need to be replaced.

5) If it's STILL smoky providing all the above has been done, could there be a coolant leak from the 3 'O' rings on the piston sleeve?
I've read that Taffy & Dr C have had issues in the past with these seals on their bikes.
I've had a look through the '99 workshop and the '00 parts manuals and I can't find anything on these 'O'-rings.
Also, my bike's never overheated (during my ownership) or blown coolant out the overflow or anywhere else.

Let me know if the above procedure looks OK or if anyone has any other ideas.
Cheers!
 
The bike you have (00 model )was the last year for the water pump in the head so some of the comments do not apply to your machine.The grey looking oil certainly sounds like water in the oil.Might want to check the water pump seal. Grey/ white smoke is usually water in the oil and blue smoke is oil smoke.
 

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