That Sweet White Smoke

Discuss everything about Honda GoldWing. Feel free to ask any question related to GoldWing.

Moderators: CYBORG, Oldewing, robin1731, Forum Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
jdvorchak
Honored Life Member
Honored Life Member
Posts: 5238
Joined: Mon May 25, 2009 8:01 pm
Location: East Alton, IL

Re: That Sweet White Smoke

#46

Post by jdvorchak »

Openroad, first of all welcome to the forum. It would really be helpful if you city state in your location on your profile. Who knows there may be one of us very near you.

As for the leak. I am not sure which hole you are talking about. There is a "weep" hole on the bottom of the engine just behind where the lower radiator hose connects to the engine crankcase. Is that the hole you're talking about? If so that is a hint that possibly your water pump is ready to fail. A moderately hard job and time consuming to replace but lots of folks here have done it with great success and as a result learned a lot about working on their Goldwing. Does it leak all the time or just overnight while it's sitting there? How much coolant are you seeing in the morning? A few drops? A cup full? Check your engine oil dipstick. Does it look like good clean oil or a milkshake? If it looks like a milk shake it could be a couple of things but most likely a bad water pump.

Do yourself a favor and see if you can do your own post to start the discussions. Title it water leak or something like that. Also pictures are great. We like pictures!

Once again welcome and we hope you enjoy your visits here.
New users please visit our "Shop Talk" for common tips and help:
http://ngwclub.com/forum/page/ST


Don't fix it 'til it's broke...
The person with the most toys wins!
If it has wheels or a skirt you can't afford it.
Amateur Radio Station WW9L

71 CL350 with Bingham side car
2021 HD Triglide
2008 HD Dyna Low Rider
83 KZ1100L1 Son totaled it
83 KZ550LTD Shaft sold

Previous bikes: 84 GL1200 STD, 83 KZ550LTD, 83 CB1000, 78 CB400A, 82 CB900F, 79 CB750K, 2001 GL1800, 2000 Dyna Super Glide, 1972 CB350 K4, 1985 GL1200A, 1997 1200 Sportster, 84 GL1200I, 82 Honda CM400E, 81 Suzuki GS650L, 72 Triumph Bonneville 750, 72 Honda CB350, 66(?) Honda 305 Scrambler, 6? Yamaha yz250, 62 650 Matchless (Norton-Villers).
John
Openroad
Rusty Probie
Rusty Probie
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun May 16, 2010 7:51 am
Location: Jackson,Michigan

Exhaust ports.

#47

Post by Openroad »

I have a 1983 GL1100, What is the small holes @ the exhaust ports. I was leaking some water from one of them. :crosso
User avatar
shupnfish
Gold Member
Gold Member
Posts: 1302
Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2009 1:52 am
Location: Imperial, Mo

Re: That Sweet White Smoke

#48

Post by shupnfish »

Small hole at exhaust ports??? Do you mean the drain hole that runs down from around the spark plugs?? Check that and if they are stopped up and holding water in clean them out and you should be good.
Matt Haus
81 GL1100 Cheap Trick
GET ON AND HOLD ON OR MOVE ON!!
We are what we do repeatedly. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle
The greater risk is not that we aim too high and miss, but that we aim too low and hit.-author unknown
User avatar
Oldboy
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 697
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 4:53 pm
Location: Mississauga Ontario Canada

Re: That Sweet White Smoke

#49

Post by Oldboy »

Both my bikes had oil in the overflow last fall. I was using heavy oil in both to combat the oil burning. The oil in the overflow is a result of oil getting past the seal in the front of the oil pump, then getting past the "O" rings at the water pump. If it gets past the second "O" ring it will drip out the weeping hole.I figure that on start up with thick oil and any rpm, the pressure got high enoungh to be forced by all 3 seals. I know there a relief valve in the oil pump, it was probably wide open... and pressure was still too high. With the front cover off, I replaced all the "O" rings and the oil pump seal.
Problem gone!
Oh ya, Sounds like you need a head gasket too.....

Cheers....
Cheers...

Just Wing-it
TCFort Worth
Tin Member
Tin Member
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2012 11:39 am
Location: Texas

Re: That Sweet White Smoke

#50

Post by TCFort Worth »

Well guys, I am new here and wondering waht the outcome was to the head gaskets and the coolaint leaks?
Your not too drunk if you can lay on the floor and not fall off!
1983 GL1100 (Project)
2006 Vstar 1100
User avatar
rcmatt007
Treasurer
Treasurer
Posts: 31301
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2005 12:48 pm
My Album: http://www.ngwclub.com/gallery/v/wingmans/rcmatt007/
Location: New River Valley, Virginia

Re: That Sweet White Smoke

#51

Post by rcmatt007 »

TCFort Worth wrote:Well guys, I am new here and wondering waht the outcome was to the head gaskets and the coolaint leaks?
as you can see, sometimes we get off subject.... I haven't read through the whole thread, but I am guessing Roady replaced the gaskets??
-Rodger-
all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke
The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you have Gandalf
"One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers
"it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
User avatar
Roady
Member Relations &_Graphics
Member Relations &_Graphics
Posts: 11957
Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2007 2:35 pm
Location: Port St. John, FL

Re: That Sweet White Smoke

#52

Post by Roady »

TCFort Worth wrote:Well guys, I am new here and wondering waht the outcome was to the head gaskets and the coolaint leaks?
Didja read the whole thread? ... it worked out pretty good.

Or, you might be interested in seeing how the whole shebang evolved into the Front Engine Renewal Project thread.
User avatar
Dirty Dave
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 714
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:27 pm
Location: Montreal, Canada

Re: That Sweet White Smoke

#53

Post by Dirty Dave »

Is the symptom of a blown head gasket always white smoke?

It was last time but this time it seems to be more oily.
Black oily carbon out of exhaust and white non-sweet smoke.
1978/9 GL1000
1997 Honda Valkyrie
2018 Kawasaki Z900 RS
User avatar
Whiskerfish
President
President
Posts: 36827
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2006 9:34 pm
My Album: http://www.ngwclub.com/gallery/v/wingmans/whiskerfish/
Location: Norfolk Va

Re: That Sweet White Smoke

#54

Post by Whiskerfish »

Could be fouled carbs not atomizing fuel. Pull the plugs and inspect them for the "Steam Cleaned" look.
"Agreement is not a requirement for Respect" CDR Michael Smith USN (Ret) 2017
"The book is wrong, this whole Conclusion is Fallacious" River Tam
2008 GL1800 IIIA "TH3DOG"
1975/6/7/8/9 Arthur Fulmer Dressed Road bike
1975 Naked Noisy and Nasty in town bike
and a whole garage full of possibilities!!

Psst. oh and by the way CHANGE YOUR BELTS!!!!
User avatar
pidjones
SUPER BIKER!!!!
SUPER BIKER!!!!
Posts: 3236
Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 4:06 pm
Location: East TN

Re: That Sweet White Smoke

#55

Post by pidjones »

On one of my rescues, the hint was water pouring out the exhaust when I started filling the system.
"Love 'em all.... let God sort 'em out!"
Ex 2006 GL1800 - the Black Pearl SOLD! to make room for:
2021 Can-Am Spyder RT Limited Dark Chalk Metallic
1975 Red GL1000 project - ex Pistol Pete project
1972 Triumph T150V Trident rescue - finished and FOR SALE!
1976 Yamaha RD400c
1978 GL1000 with '75 engine - the Hunley
Ex 1978 GL1000
Ex 1979 GL1000
Ex '79 CB750F rat bike
Ex '86 SEi
Ex '77 GL1000
Ex '76 RD400
Ex '72 Penton 125 set up for flat track
Ex '73 RD250
Ex '68 TR6C - chopped
redglbx
Gold Member
Gold Member
Posts: 1110
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2020 8:39 am
Location: NW Indiana,

Re: That Sweet White Smoke

#56

Post by redglbx »

pidjones wrote: Mon Feb 21, 2022 8:27 pm On one of my rescues, the hint was water pouring out the exhaust when I started filling the system.
Ooohhh, that’s never a good sign !
Red 1976 oe owner
1976 LTD restored
1980 CBX , in the que, to fix the ignorant heavy handed owner
1981 CBX
1977 CB750 K7
2014 FJR OE owner, sold
1980 GL1100
1984 GL1200 naked
1969 CL350, in the que
User avatar
Dirty Dave
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 714
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:27 pm
Location: Montreal, Canada

Re: That Sweet White Smoke

#57

Post by Dirty Dave »

Just fully rebuilt the carbs which seem to work well. Oil around #3 piston top and fouled plug. Little bit of
steam clean in the combustion chamber but only ran Wing for 15 minutes.

I'm starting with a gasket replacement and then will see. Left side was mint, no smoke.
Funny 'cause that has the original 43 year old gasket.

Two carbs had float levels way off so adjusted to 21 mm but still noticed a bit of
gas on the top of the block. Oh well, one thing atta time.......

My other Wings (78 & 84) never gave me a hard time. This 79 has failed me many
times although a Dyna S and a loose (4th one in now) stator.

Oh well, wrenching is fun as long as you have an extra bike to ride.
1978/9 GL1000
1997 Honda Valkyrie
2018 Kawasaki Z900 RS
User avatar
Sidecar Bob
Honored Life Member
Honored Life Member
Posts: 7620
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2006 10:14 pm
Location: Kawartha Lakes, Ontario

Re: That Sweet White Smoke

#58

Post by Sidecar Bob »

Head gaskets can fail in 2 ways:
1) leaking between the water jacket and an oil passage, in which case pressurized coolant will escape and mix with the oil, causing the well known "chocolate milkshake" in most cases but not always (there was enough coolant to coat the inside of my CX650E's valve covers with snot while the oil still looked normal).
2) leaking between the combustion chamber and the water jacket, causing the familiar white smoke that smells like burning celery and/or bubbles in the recovery tank plus the steam cleaned combustion chamber.
When the 2nd type of failure occurs combustion pressure entering the cooling system can increase the pressure in it enough to cause the 1st type of failure to occur shortly after, but that doesn't always happen.

If a recently replaced head gasket failed 3 questions must be asked:
1) Was it a genuine Honda gasket or aftermarket?
2) Were the threads for the head bolts cleaned thoroughly and were the bolts installed dry or greased per the procedure in the FSM? (One of my Hondas requires dry threads, the other greased and I can never remember which is which)
3) Were the head bolts re-torqued?
- With aftermarket head gaskets it is absolutely necessary to loosen each bolt 1/8-1/4 turn, then tighten it to the specified torque after the first heat/cool cycle and if the bolts need to be turned past where they were the first time kep repeating the procedure until the gasket stops compressing (note that the engine must be fully cooled each time and the valve clearances should be checked after each re-torque)
- With original Honda gaskets it isn't strictly required but it is a good idea to re-torque them after the first heat/cool cycle just to be sure
https://www.ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic ... ue#p778167
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
User avatar
Dirty Dave
Silver Member
Silver Member
Posts: 714
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:27 pm
Location: Montreal, Canada

Re: That Sweet White Smoke

#59

Post by Dirty Dave »

Thank you Sidecar Bob.

Chocolate milkshake it was. The gasket was an OEM which I torqued dry
and did not re-torque after a heat cycle ( too lazy )

Coolant was clear. I will check the oil.

I've ordered viton valve seals from Randakk and will be lapping the valves
for the hell of it.
1978/9 GL1000
1997 Honda Valkyrie
2018 Kawasaki Z900 RS
User avatar
Sidecar Bob
Honored Life Member
Honored Life Member
Posts: 7620
Joined: Sun Jun 11, 2006 10:14 pm
Location: Kawartha Lakes, Ontario

Re: That Sweet White Smoke

#60

Post by Sidecar Bob »

Um... "chocolate milkshake" refers to what the oil looks like when coolant (or anything else water based) becomes emulsified with it. If you have chocolate milkshake oil you don't need to check it you need to drain it and flush the engine.
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “GoldWing Tech Discussions”