Coolant issue?

[Phaelok]

Basically the bike was left for a week in Emma's garage, due to a puncture in the back tyre. Took the wheel off and went to katch's to have a BT016 fitted which i bought from Bandito.

Anyhoo, i noticed there was a fluid on my caliper and was leaking off the forks. I thought it was fork oil - because the bike was on a rear paddock stand, and the bike had settled, thus pushing up some fork oil past the seals.

I also checked for brake fluid, i wiped everything off and pumped the lever and held it in to see if anything would ooze out of a hose... Nope!! Nothing!

I rode to tesco's and looked at the front, caliper was wet cos it was raining today, but still the same fluid dripping onto the disc!

So, phoning a friend of mine who does a lot of work for me, he told me the only fluid in the bike thats greeny blue is coolant. But the question is, how in gods name is it getting onto the caliper from flowing down the fork? The coolant system isnt anywhere near the caliper / disc?

Anyone got an idea how its getting there and what / where it might be leaking from?

[boot]

Heat causes expansion, which in turn will cause pressure.

Make sure bike is dry, remove anything that may obscure a good view of the whole (esp. top), front, of the radiator.

My guess would be that as your coolant heats up and expands, causing pressure, it will squirt out of a stone-chip hole in the radiator somewhere.

If that's the case, it may not mean a new radiator, some rad weld may suffice, or, I have seen some guides on radiator repair with a soldering iron and some solder.

Don't mix different colours - mixing coolant colours causes a reaction, where waxy deposits build up in the system, which can eventually cause blockages and also a reduction in anti-corrosion properties.

Red lasts longer than green. Approx five years as compared to the usual two.

[Dave20046]

Raaaaad weld (http://www.holtsauto.com/images/products/repair-and-maintenance/cooling-repair-systems/holts-radweld-hi.jpg):smt020

[Phaelok]

Yeah, i work at Halfords, so can pick some up cheap enough...


I heard somewhere radweld isnt good in bikes?

[Dave20046]

Yeah, i work at Halfords, so can pick some up cheap enough...


I heard somewhere radweld isnt good in bikes?
It probably isn't but hence the smiley - ignorance is bliss :-dd
My radiator had a pretty bad leak; radwelded it lasted atleast 1 year (I did 6k miles) and having the front wheel being put through it. Was a funny shape but did the job!

Someone once told me 'it clogs fine canals in the cylinders' no idea if that's true or not didn't give it much thought.

[svtomo]

imo radweld should only be used as a temporary repair i.e. to get you home/ to a garage.
i know some of you now will come along and tell us how you have had it in your car/bike for years with no problems but its no good if it blows through and sprays antifreeze all over your discs and tyre. without you knowing!
1st of all find out for sure where it is leaking from and repair as required

[Dave20046]

imo radweld should only be used as a temporary repair i.e. to get you home/ to a garage.
i know some of you now will come along and tell us how you have had it in your car/bike for years with no problems but its no good if it blows through and sprays antifreeze all over your discs and tyre. without you knowing!
1st of all find out for sure where it is leaking from and repair as required
OK depends on how bad the leak is, but to be so bad it suddenly gushes over your brakes & tyres thus affecting braking and handling; to me sounds like the sort of leak a retarded clown would fix with radweld/impossible to fix with radweld.

[svtomo]

in the op it says fluid was getting on the disc now, so id say it is a possibility it could happen.
im not saying dont use or you will crash and die or anything, and maybe im a bit careful about this sort of thing, but if it goes it could go badly wrong.
lets just say i wouldnt be happy radwelding a leak that has sprayed antifreeze anywhere near my discs!

[Dave20046]

in the op it says fluid was getting on the disc now, so id say it is a possibility it could happen.
im not saying dont use or you will crash and die or anything, and maybe im a bit careful about this sort of thing, but if it goes it could go badly wrong.
lets just say i wouldnt be happy radwelding a leak that has sprayed antifreeze anywhere near my discs!
Aye,suppose. I got the impression from the op it was just a slight trickle down onto the disk after a bit of time. Think you may be right though.
Up to the op in the end. Would be interested to know if there's any truth in it being bad for the engine though.

The only think I could think of was blocking up the coolant system, but the bloke that told me it'd destroy my engine seemed to think it'd get into oil channels or something :scratch: meh!

[Phaelok]

I looked at coolant level under the tank/ fairing - is it measured standing up straight or on the sidestand?

It appeared either way to be just over the F line, indicating no apparent major leak.

Im going to take it for a good ride tomorrow, ill monitor coolant level and check for evidence of a leak after a good clean tomorrow morning.

[svtomo]

if it gets into youre oil galleries you have bigger problems than a leaky rad!
i think its designed to only go off when exposed to air or something so would only block one rail in your rad which shouldnt do any harm i wouldnt think.
save yourself a few quid and crack an egg into the system instead if youre gunna use it!

[Dave20046]

if it gets into youre oil galleries you have bigger problems than a leaky rad!
i think its designed to only go off when exposed to air or something so would only block one rail in your rad which shouldnt do any harm i wouldnt think.
save yourself a few quid and crack an egg into the system instead if youre gunna use it!
Aye, my mate's done that to a few bikes. I didn't trust it and parted with 70 pence for the radweld!

[yorkie_chris]

You can get green fork oil too.

I think run it up to temp stationary and see what goes where.

[Phaelok]

You can get green fork oil too.

I think run it up to temp stationary and see what goes where.

Aye, thought my fork oil was greenish when it went in. Had a mate of mine renew the seals and oil - i just stood and watched. Really cant remember what colour the oil was now though...

Well i ran it up to temp, caliper is still wet, doesnt appear to leak anymore. Really not sure what happened!

[yorkie_chris]

Brake fluid has a distinctive smell, coolant has a sweet taste to it (not that I would advise licking your bike very often lol)

[fastdruid]

I'd rather use something external than internal but it depends on where the leak is, I've used this http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=7426 before, works a treat.

Druid