Triumphrat

whoa · 12-29-2004

Got in a three hour ride Sunday with no overheating at all. This morning when I just ran it by the dealer to show them the gas leak (about four miles) the temp gauge went into the red and steam was pouring out the fairing. So I let her cool, then eased to the shop.

I'm told this is a normal condition, that this engine develops quite a few air pockets which take a while to work out. The cause is an air bubble at the sensor causing the quick rise. And once the bubble passes the sensor will show back in a normal range.

One of the customers in the shop suggested I run it at home until the fans kick in, then let it settle for a bit and repeat the process quite a few times.

When I mentioned the long ride on Sunday he said that normally doesn't cause this but several short runs will.

So what is the general procedure to get this settled and how do you know when the engine is really overheating?

Spacecom · 12-29-2004

Whoa...

Yes, the cooling system can get air bubbles, However, there is a procedure for bleeding the bubbles out that the shop should be able to do...

Also, my '02 ended up with a faulty pressure cap, causing it to over-heat and spit fluid...

whoa · 12-29-2004

I'm pretty sure the comment about the air bubble is right since temp has not been a problem until today. It still dumps coolant every time I stop but was told that will happen until the air gets out of the cooling system.

When you had the problem with the pressure cap, was it running hot all the time? Did the shop have to confirm that was the problem or was there something you did to tell for sure?

Still don't have my repair manual but it is on order.
Thanks
David

Spacecom · 12-29-2004

Whoa...

It was boiling and spitting some fluid when I turned it off... The temp varied... The shop actually had to do a test on the cap to find out what was going on... All I knew was that the water in the overflow was not clean looking anymore and when the engine was running, the overflow appeared to be bubbling... I actually thought that I had a blown head gasket...

Still the best bike I have owned... :-D

BigStripey · 12-29-2004

I'll wager that it is almost certainly the pressure cap. All the symptoms you describe fit the bill. I have had the same problem twice on my Tigers.

It is not worth the hassle of going back and forth to the shop with it only for the dealer to faff about with it. Just get a new cap and pop it on yourself. If you have small hands this can be done without disturbing anything. Otherwise you can just loosen off the fixings and ease the front of the tank up a bit to get access to the cap.

whoa · 12-29-2004

Thanks guys. Sounds like a simple fix. I also noticed the coolant looked discolored. I'll pick up the cap when I get my manual.

So I ran it a while this afternoon and the temp gauge went between high normal and mid red. Finally after about thirty minutes of this it belched fluid and went into the mid to low normal range and stayed there.

It sounds like this is expected but it was bugging me to drive around with the temp gauge up so high.

[ This message was edited by: whoa on 2004-12-29 22:49 ]

djr · 12-30-2004

Quote:

I'm told this is a normal condition, that this engine develops quite a few air pockets which take a while to work out. The cause is an air bubble at the sensor causing the quick rise. And once the bubble passes the sensor will show back in a normal range.

Sorry but this is NOT NORMAL. If there is air in the system your mechanic has ballsed up when filling it. get them to sort it out. Any overheating of your engine can be potentially very expensive. I hate it when so called mechs dealers come away with***** like that.

whoa · 12-30-2004

Your right djr, poor wording on my part. He did not say normal but that the problem was not unusual, that is having air in the system. He described squeezing hoses as the system is filled but said any air remaining in the system would work out as the system heats and cools.

And he said the engine was not actually overheating but the sensor was being thrown off by sensing heat in an air pocket.

Lastly, after the last belch the temp did get down and stay in the normal range. But as Spacecom and BigStripey pointed out, I'll replace the pressure cap anyway. It's $15 and sounds simple enough to replace.

whoa · 12-31-2004

And I found this on another forum and may explain why I had the belch that blew some coolant out.

--snip--
$100 (US) later - I have a new thermostat and a complete coolant flush and refil. The idle is perfect and the temp is perfect. They tell me that you can get an air bubble in the system a variety of ways, but the rusult it that it can migrate to the water pump and make the water pump produce almost no pressure to drive the water around. The water in the hot places boils and tries to push out through the overflow tank. When you cut it off, the air pocket contracts and drains the overflow tank