Well here's the story. Traveling cross country and bike is weeping coolant so I drive to San Francisco trying to keep an eye on the fluid level and never having any problems with the bike overheating while driving at high speeds. I finally make it to San Fran where I was going to replace the pump and literally 6 blocks from my destination the bike overheats and cuts out on me, ugh! I add more coolant to get it to a spot where I can park it and now the bike sounds different? My question is how bad could over heating the motor enough for it to cutout be ? And should I take it to the dealer here to have them look at it? I was planning on buying a used h2o pump off eBay but am thinking the damage could be more entailed now because of the bike over hearing. My fingers are crossed that's not the case. Any help or recommendations would be much appreciated as always. I'm writing this on my iPhone and did some searching beforehand to no avail.
Help in San Francisco ....
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Hi Gus,
Sorry to read this. Could you describe how it sounds different?
I'd hate to think you could have damaged the head gasket, or, worse yet, scarred a cylinder, but it could happen. The guys who have been thru this probably could help with what you need to do in a methodical, orderly fashion. I would suggest pulling the plugs, inspecting them. Drain the oil and look for any water in it, or metal. After that, probably a leakdown test. Then you might be able to tell if the head needs to come off. I haven't been thru this on one of these engines, and I hope not to, so I'm just offering up what I think might be the best way to go after it.
I hope it's not serious, Gus. Best of luck to you...
Sorry to read this. Could you describe how it sounds different?
I'd hate to think you could have damaged the head gasket, or, worse yet, scarred a cylinder, but it could happen. The guys who have been thru this probably could help with what you need to do in a methodical, orderly fashion. I would suggest pulling the plugs, inspecting them. Drain the oil and look for any water in it, or metal. After that, probably a leakdown test. Then you might be able to tell if the head needs to come off. I haven't been thru this on one of these engines, and I hope not to, so I'm just offering up what I think might be the best way to go after it.
I hope it's not serious, Gus. Best of luck to you...
Well, the bad news is overheating heavily could be catastrophic. Worst case, blown head gasket and warped head. Really want to be scared? A blown head gasket could easily dump coolant into the oil and kill the bottom end too.
Chances are that's not the case though unless you really cooked it.
How does it sound different? Tough question to answer I know. Is it missing? Does the engine feel rough/course? Does it seem to run fine except for the sound?
Where are you currently? There are several Triumph shops in the bay area who could likely take a quick look at it for you on short notice if you explain the situation. In SF itself you've got munroe motors, in Mountain View (south of SF toward San Jose) you have California Triumph/BMW, in the east bay in Concord you have ACE motorsports, in the north bay in San Rafael are Hatter Motorsports, and even further into the east bay in Livermore is TriValley (part of Cal Triumph under a different name). All of them are multi-brand dealers with service shops. I've personally used Cal as I've bought several bikes from them, and most people speak well of Munroe though I don't use them as I hate going into the city. They do field a race team though, so you would hope they know their way around engine failures.
I'm not exactly local; I live about 75 miles from San Fran up towards Sacramento, but I'll be in the north bay this afternoon. I'm sure some of the local guys wil be able to help you out, but if not feel free to call my cell 510-825-5056 and I'll see what I can do for you. Worst case I've got a truck, ramp, and well stocked garage...it's just not as close as you might like.
First thing I would do is check the oil. Look at the oil on the dip stick. Is it the same as always? Or does it look like a milk shake? If the later, don't run the thing as you've got coolant in the oil and you'll kill the rods and mains.
Keep us posted. I won't be able to get on-line much after about 9:00, but there are a LOT of members on this forum from this area and I'm sure we can get you sorted out.
Good luck!
Chances are that's not the case though unless you really cooked it.
How does it sound different? Tough question to answer I know. Is it missing? Does the engine feel rough/course? Does it seem to run fine except for the sound?
Where are you currently? There are several Triumph shops in the bay area who could likely take a quick look at it for you on short notice if you explain the situation. In SF itself you've got munroe motors, in Mountain View (south of SF toward San Jose) you have California Triumph/BMW, in the east bay in Concord you have ACE motorsports, in the north bay in San Rafael are Hatter Motorsports, and even further into the east bay in Livermore is TriValley (part of Cal Triumph under a different name). All of them are multi-brand dealers with service shops. I've personally used Cal as I've bought several bikes from them, and most people speak well of Munroe though I don't use them as I hate going into the city. They do field a race team though, so you would hope they know their way around engine failures.
I'm not exactly local; I live about 75 miles from San Fran up towards Sacramento, but I'll be in the north bay this afternoon. I'm sure some of the local guys wil be able to help you out, but if not feel free to call my cell 510-825-5056 and I'll see what I can do for you. Worst case I've got a truck, ramp, and well stocked garage...it's just not as close as you might like.
First thing I would do is check the oil. Look at the oil on the dip stick. Is it the same as always? Or does it look like a milk shake? If the later, don't run the thing as you've got coolant in the oil and you'll kill the rods and mains.
Keep us posted. I won't be able to get on-line much after about 9:00, but there are a LOT of members on this forum from this area and I'm sure we can get you sorted out.
Good luck!
When it died on me I was at a stop light and it was literally right before I had a chance to hit the kill switch. I wasn't driving at high speeds or anything like that when it started to get hot. It was also mighty cool outside. It currently just sounds a bit more pingy to me but that could be because it's not currently cooling correctly. I would normally pull into the garage and do all of those things you recommended myself, but I'm a long way from Kentucky. I could be over reacting but for some reason I'm expecting the worst.
Thanks for all the invaluable info friend and if it comes down to it 75 miles isn't that far away for me. I'll check the oil like you said and go from there. I think there is a triumph dealer very close to me I'm staying with a friend on Dolores St.
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Gus: Sorry to hear about the breakdown. If you're on Dolores St, then you might even be walking distance from Munroe Motors at Valencia St & 15th, they'll be your closest source of info, service, parts, etc.
I live in downtown SF, though I'm out of town this weekend, back Sunday night. Live in a condo building so I can't offer a garage for tear-down work, but I'd be more than happy to provide any local knowledge I can, drive you around if you need a lift someplace, picking up parts, etc. Don't hesitate to send a PM if there's anything I can do.
_Trip
I live in downtown SF, though I'm out of town this weekend, back Sunday night. Live in a condo building so I can't offer a garage for tear-down work, but I'd be more than happy to provide any local knowledge I can, drive you around if you need a lift someplace, picking up parts, etc. Don't hesitate to send a PM if there's anything I can do.
_Trip
Hey Kit, it was weeping from the little hole on the side of the water pump. I thought I was keeping tabs well enough on the fluid level but I guess that wasn't the case. It only actually got hot the one time here in SF when it overheated on me. It stayed a bit above the C 2nd line the rest of the time where it normally stayed before the leakage started. I'm still wanting for Munroe motors to call me if they can fit me in today but I'm not sure if they have an opening or not but everyone was super cool there.
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The crew at Munroe are all pretty solid. I know they're booking service appts 7-10 days out now as they're quite busy. If this had happened on Thurs I could have given you my time slot with their service dept, had my Sprint in their shop taking care of a few odds & ends...Keep us posted and drop a line if you need anything!
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I'll be up in city this evening, but unfortunately won't be able to help at that time
Looked on EBay real quick for you and found this one down in S Cal - worth seeing if any way he can get this out to you today, or at worst Monday - you would have by Tuesday making the short trip from down there
http://www.ebay.com/itm/01-02-03-Da...Parts_Accessories&hash=item3369224a2b&vxp=mtr
Here's one off a pretty low miles late model S3
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TRIUMPH-SPE...Parts_Accessories&hash=item45f3a2c6e0&vxp=mtr
or
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Triumph-Spe...Parts_Accessories&hash=item46058a5e9c&vxp=mtr
Recognize you are also concerned about the sound ....
Any way to post up a video?
Looked on EBay real quick for you and found this one down in S Cal - worth seeing if any way he can get this out to you today, or at worst Monday - you would have by Tuesday making the short trip from down there
http://www.ebay.com/itm/01-02-03-Da...Parts_Accessories&hash=item3369224a2b&vxp=mtr
Here's one off a pretty low miles late model S3
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TRIUMPH-SPE...Parts_Accessories&hash=item45f3a2c6e0&vxp=mtr
or
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Triumph-Spe...Parts_Accessories&hash=item46058a5e9c&vxp=mtr
Recognize you are also concerned about the sound ....
Any way to post up a video?
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234 Posts
Gus - You're welcome to use my address for shipping if you need a local place to receive parts/gear.
_Trip
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87 Posts
Gus, I sent you a PM.
Hey guys, I got the sprint into munroe late Saturday. Unfortunately I won't know until tomorrow it's status. I also have a guy bringing in a water pump I bought of eBay in tomorrow afternoon. I checked the oil before heading to munroes and it looked like it should so I don't think anything mixed down there. I'm hoping to be back on the road Wednesday if all goes well, fingers crossed. Ive been trying to enjoy SF a bit and not worry about the bike so much. All the info, help, and support from you guys have provided has been amazing. Its really nice to have a resource like this. I'll post another update tomorrow as soon as I hear from Munroe.
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Cool, glad to hear you're getting things sorted out. There are worse places to be stuck than SF...ask me how I know 
Hopefully you get away with just the water pump and coolant flush/change with no major collateral damage. In the meantime, as long as you're hanging out around the Mission district, stop into Velvet Cantina for some tasty Mexican food!
I'm back in town now & still happy to help out if needed.
When you're getting back on the road, let us know if you want any tips on local riding -- routes, food stops, etc -- Tons of great riding to be had in the area!
Hopefully you get away with just the water pump and coolant flush/change with no major collateral damage. In the meantime, as long as you're hanging out around the Mission district, stop into Velvet Cantina for some tasty Mexican food!
I'm back in town now & still happy to help out if needed.
When you're getting back on the road, let us know if you want any tips on local riding -- routes, food stops, etc -- Tons of great riding to be had in the area!
Yes to all of these:Cool, glad to hear you're getting things sorted out. There are worse places to be stuck than SF...ask me how I know
Hopefully you get away with just the water pump and coolant flush/change with no major collateral damage. In the meantime, as long as you're hanging out around the Mission district, stop into Velvet Cantina for some tasty Mexican food!
I'm back in town now & still happy to help out if needed.
When you're getting back on the road, let us know if you want any tips on local riding -- routes, food stops, etc -- Tons of great riding to be had in the area!
Worse places to be stuck - blew a transmission on my truck just outside Saint Louise years ago. Lame.
I'll be passing through the SF area with my truck and tools this week, so by all means let me know if you need anything.
And as for routes, yes - we have lots of good stuff within a day's ride of here. In fact, let me go ahead and suggest that you head east to Yosemite if you haven't already been there - it's going to start getting cold in the Sierras before long, and you're outside the huge tourist time right now. Heck, I'll be there next weekend myself!
But whatever direction you're headed we can find you some 'must see' roads.
For example, just a little south of you on the Peninsula is Alice's Restaurant. Worth a stop on a Sat/Sun morning as it's a popular bike hangout/meeting place and there are some nice rides along there.
http://www.alicesrestaurant.com/
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