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Coolant
- Thread starter ifiddles
- Start date
ifiddles
Well-known member
I thought the Prestone had that..thanks, we're looking for one with corrosion inhibitors in it
If it's aluminium-compatible (and it should be, if they claim "all vehicles"), it should be fine in general. BUT. And it's a big but.
There are several different additive chemistries for coolants, and not all of them play nice with each other. Volkswagen G11 and G12 coolant is excellent stuff, but must absolutely not be mixed with the generic "green coolant". Many VW cooling systems have been destroyed because someone topped off an OEM G11/G12-coolant-equipped cooling system with the cheap generic green stuff!
If you don't know what's in there now, flush the cooling system completely before putting something else in there.
If you DO know what's in there, top it up with (preferably) the same stuff, or at least, with something that uses the same or compatible additive chemistry ... except this is something the average person would not know.
Complete drain-flush-fill ... No problem. Top-off ... Use the same as what's in there now, be it OEM or whatever you know was put in there last. Don't know what's in there now and absolutely needs to be topped up? Summer is coming, freeze-up is less critical, top it up with water and do a flush-and-fill with something known before next winter.
There are several different additive chemistries for coolants, and not all of them play nice with each other. Volkswagen G11 and G12 coolant is excellent stuff, but must absolutely not be mixed with the generic "green coolant". Many VW cooling systems have been destroyed because someone topped off an OEM G11/G12-coolant-equipped cooling system with the cheap generic green stuff!
If you don't know what's in there now, flush the cooling system completely before putting something else in there.
If you DO know what's in there, top it up with (preferably) the same stuff, or at least, with something that uses the same or compatible additive chemistry ... except this is something the average person would not know.
Complete drain-flush-fill ... No problem. Top-off ... Use the same as what's in there now, be it OEM or whatever you know was put in there last. Don't know what's in there now and absolutely needs to be topped up? Summer is coming, freeze-up is less critical, top it up with water and do a flush-and-fill with something known before next winter.
ifiddles
Well-known member
he's definitely going to flush the system out as it's an oily brown colour...bought the bike last year, only rode it about 1000 km and he was fiddling around with it yesterday and noticed it...it's a 2009 and probably hasn't been done...
The engine should never be running with an empty (as in "DRY") cooling system.
Identify the radiator cap, the coolant reservoir cap, the drain point of the cooling system (either a dedicated drain screw, or the lowermost coolant hose), and the drain point of the coolant reservoir (usually this will involve the little hose at the bottom of it).
Put a drain pan underneath the bike. Engine cold.
Remove the radiator cap.
Remove drain screw (if provided) or undo lowermost coolant hose clamp and pull hose off nipple (if there is no designated drain screw) and drain the coolant into the drain pan.
Remove the hose connecting to the bottom of the coolant reservoir, and drain that into the drain pan as well.
Sometimes, for purposes of getting as much out as possible, it helps to tilt the bike to the left as much as you dare and then to the right as much as you dare, a couple of times.
When done draining, pour the drained coolant into a suitable container for recycling, and to ensure that any coolant is not going to attract pets or animals.
Put the drain screw / lower coolant hose back in place.
Fill the cooling system with plain water at the radiator cap. Don't fill the coolant reservoir bottle yet.
Start the engine and note the water level below the radiator cap. It will probably go down due to air pockets being driven out. Top it up as this happens.
After the engine has run for a couple of minutes, stop it, and drain the cooling system again.
For purposes of a normal flush-and-fill, any minor remaining amount of the old coolant is insignificant. For racetrack use, where any trace of green coolant could be grounds for a tech-inspection fail, do this a couple more times until what drains out is clear.
After draining the water the last time, install and torque drain screw / install and tighten coolant hose, and install the drain hose for the coolant reservoir.
Fill mixture of 50% coolant / 50% water through the radiator cap until that's full, and fill the reservoir to the "cold" (lower level) line.
The minor extra amount of dilution from the water remaining in low pockets from the previous operations will ordinarily be of no consequence.
Start the engine and run it while topping up at the radiator cap as it purges air pockets.
Re-install the radiator cap, and stop the engine.
Tilt the bike to left and right as much as you dare a couple of times to encourage air pockets to migrate to the top.
Check and top up the coolant under the radiator cap.
Ride. After the first ride, check the level in the reservoir, and set it to the "low" line. It is entirely normal for air pockets to get purged out over the first couple of warm-up cycles, thus needing topping-up.
There are some *cough* Triumph bikes in which the manufacturer did not see fit to install the radiator cap at the high point in the cooling system, thus leading to a trapped air pocket when the bike is on the side stand. If you have one of those, check the level in the radiator with the radiator cap off with the bike tipped to the other side so that the radiator cap is at the highest spot, and you'll have to put the radiator cap back on with the bike in that position to avoid coolant spilling out.
Mad Mike
Well-known member
I use a really simple procedure.
1. On a cold bike, remove the rad cap. Start the bike with the cap off, let the bike warm up for 5 minutes, enough time to get warm circulation, but not enough to get coolant to scalding temps. This gets more guck in suspension than a cold draining.
2. Open drain or remove the lower hose and capture coolant. Refill with water, let the water drain.
3. Wrap a rag around an air blow gun and hold it in the rad cap filler. Blow until nothing but air come out the drain.
4. Close the drain and refill with coolant with specified type and mix. Don't forget the overflow, it wants some too.
5. Run the bike till you see coolant moving in the rad, then for a few more minutes. If the level gurgles down, top it up with the bike running. There well be a few bubbles that's OK. A steady stream of tiny bubbles or foam indicates a problem.
6. Cap the rad and reservior ...you're done.
Notes :
- Some bikes have special procedures, these are usually well discussed in user groups. For example, KLRs like 1/2 a banana or a raw egg. FJRs need a procedure called a blowie.
- if the drained coolant is opaque, oily, or milky you may have other issues. If you dont know what these mean, save the coolant and show it to a mechanic for advice.
1. On a cold bike, remove the rad cap. Start the bike with the cap off, let the bike warm up for 5 minutes, enough time to get warm circulation, but not enough to get coolant to scalding temps. This gets more guck in suspension than a cold draining.
2. Open drain or remove the lower hose and capture coolant. Refill with water, let the water drain.
3. Wrap a rag around an air blow gun and hold it in the rad cap filler. Blow until nothing but air come out the drain.
4. Close the drain and refill with coolant with specified type and mix. Don't forget the overflow, it wants some too.
5. Run the bike till you see coolant moving in the rad, then for a few more minutes. If the level gurgles down, top it up with the bike running. There well be a few bubbles that's OK. A steady stream of tiny bubbles or foam indicates a problem.
6. Cap the rad and reservior ...you're done.
Notes :
- Some bikes have special procedures, these are usually well discussed in user groups. For example, KLRs like 1/2 a banana or a raw egg. FJRs need a procedure called a blowie.
- if the drained coolant is opaque, oily, or milky you may have other issues. If you dont know what these mean, save the coolant and show it to a mechanic for advice.
ifiddles
Well-known member
this is why he's confused...the manual he has says the final step is to top up the rad and reservoir AFTER the bike has run for a bit and cooled down once it's been turned off...now he's second guessing himself because some say to top up while the bike is running, while the manual says after it's shut down...he followed the manual so I told him it should be fine and to just let it go...
ifiddles
Well-known member
thank you...that's what I keep telling him...
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