Coolant Leak

Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum

Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
No. Just what appears to be a surplus of coolant, thought they swear they never touched it. Insert unsure emoticon here. Bike runs great.

 
Well, overfilled 'splains yer drippin'! Good catch.

It's a PITA to add coolant there... one would have to do that intentionally and know they did it.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think they did you a "favor" and topped up the coolant for you - filled the reservoir when the bike was cool. Color doesn't mean anything but not all coolants are completely compatible, in spite of what you may be told. Unless you know what was in there to begin with and know what was added, it might not be a bad idea to drain, flush and refill. I usually buy "full strength" regular antifreeze (aluminum compatible) from a reputable manufacturer and dilute it 50:50 with distilled water. Others will chime in with Honda 50:50 premix or whatever else but it doesn't matter much (just like oil).

 
Thanks Ross. I didn't intend to be alarmist with the thread, but with this bike's history through 2016, a first ever 20 foot line of coolant piss was a cause for pause. Especially since spetznaz must have broken into the dealership and added the different and excess coolant, under cover of darkness.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
1: Your dealership's mechanics are clowns. I'm betting a shop monkey decided it looked low to him. Probably not qualified to wash your bike, but was working on your bike. Yay you!

2: Any coolant they put in there is what they put in all bikes, so should not fight with what Yamaha put in there. I'd pull some out and leave it.

 
Spot on hrz. Prob same guy who set up the bike new. I think it's the kid who works behind the parts counter part time. When I bought the bike new, it was winter, the dealership was nearly empty of staff, and the lonely sales manager sent this kid, G---, to be the first line haggler. He had no idea what he was doing, and was nervous, but the dollar figures coming back from the sales manager were superb. So G--- got to walk through the motions of "selling" the bike. First he couldn't find the key, then he didn't think the bike came with bags, but he was so discombobulated and so easily redirected, I was more fascinated than irritated. Money worked out great, and I picked up a brand new bike at a bargain. One with a finger tight fork assembly and a carefully measured 20/20psi in the tires. Maybe G--- is a lurking psychopath. He is the gremlin who does weird **** every time I'm in the shop. I've never seen him anywhere but behind the parts counter any time since. But I have come to believe I am a marked man. Sure, he smiles when he sells me washers and yamalube at Amazon prices. But he spits as soon as my back is turned and rubs his hands in anticipation of 6pm (5 on Saturdays), when the mechanics leave for the day, and the G-man once again becomes General Manager of mayhem.

Thanks guys.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
You could add a "bubbler" tube to your coolant reservoir to help you see the level.

Get a 1 foot piece of small diameter vinyl tubing. Drill a hole in the top of the reservoir slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the tubing.

Push the end of the tubing down to the bottom rear corner of the reservoir below the min and max marks.

When you want to check the coolant level blow a small quantity of air into the tube and watch the bubbles rise up through the coolant. You'll easily see the level.

You could also use this tube to add coolant as required although it would be a slow top off if you used a small ID tubing. But, you'll typically be adding a very small quantity of liquid so a top off could be quickly achieved.

Make sure the top end of the tubing is stowed above the coolant overflow hose connection. You don't want an overflow leaving via the tubing.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
You could add a "bubbler" tube to your coolant reservoir to help you see the level.
Get a 1 foot piece of small diameter vinyl tubing. Drill a hole in the top of the reservoir slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the tubing.

Push the end of the tubing down to the bottom rear corner of the reservoir below the min and max marks.

When you want to check the coolant level blow a small quantity of air into the tube and watch the bubbles rise up through the coolant. You'll easily see the level.

You could also use this tube to add coolant as required although it would be a slow top off if you used a small ID tubing. But, you'll typically be adding a very small quantity of liquid so a top off could be quickly achieved.

Make sure the top end of the tubing is stowed above the coolant overflow hose connection. You don't want an overflow leaving via the tubing.
Good idea I guess but a lot of trouble IMO compared to a drop or two of food colouring.

 
It's not okay. Just overheated in traffic.
****!

Check that the radiator cap is secure.

What is the level in the overflow tank?

Make sure there are no leaks (hose clamp etc)

Thermostat could be wonky. Not sure where the temperature sensor is. (Does it measure temperature in the radiator side or in the engine) If temperature sensor is on the rad side, a bad T-stat could mean it never sees hot.

Are the fans coming on. ? You should be able to test fans and relay with diagnostics. Fan doesn't do any good if it isn't triggered by a temperature sensor.

Back to a dealer (Under warranty?)

Almost guarantee it has something to do with whatever the dealer ****** with while "fixing" your motorcycle.

Good Luck!!!!!

 
Only when stopped did it overheat. Coolant bottle is still overfill, but not all he way to the top. looking. Up fan DIaG codes here after I shower. Penny for your thoughts.

 
I wrote a bunch more stuff and deleted it!

If it something stupid and simple (i.e. radiator cap loose), fix it and move on. If not, I think I would get it to a dealer but maybe not the one that did the work (especially if you have warranty coverage).

Definitely worth seeing of you can turn fans on and off with the diag function (I assume this is possible to do on GenIII). This will prove that the fans, relay and connections are OK. Might still be thermostat, temperature sensor, rad cap or air leak.

Again, good luck!

 
Happy it's not dry. Radiator fan motor relay tests good in DIaG. Blew the hair on my legs back. Enjoy the awkward. Only overheated sitting, but fans test good. Not sure what to check next. And I was excited about riding my trouble free bike to the grifftech symposium to watch ****.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Bill, what were the symptoms of overheat? Gauge reading, steam blowing out of the overflow, check engine light? Did the fans come on at all when this happened?

 
Couldn't tell if fans came on. I kind of watch temps anyway. Did before any of this, because I came from an oilhead that didn't tolerate stop and go summer traffic well. Everything was full on normal, to the degree Fahrenheit, until coming home. I had been in stop and go on the interstate, and it was fine. But once I got to secondary street traffic, after about 10 minutes of sitting, it went from 205, 210, straight to Hi. First time I've ever seen Hi. No steam, just a display that indicated over temp. I cannot tell you that the fans came on. Usually, under super extreme conditions, it gets to 215 or 221 and the afterburner fans kick in and it never ever goes higher. Right now I'm sure of two things: I'm not excited about my purchase choice or shop choice, and I want to know what reassembly errors during a throttle body replacement could cause an overheat condition. I know it could be a thermostat not kicking the fans on (can that happen when the display knows it's too hot and the fans/relays are working properly?), but it's pretty random to have two different things fail under 35k and under warranty. Tired of this. But it remains a first world problem, and I have world class support. Maybe not from Yamaha, but from here, anyway.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think verifying that fans kick on at 225 while its sitting in your driveway would be a good start. They should come on at 225 and then cool it down to 215 before shutting off.

If that doesn't happen, straight to the dealer if your choice, IMO

 
If I was in your shoes, I would go for an 8000 RPM ride for an hour or so, let the engine lock up, then let the dealer and Yamaha figure out when they are going to give you a new bike. You've been through too much to put up with this BS.

 
Top