Here's a Hail Mary! I'm halfway across Canada in Portage La Prairie Manitoba on my 09 KLX 351. Yesterday I noticed a little oil seeping from the gasket. I just stopped after a 700km day and noticed that now as well as oil, the overflow tank is full of coolant and some has burped out. No overheating but I still have 2000km to get home and I don't think I'm likely to make it. I'm going to call Bill in the morning with my fingers crossed that he has a set of gaskets in stock. Meanwhile I thought I'd put it out there that any suggestions would be appreciated

 

Recheck the head bolt torque?

 

He should have them in stock, when I asked for a pair of them a few weeks back I had them 2 days later. I presume he just has a box of them sitting around.

Good luck getting home! Blown head gaskets suck, been there....oh have I been there. It will continuously blow pressure into the radiators, this isn't neccessarily a problem in the short term, but over time it will increase the amount of exposure between the head and the cylinder.

I'd worry about a failure to adequately cool the thing should you ride more than a few hundred KM. It's not worth destroying your top end to go further.

So the only thing you really can do is re-check the head bolt torque, in case they vibrated loose and you forgot to put locktite on them.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Of course I woke myself up in this little motel dreaming about getting this problem fixed. Bill was telling me that I'd have to soak the block in thread cleaner. Dreams don't always make sense. Anyway, I've got my tool kit with me but not the stuff I'd need to get to and torque the head bolts. I'm going to run the 100km or so to Winnipeg where there is more of a selection of repair shops. Been through the listings and a couple of them look pretty good. I'll wait till they open so I can call to see who has time to get into it. I hope I can get Bill on the phone too for his thoughts.

 

Bill answered the phone at the breakfast table this morning. What a great guy. He agrees with re-torquing the bolts but not past 36ft/lbs. he's sending me a set of gaskets too but they'll be going to my place so if this doesn't work I'll be looking to put the bike on a truck headed east. Other than this issue I'm extremely happy with the big bore, I've been riding my 250 for some time now and it's a huge improvement.

 

Found a great little shop in Portage la Prairie. Jason and the guys at the Busted Knuckle Garage really came through. Had it torn down and torqued in no time. Took half a turn to bring the bolts into spec. What a relief! I just did the 70km to winnipeg with no sign of leakage. Back on the road. Yay!!

Thanks to everyone who helped. It's great to have a community when out on the road.

 

Well that was a nice turn of events.


Locktite on head bolts? Are we supposed to do this? The manual calls for molybdenum disulphide grease.

 

No Locktite for me, Thank you

 

No locktite here, just a good torque wrench application with copper head goop, no problems.

 

No, Loctite can jack with the proper torque. Moly grease, antiseize, and some other substances are recommended for proper torque feedback and help when breaking the engine down in the future. A steel bolt galling in an aluminum block or cylinder is a lovely thought.