Cooling system question after clutch cover swap.

[Nobbylad]

So I swapped the pointy clutch/crankcase cover for a curvy replacement with the fancy pants clutch cover. When I first fitted it all, the water pump housing was leaking when I refilled the coolant, so I took it all off again and re-fitted it making sure the bolts were all extra tight.

That seems to have stopped the leak (it was leaking out of the housing, all over the crankcase cover), but I think some water/coolant did get into the clutch housing/engine casing as when I fired it up, the oil viewed through the clutch cover was a little emulsified.

Did (half) a track day at Anglesey yesterday and the oil in the clutch cover still looked a little emulsified when the bike was stationery/switched off after a while, however the oil in the sight glass didn't look any different. So I'm thinking that there's still a little water/coolant in the oil, but not a lot, as it can only be seen once the oil has been sprayed all over the clutch cover window.

The level hasn't changed in the sight glass and water the radiator hasn't changed in level, so I'm assuming there's no permanent leak.

When I was checking the radiator level, I noticed that when idling, the water pump housing gets red hot (1 in pic below), as does the hose where it connects to the pump housing (2), however the top of the hose and the side of the rad where the cap is (3), doesn't seem to be getting hot at all. I was assuming that the impeller in the water pump housing should pump the water around all the time and that the rad would be an even temperature all over, is this correct or does the thermostat restrict flow until a certain temperature? During the track sessions, the temperature was pretty normal (80's/90's) so I don't 'think' there's an issue, but just wondered.



Also, how long would it take for the water/coolant to burn off out of the oil and is it worth running it up to temperature, killing the engine, then removing the oil filler cap for a few mins on the assumption that the water/coolant would evaporate?

Cheers

[Nobbylad]

Anyone?

[jambo]

This post is a little confusing, as I understand it there are several concerns:
1) Coolant may have got into the oil during the cover swap over. A tiny amount of emulsification on the oil filler cap is fine. If the oil itself looks anything other than right, change it and see if the problem returns.

2) The leak may be continuing (I take it a sealent was used when the water cover went back on? I can't remember if a little sealant or a gasket are needed here, but I'd be suprised if it was suposed to be just the 2 bare metal surfaces touching.

3) The pump and pipe are glowing red hot. I find this a little difficult to understand. The pump is painted, and a such unlikely to glow. The pipe is a rubber/silicone effort and couldn't glow as far as I can see, it's more likely to bubble / burst / crack / smoke when it got hot (a glowing tyre is about as likely to my mind). Either way, if it's not the exhaust, at night, while being ridden at very high loads, it's not supposed to glow.

4) The Thermostat for the SV sits in the V between the cylinders, it restricts (but does not stop altogether) flow of coolant to the radiator at low temperatures. If this has failed usually you will notice the temperature getting too low when riding along in cold conditions.

I can't think of one thing that covers all of the above but would recomend you drain the coolant and oil into clean containers, and inspect them (you can re-use them if all is well). I would also take the rad cap off, start the bike and check that blipping the throttle causes the coolant level to drop and rise, indicating that the pump is moving coolant properly with rpm.

Jambo

[Winder]

This might be a bit technical but here goes...........................that looks cool.

[Nobbylad]

Originally Posted by jambo

This post is a little confusing, as I understand it there are several concerns:
1) Coolant may have got into the oil during the cover swap over. A tiny amount of emulsification on the oil filler cap is fine. If the oil itself looks anything other than right, change it and see if the problem returns.

The oil looks fine, but after running the engine, as it's switched off and cooling down, the cover mists over and there's a milky sheen over the inside. Revving the engine sprays oil around the cover window in a satisfying centrifugal way and the oil is the colour you'd expect. It's the misting after use that had me concerned.

Originally Posted by jambo

2) The leak may be continuing (I take it a sealent was used when the water cover went back on? I can't remember if a little sealant or a gasket are needed here, but I'd be suprised if it was suposed to be just the 2 bare metal surfaces touching.

I didn't use any sealant other than the gasket around the crankcase cover and then there are two 'o' rings for the water pump housing that I assume are the only seal between the pump cover and the crankcase cover. Both 'O' rings are brand new.

Originally Posted by jambo

3) The pump and pipe are glowing red hot. I find this a little difficult to understand. The pump is painted, and a such unlikely to glow. The pipe is a rubber/silicone effort and couldn't glow as far as I can see, it's more likely to bubble / burst / crack / smoke when it got hot (a glowing tyre is about as likely to my mind). Either way, if it's not the exhaust, at night, while being ridden at very high loads, it's not supposed to glow.

OK - I didn't say 'glowing' I said 'red hot' as a figure of speech. The pump housing gets almost too hot to touch, as does the lower part of the hose, while the top of the hose and that side of the radiator remain cool enough to place your hand on.

Originally Posted by jambo

4) The Thermostat for the SV sits in the V between the cylinders, it restricts (but does not stop altogether) flow of coolant to the radiator at low temperatures. If this has failed usually you will notice the temperature getting too low when riding along in cold conditions.

I can't think of one thing that covers all of the above but would recomend you drain the coolant and oil into clean containers, and inspect them (you can re-use them if all is well). I would also take the rad cap off, start the bike and check that blipping the throttle causes the coolant level to drop and rise, indicating that the pump is moving coolant properly with rpm.

Jambo

Blipping the throttle does cause the coolant level to drop and rise, so that's positive. Thanks

Air lock, try pumping the pipes with it running, and put some gloves on so you can do it when it's hot as well, do this to both pipes either side of the rad. You should notice the level suddenly drop and that's when you know you've got the air out ( yes you will lose some water when squeezing the pipes as well). As for the misting that will more than likely cook off with some proper use ( not just down to the shops, longer 40 mile runs). You get it in bike that only do short runs over the damper months anyway. If it fully turns to alot of milky substance then something's not right.

[Nobbylad]

seems to be ok now, did the pipe squeezing/top up at Anglesey and been using the bike for 80 miles a day since.

Even took the filler cap off once I'd got to work the other day in the hope that any water/coolant would evaporate once the engine was warm.

No idea if it would (assuming that it probs wouldn't as it wouldn't boil) but window seems clear now.