removing rust from coolant system and radiator.

[nuad]

hey bros,

 

want to seek some help regarding issues i have with my coolant system, went for a change of coolant tubes today, and when draining the coolant and inspecting the tubes and coolant i noticed it was caked with a fine layer of orange gunky dust, yep, dreaded rust, previous owner of the bike did a f*ckall job of maintaining the coolant system and well. the bloody bike in general, my loss, lesson learnt.

 

anyway my mech told me i could try topping up the bike with cheapo coolant and continue changing it at every 5k until the coolant turns 'clean'.

 

however i resourced online and found some people actually used a garden hose and hosed the radiator and overflow bottle (which i think in local lingo means the coolant reservoir, or can someone enlighten me?) until the water turned clear. this is done with the tubes disconnected from the system.

 

Has anyone tried this? is this advisable? i worry about impurities with tap water remaining in the radiator, but maybe its not a problem when i top up the coolant again?

 

Also, i wondered if i could do this with the coolant system of the whole bike, for example shooting the jet of water directly into the water pump, and let the water gush through the coolant tracks of the engine, but i wonder how wise is that, advice?

 

should i try the hose flush on radiator and reservoir and use the coolant 5k flush for the engine itself? good idea?

 

 

and last question, what is the symptoms of a bad water pump? that the bike overheats and coolant boils over and leaks?? anything else?

 

 

thanks in advance for any help

Edited August 3, 2010 by nuad

[nuad]

bump, and noticed that radiator is part of coolant system, title fail. meh.

[Aalex82]

there is no way to clear the rust completely even if u use water jet..

the onli way is a new radiator..

u can flush the coolant a few times.. and fill it up wif water added wif some white vinegar..

let the mixture rest for awhile like 10 mins to remove some of the rust but not all..

flush the mixture out and flush the whole system wif plain water alot of times to ensure no mixture is left..

[stardome]

i encounter this problem wit my fireblade after a long ride when my coolant boiled up it leaks a little does that means my water pump ar bad?

I dont think my pump hose or pipe are leaking as for normal distance ther will be no leak found.

[mild_slevin]

i encounter this problem wit my fireblade after a long ride when my coolant boiled up it leaks a little does that means my water pump ar bad?

I dont think my pump hose or pipe are leaking as for normal distance ther will be no leak found.

 

hmmm where's the leak coming from? Maybe due to pressure build up the relief valve open and let off excess coolant, but usually the hose is direct to the reservoir else your coolant level in reservoir is beyond max level hence over flow.

[mild_slevin]

yeah just do what u have mentioned..running water through the radiator cap inlet...remove the hose at the bottom..the water will flush the system..

most will reccommend clean distilled water..to be filled for prevention of rust forming again

together with a good coolant additive..

flush it every 10k km..you will have a great cooling system..in your bike..

 

good idea, make it a habit to flush the cooling system once a year should keep it in tip top condition.

 

Talking about coolant, I wonder does oil cooled engine has better efficiency than cooled by coolant?

[stardome]

hw do you noe wats e max level for the reservoir?

mine is only lik half full..

[Aalex82]

i encounter this problem wit my fireblade after a long ride when my coolant boiled up it leaks a little does that means my water pump ar bad?

I dont think my pump hose or pipe are leaking as for normal distance ther will be no leak found.

 

have a check on the rad cap..

after some time of usage, the cap cannot hold certain pressure due to expanded hot coolant..

wat blade u riding? if cbr400, use a 1.1 bar rad cap..

[nuad]

yup thanks guys, i guess the hose trick works for only removing excess rust. well i guess ill try the hose, and maybe the vinegar trick, i read online that some people do that.

 

but can i do try that method for the engine itself ? ie, stuffing the hose up the coolant inlet tubes for the engine itself to wash the gunk from the engine internals? cos i noticed the orange layer seem to be inside the inlet tubes leading to the coolant area of the engine. although my ,mech told me the engine would not rust easily cos the metal is much thicker in there, but it just bugs me there is gunk there ;P

 

hmm stardome, i read that to check if ur water pump is bad, is you can hear a grinding noise from the water pump, for my bike its at the bottom left of the engine, not sure for cbr. means the pump's bearings are wearing, I THINK (not sure) another method is checking the coolant under the coolant cap, is already full and when revving the engine you can see the coolant level sucks in abit, means the pump is working and pushing moving the coolant around the engine, not sure though.

 

but beter get it checked out, dont think its normal for coolant to boil, that means your bike has overheated, but maybe its just u ride too fierce for too long? But once again better ask a pro.

[Billemans]

You can flush the whole system, don't worry too much about the rust color. Have seen this with a lot of bikes and cars. Just make sure you put in good coolant, this will also help to prevent further deterioration of the system. No need to replace parts if they don't break down or prevent water flow.

[Metal_Heart]

Bro I had the same problem with my Super4 radiator. Kept topping up regularly and did a coolant flush with bluecoral flush,thought that will help. On the nsw travelling at 120-130 engine temp ligh came on. Engine overheating, can't go beyond 80kph without the light coming on. Save yourself the trouble. If your radiator is rusty, the rust will block some of the internal tubes.

 

See if you can get a aftermarket radiator I got one for 180. Not original but works just as well in my experience.

[Raptor]

Redline Waterwetter coolant additive will stop the rust.

 

Used it on my race CBR600RR... btw, we can only use distilled water in the radiator for racing.. no coolant.

[aixin]

Bro I had the same problem with my Super4 radiator. Kept topping up regularly and did a coolant flush with bluecoral flush,thought that will help. On the nsw travelling at 120-130 engine temp ligh came on. Engine overheating, can't go beyond 80kph without the light coming on. Save yourself the trouble. If your radiator is rusty, the rust will block some of the internal tubes.

 

See if you can get a aftermarket radiator I got one for 180. Not original but works just as well in my experience.

Bro, this make gd sense. Unless the radiator is drain and flush away old coolant, replaced with new coolant once every year at least or half yearly. Other wise, rust is inevitable, and replacement is necessary, go for new radiator is price reasonable.

[pufferfis]

welll sometimes ur coolantbottle will also be full of algae n rust stuck to.the internal side.so i took it out.n.put.it.some.cholorox or bleach n let it eat away the gooey stuff.ah pek from pb1 recommends using a toothbrush to scrub the internals of.ur.rubber hoss o get rid of the rust.also u can take out ur radiator n let water tru so sediments or rust fully come out...so.later when.u flush ur.internals u can flush until water is clear

[drift]

Buy coolant flush, drain coolant, fill radiator with water n pour coolant flush, heat up engine n ride around the carpark.

After that drain the solution. After draining, stick a waterhose into the the radiator n turn the tap on. Run for 5 or more mins.

Then stick the hose at the bottom part of the water pump n open the tap n let it run for 5 mins. Water should be clear by then.

After that refill new coolant n top up with distilled water. N u are good to go.

[012aikon]

i think there's something called radiator flush (not sure if same as coolant flush) .. idea is to clean out rust and dirt inside