The_Doctor Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Hi all, It seems that my 748 is determined to financially cripple me, went out to it today to check/top up the oil before starting to use it this year and I noticed that there was the dreaded sign if milky oil under the filler cap and in the window where you check the oil level....... I have had a suspicion that there was potential head gasket issues the tail end of last year as one exhaust seemed to smoke a bit more than the other (steam?) so it looks like I was right unfortunately. Just called for a quote with a local bike shop where I had it serviced for a very reasonable price and they quoted £800! really?! So I come to you knowledgeable lot for a few of reasons: Is there any way you can tell that that it is definitely the head gasket? It looks like a minimal contamination of the oil at the mo, is it possible that it could have got condensation in the engine over the winter or similar and therefore just requiring an oil and filter change? (wishful thinking I guess) I don't want to spend all that to find its a water pump leaking or something On a scale of 1 to 10 how hard is it to do the head gaskets on a 748? I do all the work on my own bikes/cars apart from the belts on this bike so I am pretty decent with the spanners but is this too much to take on? Do I do the pair? or can I just do the one? I guess if I do it myself then I might as well do the pair as it wont cost much more but if I pay someone to do it It will double the cost? Anyone know of someone that could do this work for me relatively cheaply? Any Ducati mechanics on here that are twiddling their thumbs and would like a project for the evenings...................... Thanks in advance Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superdunc Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 It's Knackered. I'll give you £800 to take it off you hands. No need what so ever to do both head gaskets, if only one has failed. Do a leak down test, this will determine if and which head gasket has gone. Not a huge Job, but obviously the cambelts have to come off so if your nervous about changing them, you're not going to want to go further. It's quite possible it is just condensation, the air cooled Ducs are well known for it. £800 quid does sound steep, unless thats to do valve clearances also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Doctor Posted May 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Hmmmmm.....I've milled over your offer and I think I will have to decline at this time! haha With doing both I just thought it would prevent the other going anytime soon and if the engine is out its prime opportunity? I assume a leak down test is a pressure test of the cooling system? Is special equipment needed? How much would a shop charge for this roughly? I know the belts would need to come off but it thought I could do all the stripping down, do the head gaskets and put it back together then give it to a pro to set the belts saving a load on labor, is this a fesable option? The £800 was the head gasket, belts and service with no valve clearances but I would want these checking as they haven't been checked while I've owned it. Any one want to swap it for an RS250?! ahhhh the simple life of a 2 stroke! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blow_away Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 I assume a leak down test is a pressure test of the cooling system? Is special equipment needed? How much would a shop charge for this roughly? A leakdown test is a procedure to check the integrity of the combustion chamer, piston rings and gaskets, not the cooling system. Full explanation here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leak-down_tester Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rs250_steve Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 i suspect its just condensation. my bros 748 often sends its oil a bit milky, but a good run clears it up. Im not sure how accessable he it for you, but theres a guy at Rothwell near leeds called Ducati John. Hes a spot on bloke, knows his way around a ducati and you really got your moneys worth from him. If you see a bike which is recieving a'major service' youd have thought it was a ground up restoration. http://www.ducati-john.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Doctor Posted May 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Thanks for the replies so far guys, it's given me a few leads and ideas, I have gone from mild panic earlier "I knew I should have sold it last year!" to thinking "right how can I sort this" @rs250_steve, John's website looks good and from how he describes him self seems genuine, I'll give him a bell tomorrow and see what he thinks, would just mean hiring a van, not too far but if hes good and can sort it then whats £40-50? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick448 Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Has it actually lost any water? I agree it sounds like condensation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisball Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 I see you are in Notts, there is an excellent Ducati independent specialist called Neil at Cornerspeed he is near Mansfield just off J28 of M1. http://cornerspeed.co.uk/ Heres his website, i would definately give him a bell he will probably take a look and let you know exactly what it is if anything if you pop the bike down to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Doctor Posted May 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Not sure if its used any water to be honest, I haven't checked, as mentioned I went into a mild panic when I noticed it and got the quote.....I could see my savings rapidly disappearing! I will get the tank off tomorrow night and see if it has lost any water, it doesn't run hot or anything though, took it out for a 45 min blast Tuesday (when I was unaware of the situation) and it ran fine. @kit-parts yeah he does look a little pricy looking at the servicing prices, the place I called for the head gasket does the service for £300 compared to £540 to £620 exc VAT on his site.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Doctor Posted May 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 @chrisball I've heard good things about Cornerspeed but again arn't they very pricey? worth a call though. I have Italia moto on the other side of me too but again uber expensive but nice guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungle Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 ps i've used John, he knows his stuff but wasn't cheap, i know i spent £1300 servicing my 996 with him. How much???? Did he hold a gun to your head? How can a service come to this sum of cash? What did you have done? I have a Ducati which I service myself, & even doing the belts, the cost of the parts is only about £350.[incs oil, coolant, all filters, plugs etc.] I do know some Ducati dealerships can charge up to £80 an hour! Scandalous in my opinion. With regards to the possible leaking head gasket, buy a service manual & have a go yourself if it is the gasket. It aint rocket science & you will be surprised how easy it can be. Just take your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srad34 Posted May 3, 2012 Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 Sounds like condensation to me. Give it a run, keep an eye on the temp guage and recheck after this. You might well be pleasantly surprised. Both my 748 and a friends 996 smoke more out of one pipe when cold, I don't think its odd unless its smoking when warmed up. I do all my own servicing and tbf, replcing the head gasket is pretty straight forward, its only one cylinder after all and the engines are fairly straight forward to work on! - As everyone else mentioned, you would notice a drop in water level if there is an issue.... Good luck, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kja.busa Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Its condensation from over the winter, first good run should see it virtually disappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srad34 Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Keep us posted on the progress, always good to share! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronenige Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 If I knew there was a problem I'd go to Geoff Green - G tech at Leicester, he's the man. Is this the same Geoff that used to do the tech training for Ducati uk ? for years Ducati training was done at the factory , when it got to my turn to go , I had a day at Milton Keynes , somehow not quite the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Doctor Posted May 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 OK peeps, I would say that I am dealing (hopefully) just a bit of condensation, there is no loss of water and I've just had a very encouraging call with Ducati John (very nice chap) Pretty much confirming what has been said on here that the extra smoke is normal out of the one pipe and that condensation over winter is not that uncommon so It will be a case of dropping the oil and changing it and the filter and seeing what happens, I will keep the thread updated once I've done this and hopefully have good news! Here are a couple of pics of what I found: The photos arn't the best as they are on my phone and there is glare off the glass so the oil looks an odd colour but you can see this is the pink sludge that greeted me, its pink because its red oil (not to match the bike but just some pricey Silkolene oil that I was talked into, less than 1000 miles since I put this in too grrrr) It looks like its a blob on the window which is dripping down but its not a layer on top of the oil and the oil isn't milky as a whole still looks clear and red. Under the cap was another blob of pink sludge, I poked my finger in the filler hole and had a feel around and it was all clean in there just nice oil on my finger when I pulled it back out. So hopefully £800 bill avoided........keep your fingers crossed for me everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomfoolery Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Mine's like that. Flushed it all out last week and it's back since my commute is less than 20 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superdunc Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Must be a head gasket on the way out Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomfoolery Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Whatever. *pins throttle* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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