Uh Oh!.... :'( Coolant doesn't look right.

[MissBex]

Hello once again all,

So since replacing the rad and figuring out the overflowing coolant was due to a non connected hose to the reservoir, bike has been fine.

Today I was going to take her for a ride and thought I nest check the coolant in the rad, make sure it was all ok as hadn't checked it for a while - took the cap off to find the coolant looking milky and I can see swirls/streaks in it, and a thin yellowy-brown coating around the neck and on the rad cap.

:(

I can only assume this is probably head gasket? Someone did mention it could be something to do with oil cooler o-rings.

I spoke to the Honda garage on the phone and the guy says he wouldn't think it would be head gasket as I'd notice other problems too and could just be oily residue from the new rad mixing with the coolant. He said I should firstly just do a coolant change again and see if it does it again.

I'm worried about running the bike though in case I make it worse.

I did run it just now though to check the oil. Let it sit running for several mins on the abbastand and oil and level seem fine.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w11/BBBikergirl/001sm_zpsamushn7p.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w11/BBBikergirl/004sm_zpsnoqpmcmw.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w11/BBBikergirl/007sm_zpspigst6xt.jpg

Thinking about it.. it's only done this since connecting the hose back up to the reservoir that I found unconnected, which was why coolant was coming out from the bike somewhere.... I wonder if the coolant in the reservoir was just manky maybe? But then again, how would it have got like that in the first place :/

[Dav3y]

What sort of milage since the new rad ?

Have you lost any coolant ?

Personally, I wouldnt panic too much. Just keep an eye on it.

Does the oil look milky ?

[MissBex]

Heya Dav3y,

Around 1k miles roughly i'd say. It's a Delkevic rad.

The picture doesn't show it up too well, but basically when you look closely, the coolant has light streaks/swirls in it and looks a bit cloudy. There's also the thin yellowy-brown layer of stuff around the rad neck and on the filler cap. It also smells a bit 'off', not sweet like when I put it in.

Once I connected the hose I found that was unconnected from the rad, back to the reservoir, I assume the green coolant in there has probably mixed with the Blue Honda coolant that I put fresh in the bike which is why it looks greenish again. (Could also be any leftover green coolant that didn't drain out from before, but it was fresh from the service it had earlier in the year anyway)

I think I have lost a bit out of the reservoir, I'll try and add some more to see if I can notice where the level is. I really struggle to see the amount in there. But I noticed on some longer rides i've done where the bike is sitting getting hot that I've see dribbles of coolant coming down from where the big hose is that connects to the rad near the filler cap, but I've tightened up the clip a bit more and I think it's ok now.

I did also notice a small wet patch just under the bike when I went to get it out the shed the other day, wasn't sure what it was or if it was from the bike but it was just under where the water pump is.

Everyone keeps telling me to leave it, it'll be fine.. but I'm not convinced and I'm worried to ride it :/

I've ordered some more coolant and will do a coolant change again on it in the week, at the least for piece of mind and see what it looks like properly and see if it does it again with the new coolant.

[eastanglianbiker]

dont panic about it being head gasket if that was the cause then the cap would have a lot more thick white gunk round it and you would be losing oil or if it was on the compression side you would either notice it over heating or boiling up when stood still and performance would be affected due to compression passing through gasket instead of compressing to fire and power the bike

[MissBex]

dont panic about it being head gasket if that was the cause then the cap would have a lot more thick white gunk round it and you would be losing oil or if it was on the compression side you would either notice it over heating or boiling up when stood still and performance would be affected due to compression passing through gasket instead of compressing to fire and power the bike

 

Ah ok, it does get quite hot when sitting, never in the red but about 3/4 or the way then the fan kicks in and brings it down a bit. I only notice a smokey exhaust on colder days usually. I have had coolant dribbling down the rad from the big hose at the back of it, but I've tightened the clip up a bit more and I think it's stopped doing it, only did it though when the bike got hot at slow speeds/sitting.

I'm gonna do a coolant change on it in the week still I think - just for piece of mind. Can't hurt and isn't expensive.

[eastanglianbiker]

just make sure you get all the air out of the system as an air lock will cause it to overheat

[MissBex]

Ok I've done it - The stuff that came out didn't look too bad, a little dark and murky. I believe this was due to any remaining green in the system mixing with the blue.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w11/BBBikergirl/coolant1_zpstcuhoqaa.jpg

When I got to draining the reservoir tank, I took the hose off to drain but nothing happened... was there anything in there? Used a torch on it but couldn't see a thing. So added some water to it and it came flowing out the overflow.

So I found a soft bendy hair roller (Only thing I could find suitable at the time haha) and I stuck it down into the reservoir right to the bottom and gave it some plunger action. I then saw this big load of darkness rising up.

Turned out it was blocked by a ton of old very thick green sludgy coolant - obviously that had happened when that hose was unconnected for all that time before. (No wonder I struggled to see where the level was). I knocked it about and kept running water through it until it finally cleared and drained.

It was also all in the hose too, so lifted the tank, disconnected it from the other part that it meets up to and then squirted water through it till is was clear.

I've hopefully bled the system properly (Run it for a bit and revs till I didn't see any more bubbles coming up - just the coolant rubbling on top as I revved in the end) Taken her out for a little ride around today and it seems fine.

As for the yellowy-brown layer - still not sure, but will just check back up on it every now and then

[Steve D]

If different types of antifreeze are mixed together (organic and non organic) they can react and form a horrible gel. When I changed the antifreeze in my FJR I followed the recommended procedudure which was to drain and flush the cooling system twice using distilled water then refill with a 50/50 mixture of antifreeze and distilled water.