Been too long off both bikes so an escape was in order. 3 days on the mtb starting at elevation in Flagstaff a 10 miler south of town. Arrived in Durango on day 2 and rode the local trails with some locals. Yesterday rode up Hermosa Creek and back. I stopped to turn at the South Fork of Hermosa Creek so 3k feet of climbing and 19 miles starting at 8k feet. Today did 6 passes out and back from Ironton, up Corkscrew taking in Hurricane Pass, California Pass, Engineer Pass, and Cinnamon Pass (almost). All pretty dam steep and was a hot morning. Probably 90+ degrees. No wonder on my ascent to Cinnamon on the way out after Engineer Pass my clutch faded. I looked down and noted my fuel was boiling. Shit.... Stopped a few times to let the clutch come back as it would after 60 seconds and I don't use the clutch much except crawling around tight corners or rocks. In any case blew out some Evans (I topped it off back at the van when I got down), boiled some gas and clutch fading, but she always started and got me home. This kind of riding may just be a bit much for 1 qt of oil, a fuel tank that has a petcock within mm's of the water pump housing and a fuel hose across the engine. And a clutch line within 1/4 in. of the header. Maybe my fan switch is faulty too. In any case, no loss of oil, no leaks and engine runs well. Maybe I need to buy a new bike with better routing and clearances. Not sure if any rebuilding or anything can change the above, except for the fan switch. New Husky 350 or maybe that Beta or SWM?
You can see where I almost made it to Cinnamon when my clutch started to go. Was going to be my last summit as thunder clouds were massing from the south.
Maybe the ride was just one serious hard one with some added heat. The Huskies here in OZ tend not to boil or fade in real heat. Perhaps a radiator flush and make sure your fan is working. An after market water pump impeller can work magic as well. I find that engine ice is the bomb over here. Thanks for the report and photos, happy to look at more shots if you could be bothered, looks like great technical country. Cheers.
Had this happen once before heading up Imogene Pass and flushed the clutch fluid. But it never happened in hot temps the last 2 years. It was steady up and steady straight down, with little air flow... 12 mph average speed and total elevation gain about 10k feet. May just be the fan actually moves enough air to spill the heat though that fuel boiling is something I've never noted before. Will do some less taxing riding this week before I head home. Only shot a few photos as was trying to hit all the passes before the storms moved in. Looking south from California Gulch Top of California Pass
Some mtb from Durango... Most top racers are training on bicycles. Got to get in the miles. Especially us 61+ year olds... Hermosa Creek South Fork... One guy on a KTM rode through on this trail. I considered it but not alone. Prefer to pre-ride on mtb if I can and am unsure... Durango in the distance and I definitely felt this ride after not riding for months it seems...
It is appearing quite common in elevation, riding conditions and temps. My vent is working as was pissing gas out the vent and hissing and I removed cap to watch it boil away. Guess that under tank CV4 liner and getting my fan working is paramount. https://thumpertalk.com/forums/topic/1189758-fuel-boiling-in-gas-tank/
A morning hike up Bear Creek Trail in Ouray before landing in Crested Butte... Raining in Crested Butte and predicted for tomorrow. My van wants me to visit the dealer in Littleton on Wednesday so a couple of days touring before heading back on 70 and seeing where I end up.
Some shots from the top of the Crested Butte bike trails. I rode up instead of taking the lift and rode some nice banked trails down before heading to Denver today. Turns out I didn't need to drive to see the dealer here. Elevation was affecting my DEF tank in the Sprinter so a check engine light came on in Gunnison yesterday but no DEF light until I pulled into Denver. I topped off with 3.5 gallons of DEF and both lights went off. Strange. Normally the DEF light comes on first with a text warning as well in the center of the display. Cancelled the dealer visit and back to the mountains.
My van was going to break down leaving town as engine and DEF and 9 start warnings appeared in the dash so back to Westminster to see the closest dealer. Spent the entire day there while they diagnosed and fixed the van. Both exhaust sensors replaced and SCR unit. Cost me $3,200. If you drive a Sprinter Bluetec and eclips 100k miles, it's going to cost you. In any case I made it to my destination yesterday in Frisco and to de-stress a mtb ride over to Breckenridge was in order today. The climb was 4 miles of roots and rocks. At 4.5 miles with looming storms clouds overhead and rain I turned instead of riding the rest of the way to Breckenridge.
No one can say that you are not putting in the hard yard. I hope you reward yourself with a few ales at days end. As your countries most eminent scientist Benjamin Franklin so eloquently put it "God invented Beer to show that he loved us". Thanks for the photos, looks just perfect for trail riding and MTB's too.
Ouch, that little dealer visit was painful! Great pics as always. If you're still running the OG XF coolant take a look at it. It will start to turn a slightly browish color when it's starting to break down.
My coolant definitely slightly brown. It was when I swapped hoses 2 years ago First time I lost any, but I'll get the new stuff and sort my fan. As far as my clutch I am thinking of making or finding a longer replacement hose to gain some space from the header. Being 1/3 inch from the header I have to assume is causing my fading/boiling fluid. Then line the underside of the tank. Riding it tomorrow but avoiding the pass roads. Yesterday was a other mtb day as a friend lived near the trail head at Snowmass... 11 miles on the Rim trail.
Today was last day in Colorado so parked over on road 58 out of Ridgway and then rode Last Dollar Road to Telluride, then up Black Bear Pass to the waterfall and back. The bike ran fine but loss of coolant and boiling fuel. It was a warm day, mid 80's but I think I must have a leaking head gasket or water pump seal. That would explain the coolant loss and overheating.
All's well that ends well. My trip home was right by ZipTy so called this morning and stopped by at 2PM to drop my bike off after speaking with Ty. He felt my clutch issue may be the slave cylinder seals, as opposed to proximity to header, and said it is common for fuel to boil at high elevations. In any case, engine being rebuilt at 4k miles. With all the heat soak and losing coolant better to do so now and not have a failure on the trail. A change of fork oil and maybe a Shinko Fatty and I'll be ready for fall riding
I think my timing was very good looking at my throttle body Thinking back I remember my first trip to Moab and encountered a water crossing. Wonder if this got sucked into the TB boot...
Just got word my head gasket was indeed compromised and was the cause of my disappearing coolant. Isolating that was my main concern. Pays to check coolant levels regularly!
Well the mending can now commence. Good luck on the rebuild. It is in good hands. Hope you get to do some autumnal riding soon.
so was that stuff in your throttle body blow-by? rings were shot maybe? what was the cylinder pressure (if anybody happened to stick a gauge on it)?
