rode 450 with little/no coolant, should i worry?

[warrior86]

well i went trail riding with some buddies (im an MX guy) and i got stuck on this uphill of loose, leafy dirt. In the process of gettin in up the hill with some buddies help i was revvin in in first gear and obviously there wasnt much airflow. WHen i finally arrived at the top, there was steam coming from teh radiators. I figured, ok, it boiled over a lil, ill top it off when i get home. Needless to say, after the fiasco of the return trip home, i forgot about checkin the coolant and ended up going to teh motocross track three times with it until i finally thought of checkin. I dunno if it was bone dry but i ended up replenishing atleast .7 litres of engine ice. The motor seems to be running fine. Is there anything i should check for to see if anything was damaged or am i probably ok? Im runnin amsoil 20w-50 if that matters. Thanks

[grayracer513]

If the engine runs well, and the coolant isn't mysteriously disappearing, I'd say you dodged a bullet.

[bigbluerider4life]

watch the coolant level from now on and make sure it doesn't go down any, if it runs alright and coolant isn't dissappearing like gray said...you are lucky

[warrior86]

ok, thanks guys. Geeze, i meticulously take care of this bike it would be a shame to have problems over such a mindless error.?

[warrior86]

Assuming that the bike isnt losing coolant and runs ok is there anything i should worry about? The reason i ask this is because i do fairly large jumps at the track 60+ feet and it would be catastrophic to have my motor lock up on the face of a jump.

[rmandyzf]

you should be fine don't sweat it

[grayracer513]

The list of first things that would fail because of a lack of coolant is probably something like:

> The head gasket (and possibly a warped head surface)

> The piston

> Then possibly the cams would seize, or there would be damage to the exhaust valves.

Any failure of the bottom end would be well down the list. Possible, but very unlikely before one of the other failures.

[warrior86]

i wish i pulled the drain plug to see how much (if any) came out so i would have an idea of what was left but i assumed (never assume) that the coolant level was just a smidge less than what my eye could see.

I mean, when you have a boilover (if thats what its called) how much typically comes out? I guess the reason i forgot in the first place is because i didnt take the situation that seriously. When it steamed i figured i probably lost a cups worth of water and i would top it off at some point.

btw, any chance of damage to the water pump and/or seals?...if it ran dry?

thanks for all teh help.

[grayracer513]

If it ran dry, it could have burned the coolant seal. But, if it had, it would leak.

[davidl9999]

...i do fairly large jumps at the track 60+ feet and it would be catastrophic to have my motor lock up on the face of a jump.

I'm all for hoping that you dodged the bullet with the rest of the posters here, and it sounds like the bike is fine. However, if you are concerned about the engine, rebuild the top end.

imo:

It's just as important to have your head straight when you're racing as having the bike in top shape. If you're thinking about the engine failing while you're racing, you shouldn't be racing the bike until that's no longer a factor.

[warrior86]

i appreciate the insight from everybody. Ill ride the bike this weekend and see how it runs. If it gives me no reason to be alarmed, then ill let it go.?

But outta curiousity, how exactly does the whole overheating thing work? the bike gets too hot, the coolant boils and the pressurized cap lets some pressure (steam) come out? How much typically comes out? Im just shocked that i lost that much fluid. I guess thisll be another lesson in my motocross journey.

[Butta]

i appreciate the insight from everybody. Ill ride the bike this weekend and see how it runs. If it gives me no reason to be alarmed, then ill let it go.?

But outta curiousity, how exactly does the whole overheating thing work? the bike gets too hot, the coolant boils and the pressurized cap lets some pressure (steam) come out? How much typically comes out? Im just shocked that i lost that much fluid. I guess thisll be another lesson in my motocross journey.

If a coolant system loses coolant due to overheating (usually lack of airflow over the radiators) the coolant overcomes the pressurized cap and finds it's way out of the radiator through the overflow hose and will continue to override the cap until the pressure inside the system decreases to a point less than the cap is designed for. As it reaches atmospheric pressure in the overflow hose, it flashes to steam. How much you lose depends on how long the overpressure/overheating condition exists.

Hope that helps.......there is no clear answer, as it is all dependent on situation.