white smoke from exhaust pipe

I have recently noticed that I am getting a small amount of white smoke from my exhaust once I have stppoed and turned the engine off.

I have read in the manual for the bike VF750FD 1983 model that it could be the head gaskets that are letting water in to the engine.

Does this mean that I have to replace both head gaskets?

Is this an easy job as a DIY project?

Can I use one of these sealers that are advertised that seal the gaps preventing water from getting in to the engine?

Advice sought as I like to ride the bike and do not wish it to be foff the road for too long

Regards

Hazelwood

 

yup.

"Have to"? no. "Should"? Definitely. It would be a shame if you have to go back inside and tear her down again to do the other gasket.

Depends on how mechanically inclined you are. Whats easy for me, may not be easy for some. Head Gaskets, in my opinion, arent too terribly difficult.

absolutely not.


Importantly, you want to understand why it blew. old? defective? running engine way too hot? over RPM the bike a lot? no oil? no water? Hopefully when this started you didnt ride the bike any more. water and oil dont mix. and causes nasty no no's inside your engine block...or worse, you warp a head, and you're not gonna like that repair. Warp it too badly, and you're done.

 

Naturally, i'd recommend replacing the bike, not the gasket.

The bike is way old and is giving you notice that it wants to retire.
After the gasket it will be something else.......

Always do a compression test b4 pulling things apart so you know what you're working with.

 

I agree with SQM, at this point you really dont know whats wrong with the bike,or based on the owners statement,"a little white smoke after it gets shut off", maybe nothing is wrong . I believe a good place to start is to read the spark plugs, if they all look the same probably a compression test would be the next logical test. eddie

 

Thanks for all your comments. I think I will carry out a compression test as suggested before I start to strip it apart. Apart from this the bike is in very good condition, still leaves cars for dead and gives a few modern bikes a run for their money. I would love to upgrade but money is tight at the moment.

Regards

Hazelwood

 

Don't spend more money fixing it than the bike is worth.....just use the money to get a newer bike.

BTW......just about ANY bike over 250 cc will beat most cars off the line.