I am Stranded in Chile and My Kawasaki KLR650 2007 is at the border of Argentina on the Argentinian side, with what appears to be a blown head gasket. I got a ride to Chilli to San Pedro De Atakama, where i can access the internet and try work out how to best solve my problems.

Here is the sinario.
The bike was incredibly hard to start in the cold altitudes of Argentina, at 4000 meters. I had heavier oil in it to help prevent the incredible amount of oil the bike went through. Half a litter per fill up. However this oil seemed to make it hard to turn over in the morning at 4000 meters, since it was so thick.

I drained the heaver oil one cold morning to replace it with thinner oil, So I had a shot at starting it. I put in Half a litter of the thin oil, to run it for a few minutes and then drain it again before filling with the thin bike oil. After about two minutes while keeping an eye on the temp gauge, I heard water boiling on the exhaust pipe. I turned off the bike and saw that there was radiator fluid coming out of the engine head through a small hole just under the top radiator hose where the thermostat is housed. I then discovered that the radiator hoses were frozen solid. I had radiator anti freeze in it, but it was still frozen. I was so stupid i did not check first if it was frozen. I just presumed that the anti freeze would work.

So basically as the engine heated up the pressure had no where to go. I presume that i had enough oil in the bike so that it still pumped oil around the system. So not sure if this contributed to the problem. There is also water going into the oil. When I drained it, it was milky.

My best guess diagnosis is that i blew a head gasket, since the pressure had nowhere to go. The only other think I can thin of is that it cracked the head. The bike temp gauge had hardly moved when I ran it, so I don't think that it cracked the head. But any other suggestions as to what the problem might be, would be great, before I try to work out a fix.

I have quite a bit of mechanical knowledge, but never pulled the head off a bike before. I did try to pull the head off to see if it was the gasket, but when I pulled off the rocker cover and saw all the timing chain gear etc, I realised that it was not going to be an easy job without a manual or proper tools. The place where the bike is, is desolate with no facilities. Nothing.

So my questions to the community are.
Is it most likely to be a head gasket?
Where can I find a video or online instructions on how to dismantle and replace the head gasket?
What tools would I need?
Where would the nearest best place be to transport the bike for repairs?
Anyone in the area with the knowledge that I could pay to help me fix it?
Where is the best place to import parts to. Chili or Argentina? It took two months to get parts to Brazil and 100% in tax.


Any other suggestions to what I might do would be great.

Other ideas might be to ship the bike back to Salta Argentina. Or temp import it into Chile and try and get it repaired here. But Chile is very expensive and I don't know the parts import laws in either Arg or Chili.

Thanks community.
Nick

Bad luck there Nick. I think your diagnosis is correct. Head gasket. But the question will be if the head is damaged or is it re-useable. Probably OK as you did not run long without water or heat and cool too many times.

Chile is SO expensive ... I'd go to Salta. But importing parts I believe is easier in Chile? (not sure on this??) If you can't wait around for parts then maybe best to sell off your bike, get another or fly home?

A dealer in Argentina may be able to get expedited shipping of a head gasket. Remember, it can fit in a FedEX overnight envelope.

You'll need a full compliment of pro tools to do it right. But it's just NOT that hard to do once you get into it. Just don't jump a tooth on the timing chain or drop the chain down into engine case! If the head is bad ... not good.

I would check with Javier at Dakar Motos in B.A. He may have broken down KLR's in his shop or know where some cadavers are located for picking over.

All the best of luck with this ... hope some motivated local mechanics will come to your aid on this one.

Nick,

Wow sounds like tough going up there Nick. Only thing I can say is if you post stuff to chile, and it is under 2kg, and you declare the value to be less than 30 USD, expect around 2 weeks but possibly longer especially if you are in remote region. I had my dad post out some small bits and bobs like decent tape, body armor, etc and it took just under 3 weeks with Royal Mail. Sorry I can't be of more help. I know for a fact though Argentina has very strict import regulations compared to Chile. Best of luck!

rtw

Nick
I had a guy in Correntees, Argintena do some excellent work on my dr650, including taking the barrel of to replace the base gasket. I dropped the bike of at 4pm, pretty well unannounced, and he wanted me to pick it up at 11pm! Very capable, but not sure if you will think he is close enough. If you want contact details get back to me and I will see what I can dig up.
Hamish

Nick,

I am an American expat living in Peru where I run Around the Block Moto Adventures. I have two KLRs and have a small stock of parts and have a head gasket set in hand. Don't know how long mail will take but I know that the mail system in Argentina is honest! I once forwarded a box of things from the USA to Salta, Argentina... then when I didn't arrive to pick it up (problems with our motos at the Iguazu border), they did a 'return to sender'! Got it back full un-opened!

Let me know.

Cheers! Toby

Thanks Guys, This is so helpfull.

I am studying up on how to do the work myself. It does not seem that difficult and I have enough skills and found a great post with pics for rebuilding the head on ADVRIDER. KLR650 Engine Rebuild Photos and Questions! - ADVrider.

I am pretty sure I will ship the bike to where i am in San Pedro De Atakama, 160kls away from where it is now at the border.

I Will just need some more specific tools, Like feeler gauges, torque tension wrench and a few more sockets. Any suggestions of anything specifit to this task I might need that I have missed would be great.

A few more questions?
Mollydog, or anyone. How can I tell if the head is OK. If it is warped at all, it is probably too minute to see it. It if is cracked that should stand out ok. I am pretty sure it will be since the engine really did not get hot. It was just off the cold mark. But how would I check it for being warped?

Hi Toby, of charapashanperu,
I am definitely interested in your head gasket set. Can you ship to Chile OK and declare a low value. I will also need new or used nuts and studs for the exhaust manifold if you Have them? The ones on the bike are totally rusted. Hope i dont have a problem here removing them. What is your email and phone number? I will stay in Chile and have things shipped to me here. I usually go through Partzilla in the States for parts. my email is nickpossum@hotmail.com

Thanks RTW for the tips on shipping. I will definitely follow those rules and have heard about the difficulty getting stuff to Arg.

Thanks Hamish for your connection in Correntees, Its a long way, and I am going to attempt the work myself. Everything seems to point me in this direction.

Thanks again everyone.
This was definitely my fault, not checking the frozen pipes before firing up the engine. My entire focus was the oil change and starting the bike, and my assumption that the recently added anti freeze would do the job. Its been a great learning experience, and I will learn how to rebuild the top end in the process.

Nick

Not sure if it applies to crossings at land borders or just if originally shipped into Chile, but I was told that if you quote the TVIP serial number on the mailing documents of parts, they will escape duty

__________________
Tony
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Ok thats good news Tony, I will try that. That is a good tip. I wont order the parts till i get the bike to chile and dismantle the engine.

Hi Nik,

I was briefly over that way 3 or so weeks ago. On the way down from Paso Sico into San Pedro I met a guy running a tour on BMW F650s. He's based in San Pedro.

Unfortunately I don't have his card (it's with my gear in Uyuni, Bolivia, while I wait hear in Sucre for a new suspension to be couriered in for my R80 G/S! Crapped out its oik 10kms short of Uyuni. Ah, the joys of motorcycle adventure!).

Anyway, I've just Googled BMW moto tours out of San Pedro and one link is below. It's probably him. Page down for the contact details. They say they have expert mechanics. If not, they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Welcome to San Pedro de Atacama Chile

Hopefully they can help out with workshop, tools and moral mechanical support.

I also found this link of a company doing moto tours out of Chile, incl San Pedro, with F650s. They also mention KLR 650s on their page. Might also be of help.

Motorcycle rentals in Chile, South America | RIDE Adventures

All the best. Everything will work out, I'm sure. One way or another it always does. It's usually just a matter of time and money, while long than planned pit stops are great opportunities to get to know somewhere better. Who knows who you'll meet or what you'll discover???

The universe is a mysterious place!

Cheers,

Bob

Nick,

I just found your call for help you posted a week ago. Do not know if you are taken care of yet. I'm an American living in Concepcion, Chile and I ride a KLR here. Unfortunately for us both, I'm to far South to be able to come out and help.

As for ordering parts, sometimes they come in without any duty,if you have to pay, it will be about 32% of the value including the cost of shipping (Part- $100 + 30 shipping = $130 duty would be 32% on the $130 / $42 duty. I have bought used stuff off of ebay USA and have had them sent down to Chile.

There is also a KLR 650 community here that will do their best to give you some help. You can find us by joining Noticias e Historias There is already a post with comments about your trouble and people that want to help, some of them do okay with their English. You will also find there is an online 2008 service manual.

Nick,

Hi, I just read your call for help in the klr650.cl Chilean forum. Im from Concepción Chile, just like Rick_E, if you dont have sold the bike, I have one Cilinder Block in useable condition that you can rebuilt for your mototorcycle (no charge for you). I can send you the piece to your location in Chile, I have an alternative cylinder head gasket too..... Contact me to my mail mbetanca@gmail.com or to my phone number: +569 seven eigth seven four one one three nine.

Kind regards,

Mauricio

Hey Nick,
What happened with you and your broken KLR?
After all the positive response from folks here I'm surprised that we
hear NOT A WORD! How about an update!

Hope it's all gone well.

I was wondering too, hope you're back on the road!

Bumped into a rider today in Pisaq, Peru. Had a KLR 650. Asked him how he was. He mentioned he had had a frozen radiator problem and at that moment I knew I was talking to the famous Nick. He repaired the bike in San Pedro making his own gasket along with other ingenious improvisations and is still going strong.

Now we can all sleep at night.

Marvellous.