smelling antifreeze when bike starts

[5speed]

Helping a friend trouble shoot this.
His bike has been using a bit of coolant for quite a while but this fall he noticed some oil in his coolant.
My money is on it getting past the water pump but there is nothing coming out of the weep hole.
No moisture in the exhaust system or exhaust ports in the heads either.
Any other things to check before he gets in to taking the water pump out.
it's an 84 interstate for reference.

[Sagebrush]

Head gasket blown is likely.

[5speed]

Head gasket blown is likely.

that was his initial thought but it doesn't smoke like a blown head gasket typically does and he only smells the antifreeze on start up.
Just trying to eliminate all possibilities before pulling the heads.

[gltriker]

with the radiator filler neck opened , there are special chemical kits made to indicate presence of combustion gasses leakage into the cooling system while the engine is running.

I searched NAPA in Nova Scotia. Found the complete kits are outrageously expensive in the Great White North!
Maybe borrow one and give the loaner a new bottle of testing fluid and a few bucks.

RockAuto.com has a really good price in USD
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 1002&jsn=7

[Whiskerfish]

examine the plugs closely

[Track T 2411]

Also check the weep hole itself. It can get plugged (or someone plugs it, dang po's)...

[Lucien Harpress]

While not blown, the head gasket may be starting to go. I had the same issues a couple months before my gasket finally went (in spectacular fashion).

See if you're getting bubbles in the coolant overflow tank- that may be another indicator. There may be only a minor leak that seals up has the heads heat up and expand, maybe? Not quite sure.

[5speed]

tks for the replies folks.
welcome to my world gltriker. lol
he called me a bit ago. the impeller in the water pump has quite a bit of lateral movement in it. It doesn't have a metal one so I'm assuming it's original.
he's going to replace it and go from there.

[5speed]

has anyone ever used this gasket and o-ring set?
I was making a list of oem parts but there are some o-rings I can't find in any of the schematics that go around dowels.

[Whiskerfish]

See if this helps

[toomanybikes]

I'm battling the bubbling coolant on a Triumph Adventurer. The combustion gas testers are helpful, but the results aren't always conclusive. Mine tested negative twice but the bubbles keep coming in the expansion tank and the coolant level has to be kept very low to avoid overflow.

BTW, Harbor Freight also has a $20 coolant tester, but the fluid is extra so total cost is ~$30.

[5speed]

See if this helps

tks WF.

[redglbx]

Bubbles in the coolant is pretty tell-tale of a head gasket, personally I’d retorque the heads first to see if that stops it but if you have bubbles in the coolant it’s probably too late. As a side note I always retorque the heads after a heat cycle and new head gaskets, a “must do” in my opinion.

[rcmatt007]

I have used those kits. Always seems like there are some left over O-rings

[toomanybikes]

Bubbles in the coolant is pretty tell-tale of a head gasket, personally I’d retorque the heads first to see if that stops it but if you have bubbles in the coolant it’s probably too late. As a side note I always retorque the heads after a heat cycle and new head gaskets, a “must do” in my opinion.

That's what others on the TriumphRat forum said and why I did the test ... twice. Since it is otherwise starting and running fine and a scope camera into the cyls did not reveal anything weird, I opted to leave the head gasket alone.