Coolant leak- No big deal?

Seems every time I start my 06 soon as it gets warm I smell the sweet odor of coolant. This has been going on for a while now, and I narrowed it down to the right hand side in the V of the engine under the throttle bodies. I know the Thermostat Housing is in there, but as far as I can tell it isn't the culprit- but that's only because I can't see in there enough. When I was doing my investigation I found the over flow bottle empty, but the radiators were not low. Considering that I haven't added coolant in 19K miles I think that an empty bottle would be normal. I am wondering if it's worth the trouble to chase this leak down or just keep an eye out on the coolant overflow bottle.
So, Who has had a leak in this area, and what did you do?

Anthony

 

Hi I just bought a 2000 vfr 800. Same problem. I have alot of years as a mechanic and first thought is always head gasket. However no coolant loss, no real culprit showing. The previous owner had a leak at the thermostat housing fixed, I have only owned the 2 months. I do know that antifreeze will linger forever burning off if left on a hot engine. I am beginning to think it is alcohol burnoff from the fuel as I get alot of water out the tailpipe when it first starts up. I am just keeping an eye on it, but not overly worried.

Anyone else have the same problem??????????????

 

Mine leaks a tiny bit but only under cold weather conditions, I tracked it to the same spots you were talking about Goinphaster. Since when it warms it goes away, and I really dont feel like jumping into the proper fix, which I will save for one more riding season, I will tighten the clamps, top it off and live with the coolant smell for a bit till it goes away. Its pretty obvious to me I need to replace the OEM hoses, but Im putting it off until this winter. Am I scared it will suddenly blow coolant all over the back tire while I'm railing some backroad? No, the hoses look to be in pretty good shape, they just dont flex all that well any longer at their connection points when the temps drop below 15F. I dont get too nervous about something once I have tracked to the source and am comfortable with what its doing and why.

 

I just replaced a bunch of hoses on my 2000. They were 11 years old, afterall. I found that a few of them had "aneurysms." They had started to splint into layers and the coolant was seeping out through the threads on the ends. So, I took the bike apart and replaced as many as I could. No more smell, no more drips.

 

there's the proper fix, and I will be doing that this winter.

 

yeah I had that smell last season, today I just got done replacing the stuck wide open T stat.
Have fun w/ that.
I had to say it was the hardest thing I've done on the bike yet, it really sucks!!
:chaingun:

 

^^^^^^^
always a fun job :joker:

dont worry about Drewl, he always equates mechanical failures to biology, "aneurysms" heeee...

He cant help it, he's trained to save our lives .

 

Well thats a first for me hearing of the coolant seeping throught the threads in the hose itself, but very plausible, very. Cool now I just have to start getting the hoses to do it this winter also. Very very cool that you guys can pass this info along. Don't forget your hose clamps have a torque spec in the manual. The thermostat and thermostat hosing were just done on my bike by the dealer, but they were not going to go and start replacing hoses for the guy I bought it off offs complaints. Tips for everyone you can use dishsoap for lubricant when installing the hoses, it makes life easy to install rubber onto aluminum. Works for tires too. Just don't use ANY petroleum based lubricants on rubber.

 

Much kudo's for the replies.