TearlessTom Posted January 30, 2011 Share #1 Posted January 30, 2011 I know I am putting the cart before the horse but I want to be confident when I go to my dealer with the problem. Usually I do my own repairs but since the RSTD is still under warranty I may take it to them. For a few days now I have been smelling antifreeze from the bike after or during a ride. Not strong but enough to know there is a leak. Today after a 180 mile ride my son was riding the RSTD and shortly before getting home he said the Red Overheating Light came on. We could hear the coolant boiling in the reservoir so it was definitely hot. Initially I was thinking stuck thermostat...which I still think is the cause of the overheating but.... because I could smell the coolant but unable to find a leak I can't help but wonder if possible the water pump is heading south as well. So I am wondering if : 1. I should just go ahead and replace the thermostat my self or let the dealer do all the work. It doesn't look like that much to get to it. 2. Part of the repair would be to drain the coolant. I assume that the replacement coolant would be at the dealers expense under warranty as it would not need to be drained if the thermostat/water pump was not going bad. 3. Now here is a biggie: I would like to have my valves checked. I think the left front cylinder is off a bit as there is a very slight noise and the left side smokes a little bit. Compression on that cylinder is lower than the rest at about 190 lbs, vs about 210 lbs the other 3 cylinders. If they had to tear into the engine anyway how much more should I expect to be charged for them to look at the valves? I know ...lots of questions. Its hard when your brain looks like a cobweb. Thanks, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slickster Posted January 30, 2011 Share #2 Posted January 30, 2011 If the thermostat is stuck, you wouldn't get 5 miles....probably a small leak somewhere....top off the coolant and start it up...look for a drip under it...get the valve adjustment kit from the guy that is also on this forum..comes with everything you need and it's not a bad job to do....the worst case scenerio....coolant getting into the suspect cylinder....top off the coolant...warm the bike up real well...pulls the plugs and wait a few minutes....crank it over with the plugs out and see if any water is expelled from the plug hole....good luck and let us know what's what.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 30, 2011 Share #3 Posted January 30, 2011 Does your fan come on??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogmaster Posted January 30, 2011 Share #4 Posted January 30, 2011 I've been accused of being low key at times...... so here I go........ Drop off at the Dealer because it is still under warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V7Goose Posted January 30, 2011 Share #5 Posted January 30, 2011 I have no idea how old your bike is or how many miles are on it, but the problems you describe are VERY significant. There should never be any coolant smell, no way will this engine ever overheat while the bike is moving, in any weather, no possible excuse for the compression to be low, and smoke from the engine is really bad. Get that thing to the dealer and make them fix it! Do not touch it yourself. Goose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnightventure Posted January 30, 2011 Share #6 Posted January 30, 2011 The little bit of leaking probably has the coolant level down. You can't just look at the overflow tank. You have to take off the gas tank and check the level in the radiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeWa Posted January 30, 2011 Share #7 Posted January 30, 2011 V7Goose +1 Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes0778 Posted January 30, 2011 Share #8 Posted January 30, 2011 V7Goose +1 Mike :sign yeah that: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TearlessTom Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share #9 Posted January 30, 2011 The bike is a 07, and has warranty till 2013. It has just over 45000. on it. I have only had it since November. I think the smoking which is minimal and the noise is from an out of spec exhaust valve but I have been known to be wrong. My son said the light came on about 2-3 miles from home and had gone off when the bike restarted in just a few minutes of stopping. I don't always hear the fan cutting on but I am a bit hard of hearing but I do know it has come on at times. I will check the radiator cap before I take it in just to verify it is tight. I have known radiator caps to go bad/weak springs or seals which caused some strange issues. Any thoughts on that? Other than that I will take it to the shop to see what they say. Who has the valve adjustment kits. I would be interested in that also ? Any more idea's or suggestions or things I may need to discuss with the dealer are appreciated. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyR Posted January 30, 2011 Share #10 Posted January 30, 2011 I've got a valve shim kit with tool. There's one person ahead of you, so it may be a few weeks before the kit is available. smoke and low compression are not good signs. I'd have a dealer check his list of bikes subject to the head bolt recall. apparently some RSTDs are affected as well as RSV's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PlaneCrazy Posted January 30, 2011 Share #11 Posted January 30, 2011 I don't have my manual on this computer,. but does the yamaha water pump have a tell tale hole? Many Honda's have a small hole on the water pump housing and if the pump seals start to fail, then you will have coolant leaking from that hole. That's a clear sign to bring the bike in and have the water pump rebuilt. Not sure if the Yamaha ones have this though. But like others have said, get the bike checked out at a dealer, while it's still under warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TearlessTom Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share #12 Posted January 30, 2011 Okay pulled the tank today, and here is what I found. As expected the radiator and reserve tank was empty. I filled them up and ran the bike for a few minutes to let it circulate through the engine then re-topped it off. The below images and video's are what I found. Water coming out of my left tail pipe and the same smoke. It looks like condensation but the right side does not do this at all hot or cold. The left side does this both hot and cold. Puzzling thing is I rechecked the compression on the left side and now I am reading the specified pressure on the front and rear cylinder. Before I was 20 lbs low on the front. I triple checked it before and it was low. I did not get any blow-back from the open cylinder and I am showing no signs of water in the oil. Front plug was a little light but not as light as the rear. I know I am running lean as I just put on some Samson exhaust and have not adjusted the carbs yet. (that was my plan for this weekend) I'm baffled to say the least. It may be just condensation but then again where did all my coolant go? http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x249/TearlessTom/P1010239.jpg http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x249/TearlessTom/P1010241.jpg http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x249/TearlessTom/P1010240.jpg [ame=http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x249/TearlessTom/?action=view¤t=P1010238.mp4]P1010238.mp4 video by TearlessTom - Photobucket@@AMEPARAM@@http://vid180.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid180.photobucket.com/albums/x249/TearlessTom/P1010238.mp4@@AMEPARAM@@vid180@@AMEPARAM@@180@@AMEPARAM@@x249/TearlessTom/P1010238@@AMEPARAM@@mp4[/ame] [ame=http://s180.photobucket.com/albums/x249/TearlessTom/?action=view¤t=P1010236.mp4]P1010236.mp4 video by TearlessTom - Photobucket@@AMEPARAM@@http://vid180.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid180.photobucket.com/albums/x249/TearlessTom/P1010236.mp4@@AMEPARAM@@vid180@@AMEPARAM@@180@@AMEPARAM@@x249/TearlessTom/P1010236@@AMEPARAM@@mp4[/ame] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tx2sturgis Posted January 31, 2011 Share #13 Posted January 31, 2011 Blown head gasket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TearlessTom Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share #14 Posted January 31, 2011 Blown head gasket. But if it was a head gasket wouldn't I have oil and water mixed in the crankcase...? I'm not hearing the puff puff puff normally heard with the head gasket. I guess it depends were it is blown...right? I will be taking the bike into the dealer on Wednesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wes0778 Posted January 31, 2011 Share #15 Posted January 31, 2011 I know I am running lean as I just put on some Samson exhaust and have not adjusted the carbs yet. (that was my plan for this weekend) Just a thought, but to keep down any unwanted questions, you might wanna consider putting the "stockers" back on before taking it to the shop. Oh and don't ride it in, as they may say you caused extensive damage, for which they would want you to pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TearlessTom Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share #16 Posted January 31, 2011 Just a thought, but to keep down any unwanted questions, you might wanna consider putting the "stockers" back on before taking it to the shop. Oh and don't ride it in, as they may say you caused extensive damage, for which they would want you to pay. Yes I already thought of that. That is why I am waiting till Wednesday so I can get my trailer back from a friend who used it to haul his HD's out to Navada last month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutKast Posted January 31, 2011 Share #17 Posted January 31, 2011 I believe some 07 had improperly torqued head gaskets. Warranty issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeWa Posted January 31, 2011 Share #18 Posted January 31, 2011 Condensation drip is nothing to get excited about. Especially if the engine/exhaust is not fully warmed up. Remember water is a byproduct of good combustion. Check the puddle to see if there is antifreeze or coolant in it. Also a headgasget leak bad enough to cause overheating should wash out the spark plug. Then pressure check the cooling system with the spark plugs out. Don't want a cylinder filling with coolant and bending a rod. Look in the cylinders for coolant. Look for external leaks. Crank the engine over a few times before reinstalling the plugs. Make sure the fan switch is working and the fan comes on when it is supposed to. Finally make sure there is no combustion gas in the coolant. (instant bubbles when the engine is started or gas analyzer) and don't overlook dye check. OR Take it in for a warranty check. A good dealer will figure out a way to bill Yamaha for it. And yes there were some headgasget problems with 07 models. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V7Goose Posted January 31, 2011 Share #19 Posted January 31, 2011 This quote from Tom's earlier post: "The below images and video's are what I found. Water coming out of my left tail pipe and the same smoke. It looks like condensation but the right side does not do this at all hot or cold. The left side does this both hot and cold." almost guarantees that it is a bad head gasket. "Smoke" when cold is condensation and normal, but if it continues to "smoke" after the engine is completely up to temperature, it either has a very bad problem with oil burning or coolant is getting into the cylinder. Goose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TearlessTom Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share #20 Posted January 31, 2011 I don't seem to have any oil burning and the plugs do not indicate any. I just changed the oil two months ago and looks great still. No oil smell. I do believe it is coolant as it is still there when warmed up. The system was out of coolant so I just added water to check for leaks. I will replace with coolant. The water would have to be going through the cylinder unless the leak is directly adjacent to the exhaust valve wouldn't it? I'm glad we seem to have a consensus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TearlessTom Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share #21 Posted February 26, 2011 Just wanted to give you all an up date and to thank you for your help! Monday was Presidents day so I had to wait till Tuesday to contact a rep. Talked to a very nice rep Tuesday morning. She got on the phone and called the dealer and got me some answers. Wednesday afternoon (36ish hours later)I got a call from the dealer and then later from the rep. Bike is fixed and ready to be picked up. Amazing!! They said they would let me know as soon as they tested the bike the previous Thursday. Never did hear back from them. As you know the bike had been in the shop for a month now. Called the manager... never heard back from him. Anyway, Tuesday morning they told her they tested the bike on Saturday and did not find a leak so now waiting on advise from Yamaha Technical support to figure out what to do next. I talked to the service manager again and he told me no leak in radiator system, so they would try to reproduce the overheat problem if they could. Turns out one of the front motor mount bolts had vibrated loose and fell into the fan. The fan could not turn which blew the fan fuse. Resulting in the bike overheating on the long trip we took that day. All of my other trips had been very short back and forth to work or on a cool day so it didn't overheat before. Well for once I am glad I was wrong about the cause of the problem. and to the dealers and service managers credit he covered the whole thing under warranty without any question or argument. Anyway, Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TearlessTom Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share #22 Posted February 26, 2011 Oh one more thing. My son must have ESP as he called me as I was getting ready to go pick up the bike. He wanted to borrow it for the weekend. So I did manage to ride it about 10 miles before he came to pick it up. I think I am going to have to start charging him rental fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter Bob Posted February 26, 2011 Share #23 Posted February 26, 2011 (edited) As you know the bike had been in the shop for a month now. ... Anyway, Tuesday morning they told her they tested the bike on Saturday and did not find a leak so now waiting on advise from Yamaha Technical support to figure out what to do next. You take a bike in for overheating, and it takes a month and a call to Mamma Yamma to figure out the FAN isn't working??? I wouldn't go there again! Later, Scooter Bob Edited February 26, 2011 by Scooter Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royalstar09 Posted February 26, 2011 Share #24 Posted February 26, 2011 You take a bike in for overheating, and it takes a month and a call to Mamma Yamma to figure out the FAN isn't working??? I wouldn't go there again! Later, Scooter Bob Cooling system diognosis is not really complicated. No matter what it is. It appears that the dealership got tunnelvision in that they were convinced it was a leak issue (possible headgasket). Sometimes this is from the service writer feeding to much into the customers diognoses. Obviously you have to pay attention, and listen to what the customer says, but then relay to the tech what is important, which in this case should have been you smelled coolant after a long ride and the overheat indicator light come on.......Now if the tech is not smart enough to check a fan as being a possible cause for an overheat then run-not walk- to another dealership. All this with none of us really knowing what transpired between you as the customer, service writer/manager, and service manager to technician. Either way a month for a cooling overheat indicator light is crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam Posted February 26, 2011 Share #25 Posted February 26, 2011 I missed P 2 of this thread and was leaning towards a head gasket in this case. Glad to hear it was other issues. Just keep an eye on it cause sometimes an over heat can weaken head gaskets frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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