Self Service - CAUTION - Nerver trust anyone!!!!

[ken750f]

Well, I am doing the 6k mile service myself (actually only have 5500 miles on it) and decided to also change the air filter and plugs..........GOOD THING I DID!!!!!!! Below is a pic of the Intake rubbers on the air filter housing - As you can see, one of them is F'D UP!!!! It was not sitting on the throttle body correctly and is damaged (out of shape and cracked)! Not sure when this occured - most likely from the dealer I bought it from as it does appear that the air box has been removed before. Either way, i am slightly frustrated as the Intake rubbers are GLUED in and appear difficult to replace (let alone find). :???:

Anyways, just a warning to my fellow riders - CHECK YOUR BIKE YOURSELF - this is the second time I have found something wrong on this bike. Always said since I bought it new I would not do the first 2 years service myself - I have now fully retracted that thought!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also, attached a pic of my air filter after only 5500 miles and as you can see it is pretty dirty - glad I didn't wait until 12k miles!!!

Thanks for listening guys - sometimes just venting frustration helps!!!!!!!!!! :hammer:

Here are the pics.....................:







Not sure how long the pics will stay up as I couldn't download them to my forum album for some reason and had to use another site.................

[ This message was edited by: ken750f on 2005-08-27 14:17 ]

[ken750f]

FYI - on the issue of the spark plug holes not sealing properly and retaining water causing corrision...........check out the pic below (and this is with only 5500 miles on the bike):



I have been aware of this ever since the mechanic I found told me about it and I have always been careful to not run water at high pressure on the top of the engine when cleaning the bike. I also use compressed air to dry the bike each time I wash it - this seems to be from when the bike was at the dealer as I watched them "high" pressure wash the bike when i went to pick it up............ The ports are dry - they just have a lot of corrosion in there - hopefully this won't be an issue next time I replace the plugs!

Also, the plug for the cylinder with the messed up Intake rubber is not burning properly. I have set the Intake rubber in an old carburetor (form my old CB750) that I had laying around and am hoping it will re-gain some of it's shape so I can get it back on the throttle body and sealed properly!!! We will see.............................. :hammer:

[ This message was edited by: ken750f on 2005-08-27 15:18 ]

[02S3]

I noticed the same problems while doing my 12k service. The number one cylinder intake trumpet was messed up and my number one and three plugs had a lot of corrosion. The intake trumpet can be ordered from your Triumph dealer at a cost of $25. They made a running change on the trumpet lengths so I had to cut the new one down to match the other two. They are glued in but the new ones don't need to be glued (as per my dealer) as they are a pretty tight fit. I've found the best way to seat them correctly is to install the bottom of the airbox first so you can see how they are attached from the inside and out. I'm assuming the dealer re-installed my airbox as a complete unit at my 600 mile service and couldn't see that there was a problem.

Yours doesn't look too bad. I don't see why you couldn't get a good seal as it is. Mine was a little more deformed.





[ This message was edited by: 02S3 on 2005-08-28 21:59 ]

[ken750f]

02S3,

Thanks for the heads up on the Intake Rubbers. I actually got mine to sit back on the throttler body with a little finessing. I heated the rubber and set it in an old carburetor then let sit over night - Got most of it's shape back and I was able to make sure it was seated on the throttle body.......It works if you work it!!!!!!!!!! Where have I heard that before............ :hammer:

My plug pic got deleted, but mine looked exactly the same (number 1 & 2 cylinder plugs). Biggest issue I had with that was removing all of the corrosion from the port prior to installing the new plugs ---------I jerry rigged my shop vac hose down to a 1/4 inch and sucked it all out. Also, on the number 1 plug, the crush washer was stuck to the cylinder head and did not come out with the plug............ . Had to get a hanger out and play with it for about an hour before I finally got it out!!!!!!!!

It's all good now................got all the problems sorted out and the bike back together. Made for a long weekend though!!!!!!! Anyways, rode her to work this morning and everything seems fine......................... :-D

Again thanks for the info on the intake rubbers. At least I know if I do need to replace it next time that it is not too big an issue.........................

Ken

[DwarF]

What's up with that corrosion? Did you ride it in the rain? Is that due to the plug nut composition? That looks like something that had been sitting outdoors for a couple years!

[Martin_R]

On 2005-08-29 13:35, DwarF wrote:
What's up with that corrosion? Did you ride it in the rain? Is that due to the plug nut composition? That looks like something that had been sitting outdoors for a couple years!

It is due to the design of the 955 engine. The plug recesses are designed so that any water that gets in there has no route to drain off.

So instead of being outdoors for a couple of years the plugs have probably been underwater for couple of years.

I have not checked yet if the 1050 design is any better or are we going to have the same rustcollectors in our S3s.

[ken750f]

Dwarf, Martin_R,

Just to clarify on the spark plug issue with regards to my bike...........the bike was un-crated in Aug 2004 (only 1yr ago), has only 5500 miles on her, I have yet to ride in the rain, and I have been careful when washing not to "blast" the top of the motor with water and dry the bike with compressed air immediately after washing. I am assuming that the bulk of the water that got in there is from when the dealer high pressure washed the bike prior to my picking it up. So, the longest the plugs have been exposed to water is a year!!!! Problem is, like Martin_R said, there is no where for the water to go, so any water that gets in there just sits there and corrodes the plugs and the inside of the ports.

Would recommend that all S3 owners have the issue checked out on their bikes and always be cautious when washing the bike. For those that ride in the rain more often then not, would recommend checking the plugs every so often rather then waiting until the recommended 18,000 mile service interval. Glad I didn't wait................ :hammer:

[Geof3]

Wow,

This should be pointed out to Triumph... I would think they would want to be aware.