coolant question

[ddrummer]

lately when I ride coolant overflows to the reservior, but does not return to the radiator. I've checked the tubes for kinks,etc, and also flushed the radiator. Any suggestions?

[WR_Jason]

Is the bike hot when it pushes out or dose it push out when you rev the bike? If its not hot you may have a compression leak pressurizing the cooling system.

Are you over filling your rads? Cooloant should be just over the tops of the fins.

Under normal conditions the bike should not really push water out at all. Check the mix and thin out the anti freeze with water wetter and water, 30 60 or so anti freeze to water.

When the coolant dose get pushed out due to boil over it should return but not untill the bike cools down, alot!. You may have to CAREFULY crack the rad cap open very slowly and with a gloved hand holding a damp rag, to bleed the pressure out of the top of the rads to get it to suck in the coolant in the tank.

Please be carefull when cracking the cap on a hot rad, I try to have my helmet on, eye protection, gloves, long sleeves, and a damp rag over the cap. Look away from it when you turn it and listen to it. Push down or tighten the cap back up when you hear the coolant comming to the top, give it a sec or two and bleed again. Dont let the coolant get out, it will burn your hand, make you let go and youll have boiling hot coolant all over you and anyone standing close to your bike. Then you have to go hunt down the cap when it comes down form orbit ? .

[ddrummer]

Originally posted by ddrummer:

lately when I ride coolant overflows to the reservior, but does not return to the radiator. I've checked the tubes for kinks,etc, and also flushed the radiator. Any suggestions?

[ddrummer]

Originally posted by ddrummer:

lately when I ride coolant overflows to the reservior, but does not return to the radiator. I've checked the tubes for kinks,etc, and also flushed the radiator. Any suggestions?

Thanks for responding. The bike is hot when this happens, so maybe I'm over filling the rad, but I've kept the level right below the cap since I bought the bike, and this is something new.

[Terry_in_Reno]

Sounds like the cap has gone bad. They are designed to let coolent out when the pressures/tempuratures are up, but when cooling down the cap should allow the coolent to return.

You might check to see nothing is plugging the tube. There is pressure pushing the coolent out of the radiators, but the return may not push past.