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is this an oil leak? (pics included)


workpeter
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I returned the radweld and replaced it with K Seal , however wont use just yet, will wait on bob.


Out of curiosity. Is it better to put the k Seal into the coolant reservoir tank or directly into the radiator through the radiator cap?

I did overfill the reservoir tank so im guessing I should let it drain off first..

 

Right, here we go . This might seem a little drastic but if the radiator is knackered anyway what have you got to lose ? I initially did this as a temporary repair but that was two years ago and I've never had any cooling issues. All you do is find exactly where the leak is , snip out the cooling veins surrounding the area , fold over the ends of the crossflow pipe and crimp , then fold over and crimp again for good measure. It doesn't look very nice but if you have a radiator guard you can't see it. It won't significantly effect radiator performance because it's a crossflow design and most importantly, it costs bugger all .

IMG_20190315_173743488.thumb.jpg.a36ad3164d4083543a67936d7e2ab63d.jpg

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I returned the radweld and replaced it with K Seal , however wont use just yet, will wait on bob.


Out of curiosity. Is it better to put the k Seal into the coolant reservoir tank or directly into the radiator through the radiator cap?

I did overfill the reservoir tank so im guessing I should let it drain off first..

 

Right, here we go . This might seem a little drastic but if the radiator is knackered anyway what have you got to lose ? I initially did this as a temporary repair but that was two years ago and I've never had any cooling issues. All you do is find exactly where the leak is , snip out the cooling veins surrounding the area , fold over the ends of the crossflow pipe and crimp , then fold over and crimp again for good measure. It doesn't look very nice but if you have a radiator guard you can't see it. It won't significantly effect radiator performance because it's a crossflow design and most importantly, it costs bugger all .

 

thanks Bob, this looks like really sound advise, and will defiantly try this if its turns out the radiator is knackered. great stuff.


there has been a development since my last post. So i rode the bike about 30miles and once again it overheated, but this time there was no leak.

I then looked behind the radiator whilst the engine was running and hot, and the fan isnt spinning :/ .

So i think for sure thats one issue confirmed, would you agree?

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I returned the radweld and replaced it with K Seal , however wont use just yet, will wait on bob.


Out of curiosity. Is it better to put the k Seal into the coolant reservoir tank or directly into the radiator through the radiator cap?

I did overfill the reservoir tank so im guessing I should let it drain off first..

 

Right, here we go . This might seem a little drastic but if the radiator is knackered anyway what have you got to lose ? I initially did this as a temporary repair but that was two years ago and I've never had any cooling issues. All you do is find exactly where the leak is , snip out the cooling veins surrounding the area , fold over the ends of the crossflow pipe and crimp , then fold over and crimp again for good measure. It doesn't look very nice but if you have a radiator guard you can't see it. It won't significantly effect radiator performance because it's a crossflow design and most importantly, it costs bugger all .

 

thanks Bob, this looks like really sound advise, and will defiantly try this if its turns out the radiator is knackered. great stuff.


there has been a development since my last post. So i rode the bike about 30miles and once again it overheated, but this time there was no leak.

I then looked behind the radiator whilst the engine was running and hot, and the fan isnt spinning :/ .

So i think for sure thats one issue confirmed, would you agree?

 

Well possibly, maybe it's stopped leaking because it's empty . Probably a good idea to check that the fan works at all , just stick 12 volts through it . If it does work then I would also check the sensor that triggers it . So how did you know that it had overheated today? If the high temperature warning light was on or the needle was in the red ( don't know what you particular bike has ) then I would expect the fan to have come on as well . Also worth noting that cooling systems should generally be filled by the radiator and not the expansion tank/ reservoir. If the expansion tank / reservoir is a long way away from the radiator it's a very good idea to make sure the pipes aren't blocked or kinked. Do this by blowing through it and listening for the bubbles. And lastly, if you have a cat or a dog ,never leave coolant lying about in open containers. Animals find it drinkable because it has a sweet taste but it will kill them slowly and horribly.

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And lastly, if you have a cat or a dog ,never leave coolant lying about in open containers. Animals find it drinkable because it has a sweet taste but it will kill them slowly and horribly.

 

This is very good advice as my cat many years ago was almost poisoned in this way. Not by me being careless but someone purposely putting some out on the road :evil:


Apparently nowadays a lot of coolant brands contain Denatonium (Bitrex) which is meant to be the most bitter chemical compound known to man :puke:

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Right, here we go . This might seem a little drastic but if the radiator is knackered anyway what have you got to lose ? I initially did this as a temporary repair but that was two years ago and I've never had any cooling issues. All you do is find exactly where the leak is , snip out the cooling veins surrounding the area , fold over the ends of the crossflow pipe and crimp , then fold over and crimp again for good measure. It doesn't look very nice but if you have a radiator guard you can't see it. It won't significantly effect radiator performance because it's a crossflow design and most importantly, it costs bugger all .

 

thanks Bob, this looks like really sound advise, and will defiantly try this if its turns out the radiator is knackered. great stuff.


there has been a development since my last post. So i rode the bike about 30miles and once again it overheated, but this time there was no leak.

I then looked behind the radiator whilst the engine was running and hot, and the fan isnt spinning :/ .

So i think for sure thats one issue confirmed, would you agree?

 

Well possibly, maybe it's stopped leaking because it's empty . Probably a good idea to check that the fan works at all , just stick 12 volts through it . If it does work then I would also check the sensor that triggers it . So how did you know that it had overheated today? If the high temperature warning light was on or the needle was in the red ( don't know what you particular bike has ) then I would expect the fan to have come on as well . Also worth noting that cooling systems should generally be filled by the radiator and not the expansion tank/ reservoir. If the expansion tank / reservoir is a long way away from the radiator it's a very good idea to make sure the pipes aren't blocked or kinked. Do this by blowing through it and listening for the bubbles. And lastly, if you have a cat or a dog ,never leave coolant lying about in open containers. Animals find it drinkable because it has a sweet taste but it will kill them slowly and horribly.

 

Thanks Bob :)

My plan this Sunday is to first triage the fan and then drain/refill the coolant system as per the manual. Each step seems very clear, just waiting for amazon delivery for some bits and bobs before i begin :).


I'm hoping the fan is just a blown fuse or loose connection and doesn't need a replacement switch or fan.


The leak did eventually come back in the same place. Id like to understand the theory behind how/why your solution worked if you could explain that to me, please?


I'm in two minds about how to resolve it, i could go for the quick solution and put some K Seal in with the coolant, or try your solution.

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Ok , I thought I just did explain it , or at least how to do it . As for the theory , all you do is blank off the bit with the hole in it . A crossflow radiator just means that coolant flows from one side to the other through all the pipes at the same time . So if you block one off it doesn't make a lot of difference . Simply put, chop out the bad bit and fold the ends over . Alternatively just buy a new radiator, a Chinese copy might be available for your bike if you don't want to spend a fortune.

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by theory, I mean the following (please confirm)

So within the radiator are a series of small parallel pipes which the water flows from one direction to the other, and one of these pipes was damaged, so you cut it out and crimped both ends to form a seal?

The overall effectiveness of the radiator is reduced, but not by an appreciable amount as the remaining pipes do a sufficient job.

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by theory, I mean the following (please confirm)

So within the radiator are a series of small parallel pipes which the water flows from one direction to the other, and one of these pipes was damaged, so you cut it out and crimped both ends to form a seal?

The overall effectiveness of the radiator is reduced, but not by an appreciable amount as the remaining pipes do a sufficient job.

 

Correctamundo !

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Maybe you could wire it in to the bike electrics in series with a banana to lower the voltage.

In the cool weather a banana will last a couple of weeks :thumb:

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Well after doing a test ride it seems like I fixed it, but will have a better idea tomorrow after my usual commute.


I drained the existing coolant via the drain nut and there was only around 300ml in the system.

I then removed the fairing to get access to the radiator cap, removed the cap and filled the system with 50/50 mix of deironised water and anti-freeze. i filled it right up to the radiator cap neck, which was around 2 litres.

I also added a small bottle of k seal into the mix (which was around 200ml) .


Oh and i also drained the expansion tank (via the syphoning tube), and refilled that too.


The engine/coolant temp gauge is now indicating optimal midpoint temperature, whereas before it was overheating way past the red.

The radiator no longer seems to be leaking.


Hopefully, the above 2 assertions are true after a full 60miles riding tmr.


I did also replace all the fuses in the fuse box, but not sure yet if that fixed the radiator fan. if i have time next weekend i will put a voltmeter on the circuit. If it is buggered hopefully its just a loose connection or worn out motor fan switch. Anything beyond that would be too expensive to fix.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I returned the radweld and replaced it with K Seal , however wont use just yet, will wait on bob.


Out of curiosity. Is it better to put the k Seal into the coolant reservoir tank or directly into the radiator through the radiator cap?

I did overfill the reservoir tank so im guessing I should let it drain off first..

 

Right, here we go . This might seem a little drastic but if the radiator is knackered anyway what have you got to lose ? I initially did this as a temporary repair but that was two years ago and I've never had any cooling issues. All you do is find exactly where the leak is , snip out the cooling veins surrounding the area , fold over the ends of the crossflow pipe and crimp , then fold over and crimp again for good measure. It doesn't look very nice but if you have a radiator guard you can't see it. It won't significantly effect radiator performance because it's a crossflow design and most importantly, it costs bugger all .

 

I think i may have to give this solution a go. :)

I drained the K- Seal from my system. I still think there is a leak.

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so the history behind this is quite interesting. The K-seal partially worked but then soon as i drained it from the system, the huge leak came back. Which was strange since they advertise once the leak is stopped you can drain. i just suspect the leak hole is just to big of a job for k-seal to handle. So i decided to put RADWELD in side and it seems to be holding up for now.

i was warned not to use radweld in a motorbike by this forum so it might bite me in the butt, however im theorising its thicker and more upto the job. if it fails im gonna cut the radiators pipes as Bob suggested before buying new radiator.

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A friend of our daughter had a VW Golf with a huge split in the radiator. Being a student she had no money for repairs so a new rad was out of the question.


With very little optimism I lobbed a bottle of radweld into it and was amazed at how it stopped the leak immediately. I'm not sure I'd chuck a whole bottle into a bike but the stuff certainly works. She ran the car for years with no issues.


I think I'd drain the coolant to get rid of the rest of the Radweld as I've seen it slowly solidify if left in the system.

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Bike is 2006. Only cost me £1500 so im not super precious with it.


Having radweld in there seems better than nothing. Without it the system leaked the entire 2 litres within a day.

My gut tells me its 95% fixed. Was thinking i might put a high temp sealant/putty on the outside of the radiator on the area of the leak.

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A friend of our daughter had a VW Golf with a huge split in the radiator. Being a student she had no money for repairs so a new rad was out of the question.


With very little optimism I lobbed a bottle of radweld into it and was amazed at how it stopped the leak immediately. I'm not sure I'd chuck a whole bottle into a bike but the stuff certainly works. She ran the car for years with no issues.


I think I'd drain the coolant to get rid of the rest of the Radweld as I've seen it slowly solidify if left in the system.

 

Yeah i only put 1/3 of the bottle in.

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