Coolant Leak

[Bill Lumberg]

Drove the 2014 resurrectus to the office this morning after riding it home from warranty repair yesterday. Running great. Running normal temps. At the end of my bombing run into zombie central this morning, I was reversing into a parking space, and noticed I was leaving a trail. A steady trail of light green droplets. When I parked the bike and turned it off, enough coolant dripped below the bike to form a very small puddle, about the footprint of a small coffee cup, then it stopped. Rechecked temp. 195, which is normal for this bike after this ride. My initial thought was, how lucky can one man be- must be a rock in the radiator. Then I figured out that the coolant was all coming from the drain tube beneath the bike.

Do you think this is an overfill situation? I can't determine the coolant level in the reservoir. That is to say, I can't see any coolant in the reservoir/overflow bottle, but I sometimes have a hard time seeing it anyway. I know it's stupid not to be able to determine the coolant level, but even with a flashlight, I couldn't really tell.

Yesterday's trip home from the dealer was roughly 30 minutes long, at sedate speeds on a secondary road. I did not have any coolant puke when or after I got home.

Today's trip to the office was roughly 30 minutes long, at FJR nominal speeds. Last 10 minutes of the 30 minute trip are stop and go.

 

[RossKean]

Some possibilities:

Thankfully, you ruled out a holed radiator! That could be expensive.

Quite possibly an overfill - did they drain and refill the radiator when they did all the "stuff"?

If they managed to get a bunch of air into the radiator, it expands more when the bike is hot and will push more coolant into the overflow reservoir (and over the top). It might just need to be "burped" and then topped off again.

Radiator cap is very possible. Either bad or simply not tightened all the way. (Bad cap will cause the fluid to boil and push liquid into the reservoir)

Insufficiently tightened clamps or bad coolant pipe O-rings can cause a leak but not through the overflow tube.

I doubt there is a major issue but what did you do to deserve this?

 

[Punkinhead]

Drove the 2014 resurrectus to the office this morning after riding it home from warranty repair yesterday.

It would help to know what warranty repair was done.

 

[RossKean]

Drove the 2014 resurrectus to the office this morning after riding it home from warranty repair yesterday.

It would help to know what warranty repair was done.

(Very) long story here

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/167846-2014-stumble-on-accel/

The throttle body assembly was (eventually) replaced but they did an awful bunch of tinkering in the interim. I don't recall whether they did anything that would necessitate draining of the coolant. If so, they could have overfilled, left air in the system or failed to properly secure the radiator cap. (or left something loose)

 

[Bill Lumberg]

Mechanic says unrelated to repair. No work or need to open or refill cooling system. Say cap or pump seal failure most likely cause.

 

[RossKean]

Mechanic says unrelated to repair. No work or need to open or refill cooling system. Say cap or pump seal failure most likely cause.

Pump seal won't put fluid out of the hose on the overflow reservoir.

I think there is a weep hole (maybe a tube also?) on the water pump. Pretty rare for a pump issue on a low-mile bike anyway.

 

[RaYzerman19]

To eliminate guessing, one would have to check the system over.... water pump drain bolt, inspect hose connections, coolant reservoir, etc. If one can't determine the level of coolant in the overflow reservoir, best fill it first because it's likely way low. You can do that with a syringe. Possibly there wasn't enough coolant and it overheated, removal of the rad cap would tell you that story immediately. Top it all up and see if your problem repeats or is now fixed.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

Will work the problem. If I can find a syringe. Interesting that the bike did not reach elevated temp, even though I was at stoplights and low speed for 10 plus minutes at the end of the bombing run. Hope it's much ado about nothing. Doesn't feel like it though.

 

[Constant Mesh]

I'd guess somebody topped off the coolant in the expansion tank and they overfilled it.

The coolant was likely hottest during your stop-and-go near the end of your ride.

Its volume increased the most during your stop-and-go and moved to the expansion tank. If the tank was overfilled there was nowhere for the extra volume to go but out the overflow hose and down onto the ground.

My new FJR overflowed the second day I had it. Don't know if the dealer topped it off during assembly or if it came from the factory too full. Better to be too full than low since it'll self correct.

 

[RaYzerman19]

I have a feeling that once you check things over, make sure it's all topped up and rad cap on correctly, your issues may be resolved. Shouldn't be anything much with a bike that young....

 

[dcarver]

Agree with Ray. Check cap, check overflow. Ride and enjoy.

 

[roger dodger]

Contact dealer w/ pics of overflow...

Dealer contact Mama Yama w/ warranty claim...

Mama Yama sends out 'Tech' to inspect warranty claim...

Wait 2-3 months for new radiator and full cooling system...

Wait 1 week for install of new parts...

Back on the road w/ a (practically) new FJR in no time!

 

[audiowize]

Man, there is just a black hole of bad luck that seems intent on following you around!

If you're feeling confident, pop the fairing off and look at the bottle.

It's totally possible that there's a loose hose or hose clamp that was messed with during your last appointment.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

Reservoir looks faint yellow/green. Wondering if it's full to the top and that's why I can't see coolant level. IIRC it's always looked white in previous checks.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Maybe a couple drops of green or blue food colouring....... but, try filling it more with a syringe, perhaps a little above the full mark (no harm will come from that) so you can see it easier.

 

[mcatrophy]

Reservoir looks faint yellow/green. Wondering if it's full to the top and that's why I can't see coolant level. IIRC it's always looked white in previous checks.

In my experience, checking the reservoir stone cold (e.g. overnight), it should show about 1/3 up between the low and high marks. Any more will be "lost" during normal riding.
Here's a pic of my '14 cold (I've prised the fairing out a bit). Poor photo (beggars can't be choosers ), and I've also enhanced it a bit to show the level better.

(Click on image for larger view)

 

[Bill Lumberg]

Thanks as always Mac. That's how mine has always looked. Now it looks fairly green blue all over. Ran normal temps all the way home, in 98 degree ambient temps. Couple of drops when I parked (just got home). I'm not convinced some agent-of-the-random didn't overfill it. Will check it when it's cold.

 

[RaYzerman19]

What I do normally on coolant changes with mine or others is overfill the reservoir 1/2"or more so the level is just at or above the top rounded corner of the plastic reservoir. After purging and rad cap back on, bike warmed up, when it cools it will suck that excess back into the cooling system. After another heat/cool cycle it may drop a tad more, and more or less end up at the full mark... I'd rather have it full than low. But any expansion after that should not result in overflow on the ground (none ever has to my knowledge).

 

[Bill Lumberg]

And- after trying to figure out why the res looked like it did with 7 different kinds of light, to include various colored chemlights, (not bright enough), I summoned the Calvary in the form of one of my 17 year old sons (I keep a spare). Put the bike on the center stand, had him rock it while I watched. It's filled to the rim, with barely a bubble of air at the top. That's why it was hard to see a level. It was filled all the way up. (That, or it's full of overflow for some other reason). It was bluer before. Exactly like Mac's pic. Now it's more yellowish. Somebody put some **** in there I think.