Bad Head Gasket, 05 Tiger

[Mustang]

For some reason, I'm really looking forward to getting my engine pulled...........

Cheers

I like to get my engine pulled too .............oh nevermind different engine ,  

[Lordy]

Hey bloke,

Jeez mate, cold?  You jokers don't know what cold is!!!! Winter isn't finished here yet and we have has at least 5 days that started at -4deg C so far... and hells bells there have even been a couple that haven't got up to 10deg C.  Whats wrong with you blokes????   Bunch of bloody sooks I recon. Mind you, head north of here for 10 or 12 hrs and it is shorts and tee shirts in the dead of winter and that is a real task to put up with  

I am sure you'll find all is well with your engine, they do have a reputation for being "bullet proof".  

I will attach a pic of my beastie packed for almost month away of camping out and touring. Flick me an e-mail if you want me to forward a few pics from the ride.  We went up through (get your atlas out) central New South Wales and Central Queensland to Noth Queensland coast and across to Gulf of Carpentaria then south and back through Central Queesland again and back to Canberra via mid western New South Wales, just under 8,000klms

Take care and safe riding

Peter

[The Kurgan]

I like to get my engine pulled too .............oh nevermind different engine

Mustang:
My wife takes care of the pulling for me.  8)

[The Kurgan]

Hey bloke,

Jeez mate, cold?  You jokers don't know what cold is!!!! Winter isn't finished here yet and we have has at least 5 days that started at -4deg C so far... and hells bells there have even been a couple that haven't got up to 10deg C.  Whats wrong with you blokes????   Bunch of bloody sooks I recon. Mind you, head north of here for 10 or 12 hrs and it is shorts and tee shirts in the dead of winter and that is a real task to put up with  

I am sure you'll find all is well with your engine, they do have a reputation for being "bullet proof".

Peter

Peter;
God bless you, but I feel I should respond...

If it only went down to -4 degrees Celcius in the winter here (in Canada), I'd be running around in my freaking boxer shorts and wife beater shirt! In the winter, we can get down to -30 degrees Celcius, and trust me, that is COLD!  :lol: Whenever the temperature gets "up" to anything over -8 degrees Celcius I often go for a ride!

Nice ride dude. I always liked the orange. I met a guy just yesterday riding a 2003 Tiger in Lucifer Orange, and it was a beaut. BTW, this guy apparently rides ALL season here. Crazy devil. He lives in a town that gets a hell of a lot colder than my home town!

BTW, could you please resize your photo? It just made the entire thread longer than my kitchen table. :)


Cheers, and rubber side down. :roll:    

[eldiii]

I went to the shop on Thursday to check on the bike and see if Triumph US would cover the work as Triumph of Canada as done.  Tim (Triumph of Windber) called and was told that only Canadian bikes would be covered under waranty. :(  So us folks in the Northern US don't have cold enough weather as it was determined that extreme cold weather under certain conditions damages the gasket.  Funny though, the original gasket was discontinued, all bikes requiring a new gasket will get a thicker, redesigned one to fix the cold weather problem.

I personally think this is BS; I've got 40K on the bike with zero problems till now.  These engines should not be having this problem; it's a bad gasket design and Triumph should own up (buck up $) under warranty!  Starting to sound like Harley....

I'll share my pain with all when I get the bill,

eldiii

Ed

[Stretch]

These engines should not be having this problem; it's a bad gasket design and Triumph should own up (buck up $) under warranty!  Starting to sound like Harley....

Truth.

[The Kurgan]

Just an update:

The dealer came by my house to pick-up my Tiger for the head gasket change. It will be ready by Tuesday! They insisted on picking it up as opposed to me riding it there.  :D

I had already removed the tank and seats to see how things looked underneath and to check the coolant and air filter (which, BTW, didn`t have a grain of dust on it). They told me not to bother putting the tank on. I know why!... what a royal pain in the a$$. They have a spare tank they will use.

Anyway, the dealer was surprized to see that my 2005 model Tiger had the earlier composite head gasket and not the newer layered metal gasket. They think mine is a VERY early 2005 model  :?:

They were also surprized to learn I had the plastic fuel plugs. They will be replacing those with the metal ones as per Triumph recall.

I also noticed the allen-head oil sump bolt (at bottom front of engine) was also weeping... so they'll be taking care of that as well.  :lol:

The mechanic is going to call me when he has the engine apart... and has allowed me to take detailed digital photos of all the internal parts... I'll post them as soon as I can for those that are interested. He told me that the 955i engine is normally bullet proof and that the pistons and cyclinders will likely look perfect. I`ll see about that.

Lastly, the mechanic, who seems very knowledgeable, will be giving my engine the full monty to ensure maximum power and performance... whatever that means.  :P

To add to the excellent customer service, they also insisted on my taking a demo Tiger for the weekend.  8)

Overall, I am quite excited and hopeful.

Cheers.

[Stretch]

That's the kind of customer service I wish we heard more of.

[The Kurgan]

These engines should not be having this problem; it's a bad gasket design and Triumph should own up (buck up $) under warranty!  Starting to sound like Harley....

Truth.

Yep, agreed. Bad gasket design.

[The Kurgan]

That's the kind of customer service I wish we heard more of.

Best customer service I've ever experienced... and I've owned plenty of Jap motorcycles. Now, I just hope the work is done well!  :D

[The Kurgan]

New, updated, ALL METAL head gasket:







No more leaks (SO FAR).  :lol:  :D

The dealer did an excellent job, and I couldn't be happier. For some reason my Tiger sounds quieter at idle now.  :?:

[Stretch]

Well, I attempted to re-torque my head this afternoon, but the last fool to adjust the valves must have removed the cams to do the job, because the cam bearing cap bolts were so damned tight, I broke two T-30 Torx bits trying to loosen them.

I hope my head was re-torqued while the cams were off then, because it sure ain't gonna happen now.

Damned dealers.   :roll:

[The Kurgan]

Well, I attempted to re-torque my head this afternoon, but the last fool to adjust the valves must have removed the cams to do the job, because the cam bearing cap bolts were so damned tight, I broke two T-30 Torx bits trying to loosen them.

I hope my head was re-torqued while the cams were off then, because it sure ain't gonna happen now.

Damned dealers.   :roll:

Bloody hell, what a pain! I can't believe any competent tech would over-torque into an aluminum head.

If you still have your cam cover off, why don't you try using vice-grips on the cam cap screws? You will likely knacker the screw head, but the screw is easily replaceable.

BTW, are you experiencing any coolant weepage or is this just a preventative exercise?

[Stretch]

Vise-Grips didn't work.

I'm not experiencing any weeping at all, but after reading this thread a few months ago, I thought it would be a good idea to re-torque the head.

[walker]

the manual calls for step torque as:

stage 1 - 20nm (~15ft/lbs)
stage 2 - 27nm (~20ft/lbs)
stage 3 - 90 degrees

so the fix is slightly higher torque values initially? 10ft/lbs more each stage? Wonder if it should have been that from the factory.... maybe that's why they are leaking.