Head Gasket Blown?

JonDV

Standard Bore
Joined
Jul 30, 2013
Messages
5
Location
Blyton, UK
Hi,
I'm new to the forum and would really appreciated your thoughts.

I've got a 2009 TR Classic.

Had it 1 week. First ride out, hot day last week, top of the header tank blew and coolant sprayed everywhere. Before it blew it looked like there was steam coming from underneath the bike, where the overflow to the header tank is.

I called a breakdown service out and they told me that the head gasket had blown.

Bikes still under warranty so I've sent it back to the garage.

The garage say they've pressure tested the cooling system and it is not the head gasket.

They say the fan wasn't kicking in, and so the bike had overheated and blown the top off the header tank.

I'm sceptical, and would be more inclined to believe the breakdown service. Anyone had any experience of this? Could the fan failing to kick in cause the header to blow etc?

Apologies if these are stupid questions. thanks in advance.
 
I ran my bike in stop 'n go traffic about a month ago on a very hot day and my coolant temp light came on pretty early in my ride. I was freaking out. Once I got on the highway, the light went off and I got home okay. I rode about 30km with the light on and another 70km on the highway.

I checked my coolant levels and hoses and it looked fine. It turned out to be a blown fuse for the fan. Of course, I discovered this after stressing about the coolant temp for about an hour.

The fan will not come on if there is sufficient air hitting the rad. At highway speeds, the fan should probably not come on, unless it is 35-40 celsius out. (104F) In city riding, especially during rush hour, your fan will cycle quite a bit.

As far as your header blowing, I can't help you there. I suppose if you ride it long enough under intense pressure and heat, it might pop. My bike used to leak fluid out of the cap until I swapped it for a new one. It seemed to have a crappy seal, even with that little set screw.

Either way, your ride is under warranty so the shop should find the issue and take care of it.
 
Thanks for that. The shop should sort it out, but I've only got a short warranty on it and the cynical side of me says fixing the fan is a much cheaper fix than the header...
 
Either way just ride the crap out of it while its under warranty and see what else happens to it. Welcome to the nut house anyway
 
at the top of radiator you have the rad cap that should exhaust any pressure that exceeds a certain amount (best guess 14 lbs). in the aux. tank there should not be pressure. i am not sure what you are calling the header tank. if the rad tank split you probably just need a new rad. when you get it back you need to watch out for water leaks and water in engine. water in engine will turn the oil like a milk shake. you can also loosen the engine drain bolts and see if any water comes out.
 
I dont know for sure but if this happened under warrenty and is documented it should still be covered even after warrenty expires. Might depend on the shop.
 
Thanks again for the replies. By header tank I don't mean the radiator itself, I mean the plastic tank next to the fuel tank?
 
Oh, your coolant overflow. Did it crack and leak, or come out the top from where you can fill it? It is possible it was too full and the heat expansion caused it to relieve itself.
 
I have had 2 blown head gasket one was on my 06 classic which leaked antifreeze the other was on my 08 r3t which leaked oil and both bikes did this right around 10000 miles both was fixed under warranty
 
JonDV said:
Thanks for that. The shop should sort it out, but I've only got a short warranty on it and the cynical side of me says fixing the fan is a much cheaper fix than the header...
Click to expand...

Are we talking Triumph dealer here or an indi? If Triumph I wouldn't worry too much, they will know you can go to Triumph and complain if necessary.

If an indi and you have concerns about them, put it in writing stating the length of time between purchase and failure, what the recovery told you the problem was and let them know that the initial problem is subject to warranty even if the final cure goes beyond the stated warranty period. This will be very useful if you have to go to a small claims court.
 
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