951 Smoke from pisser

[CreekerMike]

Somethin funny is goin on here. Looks like a milkshake. Water and oil. Not sure is thats part of the issue or just a byproduct.

 

[mikidymac]

That's not good at all. The 951 is known to get condensation but that looks like a lot more than that.

At this point I would suspect a head gasket.

Can you turn the engine over by hand and see if the top of the piston looks like it has been steam cleaned?

 

[mikidymac]

Not sure what this sludge is about. So far the pipe and gasket appear to be in good condition. No visible water marking or anything to indicate a sign of a leak. Im gonna fire up the compressor and blow the pipe out. See if i get any sand or debris. Stay tuned.

From this picture it looks like one cylinder is nice and rich and the other is getting water into it.

 

[CreekerMike]

That's not good at all. The 951 is known to get condensation but that looks like a lot more than that.

At this point I would suspect a head gasket.

Can you turn the engine over by hand and see if the top of the piston looks like it has been steam cleaned?

Well I cant get a good shot of the piston but i do see a milkshake coming down from the top of the jugs. Ill be pullin the head shortly. Guess the head gasket would make sense. All that pressure feeding into the ehxaust was the steam i was seeing from the pisser.

 

[CreekerMike]

Nice milky plug
Also oil filling this passsge

 

[CreekerMike]

It indeed was a blown head gasket. Heres some pics of my findings after pulling the head.
I think ill be putting on my spare head when i reassemble the engine. That pitting isnt gonna fly!

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

White motor the water flowed in opposite direction, not familiar with those details but it's different from silver 951. FWIW

 

[mikidymac]

White motor the water flowed in opposite direction, not familiar with those details but it's different from silver 951. FWIW

Yes. Just like I said in post #21.

But you are correct. They got a lot of stuff wrong with the 1997.5 white 951.

 

[mikidymac]

Glad you solved the mystery. It’s not that uncommon on the 951. Make sure you use an OEM gasket and follow the manual to the letter including all the recommended sealants.

 

[CreekerMike]

Glad you solved the mystery. It’s not that uncommon on the 951. Make sure you use an OEM gasket and follow the manual to the letter including all the recommended sealants.

Luckily when I originally assembled my 951 I read about people having head gasket issues so I bought 2. Already have it out there on the work bench waiting to be put back together. That got me thinking though would I see much benifit in buying a O ring head with domes and running 91 or 93? Also I owe you a big thanks for all the input and diagrams miki!

 

[mikidymac]

No. The 951 is already highly stressed as is.

Also the o-ring heads have an even harder time sealing than the stock gasket.

It also wouldn’t hurt to retorque the head after the first heat cycle.

 

[AKnarrowback]

Can't be too careful, might wanna see a doctor about that smoking pisser. Make sure the cylinder drain tube isn't blocked as well.

First thing I thought when I read that title was "penicillin".

 

[CreekerMike]

First thing I thought when I read that title was "penicillin".

Had to grab everyones attention somehow

 

[CreekerMike]

So a little update!
Unfortunately the spare head I had was in worse condition than I remembered...
SO steel stik came to the rescue! I filled in the pitting on the head with some Steel Stik then trimmed it down with a razor blade and sanded it. Now I know this may be frowned upon but im curious as to how it will fair. So im gonna run it. I copper coated the head gasket and installed the head. Making sure to follow the torque sequence little by little. Ive seen mixed numbers in owners manuals and on forums from between 25 to 35 for the bolts and studs so i just decided to go to 35 with blue loctite. After my first ride ill be retorquing the bolts and studs. Once again thanks to everyone for helping to solve my issue and thanks for the bits of comedy.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

@CreekerMike, I have to ask if your torque wrench is out of calibration. The last time I had an issue similar to this with a head gasket it was b/c I failed to torque the head properly.

 

[mikidymac]

I wouldn’t use loctite because you will want to retorque the head and the loctite will be useless.

This is really only necessary with the composite head Gaskets not the o-ring ones.

 

[CreekerMike]

@CreekerMike, I have to ask if your torque wrench is out of calibration. The last time I had an issue similar to this with a head gasket it was b/c I failed to torque the head properly.

I think the wrench is calibrated or atleast close there was just a small bit of pitting on the head and that lead to cataclysmic head gasket failure.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

I see, the gasket was eaten up surprisingly well. I thought the gasket was tougher than that.

 

[CreekerMike]

I see, the gasket was eaten up surprisingly well. I thought the gasket was tougher than that.

I think a combination of heat, pressure, and brackish water accounted for that sort of blow out.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

The stock head gasket is steel though, maybe stainless as most marine head gaskets? I haven't done a 951 yet, but that was what I expected to see (assumed). My day is coming, it's just a matter of when, lol.

 

[mikidymac]

Once they start going though the combustion gassed and steam just keep burning the hole bigger.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Once they start going though the combustion gassed and steam just keep burning the hole bigger.

Ya think? Really? Yes of course once a leak occurs they will get torched.

Often there's a reason though, like incorrect choice of gasket material/type.

 

[CreekerMike]

Ya think? Really? Yes of course once a leak occurs they will get torched.

Often there's a reason though, like incorrect choice of gasket material/type.

In my case I believe the small amount of pitting from the start allowed water in somewhere it shouldnt have been and that was the begining of the end for that gasket. In the case that theres a fresh head and deck to mate with then there shouldnt be any reason for the head gasket to fail aside from a huge amount of hours. But being that this is a 951 were talking about, there will probably be other large failures before those hours are achieved.

 

[Sportster-2001-951C-Stock]

Ok, "pitting from the start". Got it.

 

[CreekerMike]

Ok, "pitting from the start". Got it.

Thats just a hunch though. I Only have one picture of the head I used before I ran it and due to the large amount of gasket material on it I cant very well tell how severe or not severe the pitting was.