Coolant - What is considered normal usage?

[SVTNate]

My '09 FJR has about 1,600 miles on it now. Every so often I glance at the coolant tank, and the other day I was giving her a full detail job and noticed that the level was below the lower line. I had maybe a 1/2 inch left. I haven't noticed the smell associated with coolant burning on the engine block, no leakage in the garage, nothing out of the ordinary. I used a flashlight and looked through the fairing at the engine block, header, etc. and it's totally clean.

I got my 600 mile service done by my dealer, and they said it shouldn't be that low, but admitted that it's possible they forgot to top it off at the 600 mile service. I got a funnel and some flexible tubing, and poured distilled water in there to bring it back up so that it's halfway between the lines when the engine is cold. I'll keep an eye on it.

Is it within the realm of possibility that the coolant level would've gotten that low in 1,600 miles, assuming that my dealer neglected to top it off on my first service? I can't specifically recall when I last looked at it, but I'm sure that if it was low the last time I looked I would have immediately been concerned, as I was a couple days ago.

Also, on a related note, what is the preferred ratio of coolant to distilled water? I mean, should I drain the system and refill with pure coolant, or does it not matter much? I live in Southern California, so 45-50 degrees is about as cold as it ever gets when I'm riding. I don't have to worry about the distilled water freezing in the tank, that's for sure.

 

[mcatrophy]

QUOTE (SVTNate @ Jan 11 2010, 08:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My '09 FJR has about 1,600 miles on it now. Every so often I glance at the coolant tank, and the other day I was giving her a full detail job and noticed that the level was below the lower line. I had maybe a 1/2 inch left. I haven't noticed the smell associated with coolant burning on the engine block, no leakage in the garage, nothing out of the ordinary. I used a flashlight and looked through the fairing at the engine block, header, etc. and it's totally clean.

I got my 600 mile service done by my dealer, and they said it shouldn't be that low, but admitted that it's possible they forgot to top it off at the 600 mile service. I got a funnel and some flexible tubing, and poured distilled water in there to bring it back up so that it's halfway between the lines when the engine is cold. I'll keep an eye on it.

Is it within the realm of possibility that the coolant level would've gotten that low in 1,600 miles, assuming that my dealer neglected to top it off on my first service? I can't specifically recall when I last looked at it, but I'm sure that if it was low the last time I looked I would have immediately been concerned, as I was a couple days ago.

Also, on a related note, what is the preferred ratio of coolant to distilled water? I mean, should I drain the system and refill with pure coolant, or does it not matter much? I live in Southern California, so 45-50 degrees is about as cold as it ever gets when I'm riding. I don't have to worry about the distilled water freezing in the tank, that's for sure.

My advice would be to keep checking it for a few days, but always under the same conditions, its level can vary considerably over the normal temperature cycle.

If the level change was caused by an air lock, it shouldn't change significantly.

As for the strength, remember it's an anti-corrosion mixture as well as anti-freeze. I'm pretty anal about such things, assuming the level remains good for a week or so of use, I would get it up to strength by adding sufficient neat anti-freeze to bring it up to the max mark. Expect the level to then drop; mine insists on dropping down to about one third up from the min mark (viewed cold, first thing in the morning).

(Click on image for larger view)



Others will say it's fine, the strength won't be reduced significantly. Maybe get the advice from your dealer, it could conceivably affect your warranty.

 

[C&C]

Coolant is not a consumable fluid. The only reason the level should go down normally would be if a bubble was caught in the system and it eventually burped out or if your engine/coolant got hot enough that coolant left the system via the overflow hose (which could indicate a different problem).

I would do what you have already done and top it off (ideally it would have been better with a 50/50 mix but at the amount you added it shouldn't make any difference) and keep an eye on it. If the level continues to go down, and you can't see any leakage, it may be being burned due to a leak in the headgasket, which obviously needs to be referred to the dealer for diagnosis and repair.

 

[SnowAviation]

As for the strength, remember it's an anti-corrosion mixture as well as anti-freeze. I'm pretty anal about such things, assuming the level remains good for a week or so of use, I would get it up to strength by adding sufficient neat anti-

freeze to bring it up to the max mark. Expect the level to then drop; mine insists on dropping down to about one third

up from the min mark (viewed cold, first thing in the morning).

[SIZE=8pt](Click on image for larger view)[/SIZE]



Others will say it's fine, the strength won't be reduced significantly. Maybe get the advice from your dealer, it could

conceivably affect your warranty.

When I first read that I thought, "Yeah, that's pretty anal." Then I started doing the math...

If your reservoir is empty, then to fill it is .485 liter, which is also about 1/2 a quart. The total

capacity of the coolant system is only 3.2 liters or 3.38 quarts, so 1/2 a quart is quite a bit.

Filling an empty reservoir is about 15% of the total coolant volume and would reduce a

50/50 mixture to about 62/38. I'd say you would be fine on anti-corrosives but your anti-

freeze properties will be reduced.

VOL% ANTIFREEZE --- FRZNG PT -------- BOILING POINT

40% ------------- -12°F ------------------ 222°F

50% ------------- -34°F ----------------- 226°F

Generic data that doesn't account for different pressures

I believe that's all academic anyway cause if you would have lost that much coolant in 600 miles

you would either have smelled it, seen white smoke out the exhaust, seen foam in the oil, or

noticed a leak. I'm with the "Air Bubble" theory...

 

[chrisflock]

It isn't unusual at all for a new vehicle to 'use' some in the first few miles of use (or after a drain and refill) as the bubbles get out of the system. I would keep an eye on it, but chances are that is all that is going on.

As for the ratio, I would add some more coolant. Because of the very small coolant capacity, anytime I'm going to add coolant to the bike, I'm going to pre-mix it 50/50 before use. Of course, my bike is sitting in a cold garage right now, and I depend on the 50/50 mix to keep my coolant from freezing over the winter.

It is because of the very small coolant capacity that people are anal about the flush and refill routine, as a fairly small amount of water can make a significant difference in the final ratio. In a car or truck, with 3 gallons of coolant, I'll usually dump in a full gallon of coolant, dump in a gallon of water, then dump half a gallon of coolant from the 2nd jug into the now empty first jug, fill with water, dump that in, and that is enough for the 'initial' fill, and then after the truck has been run and the bubbles get out, if it only needs a little (like a pint or less) I'll just top off with straight antifreeze, and if it needs more than that, I'll mix some, tending towards more antifreeze than water, with the knowledge that there was probably some water from flushing left somewhere in the system, and that in the winter it doesn't hurt to go to 60/40 (actually, even 70/30 isn't going to damage anything, but it cuts down on thermal transfer, the vehicle may overheat in the summer).

 

[FJRBluesman]

All good advice.

I agree you should NOT be "using" coolant. It's in and stays there, or it leaks out.

I bought my FeeJ used. I kept adding coolant a few times (the reservoir was never empty just low), I got concerned, but after the third time, it never took coolant again. I guess it may have been changed and never really topped off properly.

I also did a flush and refill on my coolant and made sure I had no air etc in the lines. I think I had to top it off once. Since then, about 15K miles ago, no issues.

I would use only 50/50 coolant or what ever Yamaha says or if you use aftermarket, use the one safe for aluminum, etc. Do a Google search on the forum etc, plenty of info on coolants.

Good luck.

One of many Coolant threads:

This is a good one.

 

[03HiYoSilver]

SVT,

I had the same situation after some mechanical repairs at the dealership. So I went through and checked all the Hose Clamps while doing some other work, and sure enough, several were Loose. It was not the Big Ones but the Small Hose Clamps that were leaking ever soo little to cause the coolant level to drop.

It was just enough not to cause a big leak but allowed a little dribbles here and there thus lowering the coolant level.

It has not leaked any since.

Good Luck with your fix.

 

[Sagebrush]

At 112 degress some days mostly 100 in the hot south with lots of stop and go my bike dropped a half inch in 20,000 miles. It doesn't concern me. I've topped of my coolant on many bikes and trucks and cars and.... Well my Kubota tractor has never needed coolant, don't use it much though.

If your engine oil gets foamy or the level rises, thats a bad thing... aka KTM 950's...

 

[SVTNate]

Thanks a lot, guys. I'll probably flush the system and refill it myself, which will allow me to take a good hard look at the small hoses for leaks. I'll check the oil for foam next time I ride (probably Saturday).

 

[72Duster340]

If you are getting antifreeze into the oil it will make a brownish "foam" (looks kind of like a chocolate milkshake) inside the engine. Remove your oil filler cap and look at the bottom of the cap and run your finger or a clean rag along the inside of the engine case and check for contamination. If there is antifreeze in the oil do not ride the bike, antifreeze can damage the engine bearings. Hopefully this is just a case of an air bubble working itself out of cooling system but it's better to be safe that sorry even with a warranty. Good Luck

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

SVT,
I had the same situation after some mechanical repairs at the dealership. So I went through and checked all the Hose Clamps while doing some other work, and sure enough, several were Loose. It was not the Big Ones but the Small Hose Clamps that were leaking ever soo little to cause the coolant level to drop.

It was just enough not to cause a big leak but allowed a little dribbles here and there thus lowering the coolant level.

It has not leaked any since.

Good Luck with your fix.

+1 on this recomendation. It won't leak bad enough to drip on the ground but it'll get hot enough to evaporate what exits the system... Might have been a friday and someone didn't tighten alll the clamps fully. Took my 04, 4 years for the hoses to loosen up a little.