Grit and creamy color on spark plug

Y

yamahasferlife

New member
Joined
Jan 24, 2012
Messages
29
Location
Wisconsin
2000 sxr 700 6500 miles.. just rode it for lthe first 250 miles or so of the year... just got a compression tester from school and wanted to check compression just for the hell of it. after the first 160 some miles i changed the plugs and they looked good light brown. then i rode again more than 100 miles and it sat since then a few days.. it was like 0 degrees all day here and i started it up and it ran good, like it always does. let it idle and warm up for a few minutes and it idled perfect, shut it off and pulled the first plug (chaincase side) off and tested compression.. seemed to be about 110... spark plug looked fine and clean.. gauge dropped slowly... but it did that on another sled too idk if its spose to or not.. pulled out the middle one and it looked a little funny. had a creamy white color on it and it felt really gritty... same with the clutch side spark plug.... the creamy color says headgasket to me... but what the gritty sandy crap from?!?!?!
hope nothings toasted :(
 
A picture is worth a thousand words. Did you check compression on center and PTO cylinders? If yes, What were they? "Gauge slowly leaked down" I beleive this is your gauge, mine will hold for as long as I want, has a releif button to release. Typically most of us pull all plug prior to testing compression, doubt it would make a huge differance in number but ALOT easier to pull over. Compression is a more of "general health" a leak down test will tell you alot more info. For example I had a 00 SxR 700 mildly lean burn down center cylinder, was still within 7-8 pounds of compression as other two but leak down test showed cylinder held ZERO compression.
 
If you pull the spark plugs and look at the tops of the pistons, what do they look like: smooth or dented/erroded? I have see the grit you described coming from pistons that were damaged by a burndown condition.

I think you are right about the mikly material, being caused by coolant in the combustion chamber. You may want to pull the head and take a look.

Jim
 
compression looked just about the same on all 3 cylinders... sorry shoulda put that... i'll take a look once in the daylight to see what the cylinders look like. either way looks like its gonna be in the shop this weekend :/ i could maybe steal a leak down tester from school today and check that tonight.. and i dont think its plastic.. but what could that be from??
 
low oil could cause this couldnt it....
last ride i went on oil light started flashing but only like 20 miles from home.... is anything majorly damaged you think or is this just the starting signs.... frickin STUPID STUPID!!!!! pistons black but looks like some of the black is scratched off.... how long does it take without oil to totally **** a motor... not long i would imagine.. :(
 
X2 with peel the head off, may not have anything to do with oil. Light should come on with around a quart left. Have you put more oil in tank? Is there still oil in there? In theory should have burnt 2-3 gallons of gas which equates to 5-8 ounces of oil depending on how your sled is set up. Just dont want to jump to it being an oil problem and over look something else.
 
i would say it prolly sucked oil dry.. it was right down to the bottom to where it probably stopped sucking... and yeah i filled it up now..
kinda an off topic question... but is there a way to get to this thread again easily? or do i have to search for it every time? i thought maybe theres a way to jump to it cause i started it or because i posted in it or something like that ya know? i still dont really know my way around the site
 
there's 2 ways that I can think of.
first you can just go to your profile and click on all threads started by you and it will come up
or you can subscribe to this thread in the thread tools and then get to it through your subscribed threads
 
all the plugs had the creamy color on them now that i look closer... but only 2 had the grity stuff on them... coolant is also low and i know it was topped off so my guess is either way a new headgasket is gotta go in.. should be able to get the sled in the garage this weekend.. right now the trucks in there in peices... water pump just went out :/
 
I would think that the milky substance is condensation and oil from firing the sled up before your test. Your motor will have to be at operating temperature for a bit before the condensation "burns off". I would think that the gritty feel may be carbon that busted loose and is stuck on the plug.
 
pulled the head off today and heres what i found. couldnt get a decent pic of the plugs i sprayed a little lube in the cylinders before pulling it around the house and into the garage... now the plugs look normal..

DSCN01181_zps44f8c4e3.jpg.html


DSCN01161_zpsbe5c1c26.jpg.html


DSCN01151_zpsc71bbb04.jpg.html


i can get the other 2 pics of the other cylinders later probably the uploader from photobucket stopped working :/
 
anyone know where to get a cheap headgasket? getting them from yamaha is ridiculously expensive... and whats the procedure for torquing the head back down and torque spec? also one of the studs came out with the nut... how do you tighten that back in or is it just hand tightened?
Sxr700Bandit i think your correct with it being the carbon off the cylinders too.. just rubbing my finger on the tops of the cylinder i can feel that grit come right off... side walls of the cylinders feel smooth and everything... sooo i guess the thing just got hot from lack of oil and popped the gasket eh? im pretty convinced it is a leaky gasket cause i know i filled that thing high full or even a little over with coolant and half of it is gone now.... im just happy as hell i didnt melt anything down super bad :D
by looking at the pictures you guys think everything looks okay? just clean everything up maybe and throw a new gasket in?
 
Sorry te only way I know is OEM gaskets... The last time i bought them there are about $27 each... Try Richie rich from here he is a sponsor.

How to re-install the stud that came out is to double nut it and tighten it into position as tight as you can, hopefully the threads are still good in the hole...
I guess it looks okay to me in the pics.

You may have a leak elsewhere for your leak.... I have seen on a sled where the heat exchanger had a pinhole and when the tunnel was torqued into a position it would drip like mad then when the tension was released it wouldn't leak... time to break out a fine tooth comb... Make sure to bleed the coolant system when your done buttoning up the motor.... This may be where your other coolant you added went, question is where did it go in the first place.
 
okay thanks alot! glad nothings too screwed! and the gaskets are like 35 bucks a piece... there was 2 different kinds and i was looking at the 50 dollar ones!! thanks a ton to everyone who replied for the help! only last thing does anyone know the torque spec for the head or where can i find them?
 
Head bolt torque initial torque or (first) 9.4 ft lbs, then Final torque of 18 ft lbs. criss cross across the cylinder to tighten the bolts, DO NOT go around in a circle pattern! Also start with the center cylinder first.
 
okay thanks alot! any sealant u gotta put on or anything or just clean the surface and throw the gasket on? sorry i didnt put it all in one post i keep coming up with questions as i go......
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top