Attempting to change oil, huge accident happened with coolant. Kinda important.

[Insane Pie]

So I was warming up my bike so I could change the oil. It was about 20 mins. I come out and there's what I suppose is coolant all over the ground by back tire. The bike was heating up and I think coolant came out of a small hose toward the back tire.

So can I just add new coolant?

How severe is this?

Also, I can't get the nut off so I can change the oil filter. My breaker bar isn't the right side for the socket. How bad would it be for the bike if I left the old filter in and filled the bike back up with oil until I could get the right breaker bar and then change the oil again and install the new filter?

[Alex]

You let the bike sit there and idle for 20 minutes? Don't do that. It can certainly overheat in that time, and if so it can push coolant out the overflow. See what the line is still up to in the overflow tank to see if you may need to add more.

Some people change their oil more often than they change their oil filter. Not a huge deal if you're changing the oil very often and the oil filter is still changed within the normal service recommendations, but I wouldn't want to run the same filter past the normal service life.

[Insane Pie]

Originally Posted by Alex

You let the bike sit there and idle for 20 minutes? Don't do that. It can certainly overheat in that time, and if so it can push coolant out the overflow. See what the line is still up to in the overflow tank to see if you may need to add more.

Some people change their oil more often than they change their oil filter. Not a huge deal if you're changing the oil very often and the oil filter is still changed within the normal service recommendations, but I wouldn't want to run the same filter past the normal service life.

Yeah, I didn't mean to let it idle for that long and got distracted. Also the radiator is slightly bent on the bottom which I now realize why the fan isn't going on. Do I need to replace the radiator completely or could I carefully bend it back a little bit so the fan can turn?

[Alex]

Hard to even guess at it without knowing which part is bent and by how much? Maybe you could post some pics online? If the fan tried to go and was stopped, hopefully the only thing that blew was the fuse for it, and not the fan motor itself.

[Insane Pie]

I'll have to get some photos up in a bit after I change the oil. Would a new/used fan be expensive? If the motor blew?

[jkv45]

You need to get the fan-issue resolved. I would try carefully bending the radiator back into shape, and then check for leaks.

Normally idling that long shouldn't be a problem (though not a great idea), but if you don't have a working fan it will eventually overheat.

From the sound of it the coolant heated and expanded enough (more than normal) that it overflowed the radiator overflow bottle. Most likely the level in the overflow bottle will be too low when it cools, so you'll need to add some.

Just get the proper tools for the filter change - a 17mm 6pt 3/8"-drive socket or a 17mm combination wrench is what you should be using. A "breaker bar" is an extra long bar used in place of a normal ratchet to remove bolts that are extremely tight.

You shouldn't need - or use - that when doing an oil/filter change.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by jkv45

Normally idling that long shouldn't be a problem (though not a great idea), but if you don't have a working fan it will eventually overheat.

The cooling system on these bikes is quite minimal; even with the fan running it will still overheat reasonably quickly if left sitting at idle. (though without it, it will certainly happen faster).

[cbinker]

Step 1: Figure out if you can get the fan to spin w/o bending the radiotor. Radiators are typically copper and if you attempt to bend it back, it will most likely break.
Step2: Find out where the coolant actually came from. It is a closed tightly system and you may have a leak somewhere.
Step 3: come back and report any more issues.

[MrAtom]

Originally Posted by Alex

The cooling system on these bikes is quite minimal; even with the fan running it will still overheat reasonably quickly if left sitting at idle. (though without it, it will certainly happen faster).

Is the pregen and newgen cooling system all that different? I've never had an issue with my pregen getting too hot, and the radiator on it's been welded before, so it's not exactly in optimal condition.

[Alex]

They work fine if the bike is moving, but if standing still in hot weather, or just sitting idling for any length of time, there isn't enough capacity to keep the engine temp out of the red zone. This is not different from many other motorcycles. But it is different than pretty much all modern cars, where the cooling systems are sized to keep the car running safely indefinitely at idle.

[MrAtom]

Thank you! I appreciate it! Good to know

[xorbe]

I don't think my '06 pregen overheats on idle ... how high is your idle?! I noticed after a coolant flush, the fan runs a lot less, which doesn't make much sense to me, but I actually tested the fan after noticing the fan never came on anymore. Before the flush, it always came on a few seconds after I stopped, like heat soak.

[LNasty]

on hot days while even riding at highway speeds the fan kicks on. I have been wanting to replace coolant with engine Ice, just haven't done it yet. Mixed reviews on the stuff

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by LNasty

on hot days while even riding at highway speeds the fan kicks on. I have been wanting to replace coolant with engine Ice, just haven't done it yet. Mixed reviews on the stuff

Something isn't right then.

Either the temp sender isn't working properly or the radiator isn't flowing properly. You will get a lot more cooling at speed than the fan can produce, and if the fan is running on the hwy it's a sign of a problem somewhere.

[LNasty]

Originally Posted by jkv45

Something isn't right then.

Either the temp sender isn't working properly or the radiator isn't flowing properly. You will get a lot more cooling at speed than the fan can produce, and if the fan is running on the hwy it's a sign of a problem somewhere.

hmmmmm, will have to check that out. I know they just flushed my system a couple thousand miles ago when I have valves done.

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by LNasty

hmmmmm, will have to check that out. I know they just flushed my system a couple thousand miles ago when I have valves done.

First thing would be to check the coolant levels in the radiator (engine cold) and overflow tank.

If that's good, you could run it until the fan kicks on, then check the temp of the radiator where the switch is mounted with an infrared thermometer. That would tell you what temp the switch was turning the fan on at, and by doing some research you could tell if it was correct.

If that checks out, I would think you have a blockage in the radiator or something restricting flow and/or cooling.