Hey all,
so this weekend I completely tore down my bike to install LED blinkers, fluid changes and a new brake line. Upon draining the coolant I see this:
Now, I bought my bike just over a year ago and never touched the coolant. The PO said he had changed fluids just before putting it up for sale. My service manual asks for a coolant change every 2 years.
This year I discovered the bike was completely neglected by the PO. He hadn't done any scheduled maintenance and just changed oil occasionally. I had to replace a rusty chain (it was painted over when I bought it...
), and general maintenance. I reckon it's never been changed in it's short 6 year lifespan.
After seeing on Facebook that it could be a blown gasket - I called my mechanic. He says it's likely, though he's never seen coolant that old.
My questions are:
Is there a dark green coolant? Can it even get that dirty over the years, riding in the rain and cold? PO had it sitting outside - can it get contaminated? Has anyone else seen 6 year old coolant before?
Is this indication of a blown gasket? The coolant had no oil in it from what I could tell...I figured it'd settle at the top or bottom. It's done neither. The oil didn't seem to have any coolant in it either. I poured it into a pan tonight and will check it tomorrow morning (yes, I keep my old oil :P)
It DOES have more oil in it than when I filled it up. I (accidentally) filled it to the top line of the sight glass. My dad sucks at reading it lol. I'm draining some today to see if it fills up again tomorrow.
It's my only means of transport so if I have a blown gasket I'd have to get it replaced ASAP. What do you guys think?