POP'd it

Highway ~ 70 MPH
20 min travel time
~90 degrees F

I watched my temp gauge climb, hold at ~ 85%, then climb more, felt the heat from the fluid vomit from my overflow tube, near my foot… then a muffled thud, and smoke, (which I later determined was steam), followed by some serious heat on my leg.

I was less than 2 miles from home, and on the “pig-tail” exit ramp when it happened. Once I, de-cowled the bike, and removed stuffs, I found this…

(Pictures are crappy, cause I was pissed… sorry)









Yes, so I know how to clean out a system and get a new seal etc etc etc, however!! Here’s the question… The fluid coming from the vomit tube was clear-ish, has a slight green hue, smells like radiator fluid… I.e. normal. The Radiator cap was completely covered in muddy, rust impregnated, goop. Yes, I know these are severe technical terms, but im sure you all know what im talking about. Most of it was wet and looked like mud, yet some still was hard like 80 yr old brick mortar. It easily chipped off like chalk.

Why is my cap filthy, yet the fluid clear!?

Moreover, (which I haven’t flushed the radiator yet), the temp valve was clean and clear. Thoughts? Comments?

 

Well "G" the location of the cap is a great place to trap dirt, and from what you have discribed I would say it has not been holding pressure and leaking for a while.
I would ck thermostat and water pump as well as replacing the cap with a new one.

flush that old stuff out while you are at it. Geez man treat her nice.

 

See if I can return the favor

Hey

Why is the cap dirty and fluid clean.The water overheated (boiled) and isn´t that a clean water and all the dirt sits in the pipes and radiator.It is just like if you take dirty water and boil it in a pot then you pour all the water out and the dirt sits in the pot.Because the pot is hotter then the water.

 

6-11-09 update:

The saga continues... Well, I have cleaned out the radiator, hoses replaced, all worm-drive clamps replaced, checked the thermostat in boiling water, it checks out ok, checked the overflow or aka the overpressure hose for damage or debris, its clean... Water pump is in good condition; working fine. cleaned out the water pipes, and flushed the engine block well...

in sumary, I got very little of any "ugly" colored water. Seems the cap had the bulk of the trash. but heres the problem now...

upon further inspection, I found THREE seals in the radiator cap. One on the plunger... (supposed to be there), and two on the seat. They were sort of fused together, thats why i didnt notice them right off. The seals are junk. I found a new radiator cap, and seal.

Why the extra seal? I inspected the radiator cap sealing surface, and realized there is a very small nick on the seal surface.

(FACEPALM)

so now what do I do? I'm fairly sure just the new cap isnt gonna solve my problem.

 

Ok, so here are the pictures. I have them in order from afar, and zooming in. The view is that of standing on the right side of the bike, next to the gas tank… obviously all the cowls and fairings are removed. The last picture is from the front of the bike.

From what I can tell, not only is there an excessive “notch” cut from the port, but the overall port isn’t true round. This explains why the cap is difficult to get off. I had always taken it off when the bike was warm, and simply chalked it up as an older bike, with some swelling.

I am now thinking I will have to buy a new Radiator cap, ($28.00), and have the Radiator port cut off, and a new one put on.

Thoughts?







You can see a little clearer here that the “notch” for the cap locking finger is cut deep into the first sealing surface.



It may be easier to see that the opening is oval shaped, and not round from this view…

 

pull that rad and get it fixed correctly

 

yup, i agree. So, I've contacted a local shop to have the radiator fixed. But, here's the deal. They are going to unsolder and or cut off the fill port, and weld or solder on one from another used radiator, from another bike. I dont even know what kind of bike it was. He has the cap and the port together... undamaged.

Other than knowing its no longer original, and potentially a size bigger or smaller, (though not by much im sure), Does anyone see any further potential foreseeable problems?

 

no dont see any problems with that - if you have a fellow rider near you try his cap next time he is working on his bike, I dont think there are many differnt sizes for the caps.
Import car cap as well might fit, if you need to replace some where down the road.

 

Oh Ghost don't hate Bro, never said anything about honda dealer read it again.

 

Check the rest

Hey

If you let a clear water go thruw the engine that is straight into the water pump and remove the valve on the other side.Just to see what dirt comes out of there.And test the valve.Most commen that fails in these bikes.Just to be on the safe side also now you have something to do while you wait for your radiator.:biggrin:

Best regards

Gunnar

 

You better check that the cap for the new radiator neck holds the same lbs as your original cap.

Just my 2 cents

 

Here’s an update: 6/12/09

So I took the radiator and cap to the Radiator shop. The owner took one look at it and said, he can straighten it out, and get it back to being round. He said he can also add a little aluminum to the top seal so the filler cap will sit on it better. If it doesn’t hold ~ 14 to 16 psi, he said hes got the filler cap and tube from a 1994 Honda something. So it should work out just fine.

Yes, I did flush the entire system with the thermostat removed, and ensured there wasn’t more trash anywhere… I also put the thermostat in boiling water, and checked its operation. Though, I didn’t question it, since I was getting water at the radiator in the first place; it still checked out ok.

I go pick it up today.