Coolant Leak - Spraying all over me!

[phertwo]

Well I'm making this seem much worst that it is, but the problem is starting to get worse.

 

I finished putting my bike all back together after a whole host of maintenance tasks, like the valve clearance adjustment and unbolting the rad to give a little wiggle room to replace the regulator/rectifier.

 

So a few days ago when I parked my bike after an hour long ride I noticed one drop of green coolant sitting on top of the lower cowling by the air filter. I thought, boy that's strange, how did that get there. I had a sick sense that something was going wrong.

 

During the next ride I looked forward and noticed that there was coolant spray on the back of the front-right fork. I knew that something was wrong for sure now. When I parked I looked all over the rad and noticed that there was some coolant around the top of the rad fins and on the very top of the rad. It appeared that the coolant was coming from above the rad.

 

So I stripped the bike down a fair bit to inspect further. I didn't notice any coolant leaking while the bike was off, so I knew this was a leak being caused while the water pump is on, putting pressure to the whole system. I also noticed that the 5" long heater hose that fed the top of the radiator had a decent size kink/bend in it. So I replaced it with new heater hose and better clamps. I should have done a hot idle test, but I decided to put the bike back together hedging my bets that I fixed the problem.

 

Well, on today's ride to work the problem quickly developed and got much worst. The front fork was getting spray (though I could never see any stream of coolant while riding), the coolant was also streaming up my handle bars, on my right mirror, all over my tank, and some on my pants. This made a nice stain on my brown work pants which I am not happy about!

 

So I'd appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, past experiences shared. No leaking when the bike is off, but it appears to be leaking above the rad when the bike is on. Though I haven't had the bike stripped down and running, the rad cap and hoses above do not look like they are wet, they still have some dust on them. Thoughts?

[Condor]

While sitting on the sidestand and idling it doesn't leak... or spray?? You might also think about doing a system pressure test?? Also check the overflow hose for leaks....

[phertwo]

At idle I say a small stream coming from the frame of the bike where the rad connects. It streamed down the rad pin connection that connects to the frame, and then all over the top of the rad. I'm assuming that the spray/splatter is caused by the wind while in motion. Makes a hell of a mess.

[allwx]

I'd recheck that top hose, the one that goes into the front head on top. I removed mine when I did my last valve adj in June, and when I got everything back together I had a leak just where you describe yours. When I was taking things apart I removed that hose. To get it off the head flange I had to loosen the top of it and slid it up the top to make room to get it off the head. During reassembly I did not put enough tight on the top clamp. The leak showed up after running the bike, as a small trickle down the left side. I was able to get at the thing without removing much of anything, just used a long screwdriver to get at the clamp. Good luck!

[phertwo]

Thanks Allwx. I just replaced the short top hose (the one that connects the rad to that whatchamacallit device above the rad) and put new heavy duty clamps on it. I'm going to check that hose and clamps again for issues.

 

Ain't nothing like a coolant shower in the morning to wake you up!

[MidnightSpook]

I had the same thing happen on a venture. it ended up being the inlet pipe at the top of the rad was cracked. it was still under warranty and they just replaced it.

[phertwo]

I'll be on the look-out for cracked tubing and loose connections. I'm going to wear a swim-suit I think. Coolant is so damn messy, I've always had bad luck with spilling that stuff everywhere when refilling..

[bkuhr]

On 1st gen it is difficult to get pressure cap on correctly, maybe yours is cockeyed?

[saddlebum]

Make sure the cap is fully tightend, sometimes it feels like it is when it is not. Try putting a preasure tester on it, preasure increases when it gets hot so you may not get a cold leak. If you don't have ready access to one let me know, I have one. Also check that your overflow hose is properly attached or not split. Instead of coolant going back to the surge tank when the preasure cap opens it may just leak at that point and only each time the cap opens to regulate rad preasure.

[phertwo]

Okay! So I found the leak! There is a tiny hairline crack right at the base of where the pin sticks out of the top of the rad. I saw a tiny little stream of coolant spraying up from the crack. My guess if that the crack developed from my method of removing/getting the rad loose and out of the way. Everyone should be a little more careful when moving the rad by not disconnecting the hose.

 

So I think this may be a quick fix... Pull out my trusty mig welder and run a bead over the crack. Its a small crack, maybe 3/8" long. I took a picture of the crack which I will post tomorrow. Hopefully I won't have to pull the rad again to fix this.

[phertwo]

Hmmmm, I think its aluminum. The rad metal scratched really easily when I scraped the crack with a knife. I checked it with a magnet and its definitely non-ferrous. Damn. Maybe some kind of adhesive might work? I don't do aluminum welding.

[Taking it EZ]

Personally, I wouldn't trust "some kind of adhesive" on a hot, pressurized system. Pull the radiator and get it done right.

[Flyinfool]

Yep, Pull it out and fix it right or you will end up undoing your quick fix and then doing it right anyhow.

[Michael_Bishop]

sounds like the way a truck or cars water line hook into the firewall to goto heater core. I remember in the early 70's when I started driving I had a heater hose I had to replace. When I was putting the new one on I wiggle it a little gotting it on. It crack it and leak. I had to bypass it till I got it fixed.

[phertwo]

So here is where the leak is. Well, I did what a few of you guys said not to, I used an adhesive~!@. But I did choose wisely I think. I got a specific high temperature aluminum adhesive that is specific to repairing radiators. I would have had the rad welded, but it was literally a very small pinhole that was causing this leak, no doubt caused by me pulling hard on the rad putting stress on that top pin. It seems to be holding just fine now, but if it fails in the future I can still pull the rad, grind off the adhesive spot and have it welded. I'll hope for the best.

 

Thanks for everyone's suggestions and advice! Much appreciated!

 

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