Hey gang, Running into some issues with my 05 SV track bike. It was stored in a cold garage all winter. Went to change the oil and get everything prepped for VIR tomorrow, and I drained a milkshake out of it. I know that the freeze plugs are a common issue on these, and one plug in the front cylinder had indeed popped out. I replaced it with a new one from Spears, and thought that would be the end of it. Well, 3 oil changes and 2 filters into getting it running again, water is still most definitely pouring into the oil. As I refill the radiator I can watch my oil level rise. Pulled the covers off to verify the plugs were still all there, and they were. Clearly I have a much bigger and more expensive fix to deal with, and I’d like to know where to start looking. Thanks in advance, -Seth
Pull the motor out. If your handy just get a new top end for both sides (cylinders and heads) its always a good excuse to build a superbike engine or just put a whole new motor in
I have seen and fixed a lot of frozen Sv's but outside of freeze plugs popping out I never seen any other damage. If that is not it follow water . Head or cylinder cracked, water pump, cases.
Get a pressure tester so you can pressurize the cooling system and possible heat/see where it is leaking. You can have heads welded to fix the cracks. Any good automotive machine shop will have the ability to pressure test heads and weld them. We do it on aluminum forklift heads when needed.
Bought myself a leakdown tester, and im getting about 5% leakdown on both cylinders....so that doesnt suggest to me that its a head gasket or a crack. Any ideas?
Head and/or cylinder can be cracked and will not show on leak down test. On some bikes it will crack on outside where cam chain is so water would just pour down the chain hole.
So perhaps I should just get some new cylinders and be done with this? I also want to mention, I did pull the clutch cover off while I was hunting for the old freeze plug, which means I had to pull off the water pump. Is it possible that this could be related to the water pump seals?
You should find out what problem is before replacing anything. It could be water pump, you have to look. Just pulling it off with cover and putting back on should not be issue. You have to align/engage gear when putting it on but that does not cause leak. There are 2 O-rings, one for each port but if those are bad or not there it would leak outside and you would see it. So, unless pump is broken/cracked from freezing I don't think you caused it to leak now. If all 4 freeze plugs are in their place start pulling heads off. You said you can see oil level raise as you fill radiator, that means you got good size hole somewhere. Most like place head/cylinder will crack is in that tunnel where cam chain is.
Sorry, I may not have explained it well enough, but the pressure tester I was talking about is a coolant pressure tester. You connect it to the top of the radiator and pump it up to around 15PSI and see if the cooling system has leaks? If it does, you try and listen to where the leaks are, or look for them.
I finally got around to pulling the motor. Currently have both cylinders off and I don't see any cracks (just a ****load of rusty water). Is there any way to tell if a head gasket had gone? I already have new gaskets on hand, id just like to know if that was it before I reassemble. Where to look next? @Boman, I probably should have done the cooling system test like you suggested before yanking the motor..... But, here we are.
Look at gasket and see if there is trace where water was flowing. I doubt it is gasket with water pouring in to cases. Take clutch cover off and look at pump and inside cases where water path is.
Dont see any obvious traces of water on the head or base gaskets, pulled the WP off, all looks well there. Clutch cover gasket appeared to be fine but I put a new one on anyway. At the rate that water was getting into the case, I would think this would be an easy find. Is there any potential of it being a freeze plug still? Only one had completely popped out, and I put a spears one in. Could I have put it in wrong? Could it be leaking around any of the others and I just cant tell? If so, is there a way to remove them and put new ones in?
Ok, heres a new find. I went to check the freeze plug I put in, and noticed it was loose. It hasnt popped out, but I was able to stick my finger in it and pull it out. The spears plugs are deep enough for me to check with my finger, but how can I check the remaining plugs?
They are just auto parts store plugs, 16mm. Problem with deep ones is if top edge is not in the hole they will pop out. You want short ones. Deep ones can be used but you should shorten them.
So the one I put in before, I tried to install while on the bike. I managed to create an edge on it that wouldnt let it seat properly. Now that I had everything apart I got this one in the right way, and I found a 3/8 extension fit perfectly and was able to get it recessed. Wont let me upload pics, file is too large. I have reassembled everything with new gaskets and will run it tomorrow and see if that fixed it. I already bought another engine just in case (currently getting header bolts removed at a machine shop), so if this doesn't do the trick im scrapping this motor. I got faith in this one though, for some reason. Will update tomorrow just in case anyone needs to refer to this thread in the future.
So turns out, it has been this damn freeze plug the whole time. The new one I put in has popped out. Again, I am using the spears 16.5mm plugs they sell specifically for the SV. I have sanded the hole and used brake cleaner to remove any residue, I tapped it in the where it was recessed properly, and it still popped out. What am I doing wrong? Is there any other solution aside from these cursed freeze plugs?
