Coolant Leak?

CaliGirl · April 6th, 2009, 07:13 PM

I'm hoping someone can throw some ideas at me.

The last time I rode my ninja, I had just finished putting her back together and I made sure all of the fluids were topped off. That was maybe 2 weeks ago, give or take a day or two. Well today I went out to see if I could mod the front turn signals and after removing the right fairing I noticed the coolant in the reserve tank is below the L level

I looked for leaks. I check all the hoses, but everything appears kosher. Is there anything else I should check??

Please help.

Alex · April 6th, 2009, 07:16 PM

While there is a chance there is a leak, it's also possible that over a few rides that bubbles and other airspaces worked their way out of your radiator and were replaced with coolant from the overflow tank. Check at the radiator cap itself to make sure that it is full to the top, and then fill up the overflow tank to between the H/L marks, and go for another ride or two to see if it drops again.

CaliGirl · April 6th, 2009, 07:22 PM

Thanks. I'll check that now....

CaliGirl · April 6th, 2009, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex

While there is a chance there is a leak, it's also possible that over a few rides that bubbles and other airspaces worked their way out of your radiator and were replaced with coolant from the overflow tank. Check at the radiator cap itself to make sure that it is full to the top, and then fill up the overflow tank to between the H/L marks, and go for another ride or two to see if it drops again.

When you say full to the top, that means I should see the coolant as soon as the radiator cap is removed?
I don't see any.

Alex · April 6th, 2009, 07:34 PM

That's an issue. The radiator should be full with fluid, right up to the top. Do you see any fluid in there, or it just low? Typically streetbike radiators are filled with 1/2 distilled water / 1/2 antifreeze, but here in Cali we can get away with 99% distilled water and just a spritz of Redline water wetter or similar. If it's just a little low, you can just add distilled water to get it to full; don't add straight antifreeze to refill.

kkim · April 6th, 2009, 07:34 PM

have you been doing a lot of low speed riding?

CaliGirl · April 6th, 2009, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex

That's an issue. The radiator should be full with fluid, right up to the top. Do you see any fluid in there, or it just low? Typically streetbike radiators are filled with 1/2 distilled water / 1/2 antifreeze, but here in Cali we can get away with 99% distilled water and just a spritz of Redline water wetter or similar. If it's just a little low, you can just add distilled water to get it to full; don't add straight antifreeze to refill.

I don't see any fluid in there at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kkim

have you been doing a lot of low speed riding?

I rode it once the other day around my neighborhood...so yeah it was slow speeds. Between 25-40mph.

Alex · April 6th, 2009, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliGirl

I don't see any fluid in there at all.

That can indicate a very large problem. You need to refill it. Get some distilled water and fill it to the top, and worry about getting some redline water wetter later. If you ran the bike any distance with no fluid in the radiator, it's possible to damage the engine as it quickly overheats. The real gotcha in this case is that the engine temp is measured from the radiator fluid. If there is zero fluid, the engine temp never appears to get hot enough to activate the warning light on the dash, even though the engine temp itself can be way into the red zone, hot enough to do some damage.

Good luck, and keep us updated!

kkim · April 6th, 2009, 08:00 PM

yeah, fill with distilled water. try to keep track roughly how much goes in to fill it. Be sure to fill the reservoir tank to the top fill line while you're at it. Stand the bike close top vertical to get an accurate measurement when filling the reservoir.

bob706 · April 6th, 2009, 08:29 PM

I would at the very least check your oil level sight glass. If you have no coolant in there I would worry. That's assuming there are no visible external leaks.

Jiu Jitsu Player · April 12th, 2009, 10:41 PM

Any suggestions on type of coolant to use?

k4m1k4z3k · April 13th, 2009, 06:45 AM

Too much oil maybe? I've overfilled mine one time and it burned through a whole tank of coolant in a day and started overheating. Drained out some of the oil and it was fine after that.

headshrink · July 11th, 2009, 12:54 AM

Did you find the problem?

April 6th, 2009, 07:13 PM	#1
CaliGirl Curiosity is a Killer Name: CG Location: So Cal Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): 08 Ninja 250 Posts: 102	Coolant Leak? I'm hoping someone can throw some ideas at me. The last time I rode my ninja, I had just finished putting her back together and I made sure all of the fluids were topped off. That was maybe 2 weeks ago, give or take a day or two. Well today I went out to see if I could mod the front turn signals and after removing the right fairing I noticed the coolant in the reserve tank is below the L level I looked for leaks. I check all the hoses, but everything appears kosher. Is there anything else I should check?? Please help. __________________________________________________

April 6th, 2009, 07:16 PM	#2
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	While there is a chance there is a leak, it's also possible that over a few rides that bubbles and other airspaces worked their way out of your radiator and were replaced with coolant from the overflow tank. Check at the radiator cap itself to make sure that it is full to the top, and then fill up the overflow tank to between the H/L marks, and go for another ride or two to see if it drops again. __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

April 6th, 2009, 07:22 PM	#3
CaliGirl Curiosity is a Killer Name: CG Location: So Cal Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): 08 Ninja 250 Posts: 102	Thanks. I'll check that now.... __________________________________________________

April 6th, 2009, 07:34 PM	#5
Alex ninjette.org dude Name: 1 guess :-) Location: SF Bay Area Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much. Blog Entries: 7	That's an issue. The radiator should be full with fluid, right up to the top. Do you see any fluid in there, or it just low? Typically streetbike radiators are filled with 1/2 distilled water / 1/2 antifreeze, but here in Cali we can get away with 99% distilled water and just a spritz of Redline water wetter or similar. If it's just a little low, you can just add distilled water to get it to full; don't add straight antifreeze to refill. __________________________________________________ Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered)

April 12th, 2009, 10:41 PM	#11
Jiu Jitsu Player Live 2 Ride Forced 2 Work Name: Chris Location: Guam Join Date: Mar 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 RED 250r Posts: 386	Any suggestions on type of coolant to use? __________________________________________________ SAVAGE MODE: [ON] OFF www.7milesdown.com

April 6th, 2009, 07:34 PM	#6
kkim Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: Too much.	have you been doing a lot of low speed riding?

April 6th, 2009, 08:00 PM	#9
kkim Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: Too much.	yeah, fill with distilled water. try to keep track roughly how much goes in to fill it. Be sure to fill the reservoir tank to the top fill line while you're at it. Stand the bike close top vertical to get an accurate measurement when filling the reservoir.

April 6th, 2009, 08:29 PM	#10
bob706 ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Sean Location: Mary Esther, FL Join Date: Jan 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250 1998 HD Road King Posts: A lot.	I would at the very least check your oil level sight glass. If you have no coolant in there I would worry. That's assuming there are no visible external leaks.

April 13th, 2009, 06:45 AM	#12
k4m1k4z3k ninjette.org member Name: Kel Location: Harford County,MD Join Date: Feb 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250 Posts: 24	Too much oil maybe? I've overfilled mine one time and it burned through a whole tank of coolant in a day and started overheating. Drained out some of the oil and it was fine after that.

July 11th, 2009, 12:54 AM	#13
headshrink ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Bob Location: CA Join Date: Dec 2008 Motorcycle(s): '08 Ninja 250r, '14 CBR500r Posts: A lot.	Did you find the problem?

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