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MAJOR coolant problem

3K views 22 replies 12 participants last post by  laggy311 
#1 · (Edited)
Yesterday morning, before my ride, I performed my normal preride checks. I haven't checked my coolant since flushing it out after purchase (about 5k miles ago). Well, when I popped the cap off, my coolant looked like mud! So, rather than ride, I ended up flushing the system again. Anyone want to offer up any suggestions as to what my problem might be? The bike is an '08 with 7400 miles on it. I flushed the 50/50 mix out shortly after purchasing the bike and replaced it with distilled water and an additive similar to water wetter (water wetter wasn't available to me at the current time). I am about to drain the oil this afternoon to see if there is any cross contamination, but everything looks ok through the sight glass and there doesn't seem to be any condensation in the oil. Also, there is what appears to be little black particles mixed with what looks like sand or something similar (corrosion?). Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Here is the additive I am running:


This is the coolant on the first drain:


Debris:


Dried remnants from the head drain (98% of the dirty coolant came from this point. Everything I drained from the lower, water pump plug was clean. There was a little bit of "mud" in the bottom of the overflow resevior though.:


This is after the 2nd flush (first flush is in the blue coolant bottle). The 5th flush was finally clear, so I did a 6th for good measure.


From what I can gather, this is either a REALLY shitty additive (doubtful), I have a faulty seal in the oil cooler or it is a faulty head gasket. The black particles lead me to believe there is a bad seal somewhere, but I have no idea. Again, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: Just drained the oil and there doesn't seem to be any moisture in there whatsoever. The oil was going to be changed this week anyways (2300 miles on this oil). So, looks like oil in the coolant and no coolant in the oil. Would that suggest the oil cooler seal?
 
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#2 ·
Check the sight glass after you run it to see if the oil gets foamy. It may be the mechanical seal in the water/oil pump leaking. I would think you would be getting water in the oil too if that's the problem, but I'm not sure that is always the case.
 
#6 ·
There wasn't anything in the bottom of the reservoir as I drained that during the initial flush as well. Keep in mind that I only ran this water/additive mix for a little over 5k miles. I really don't know where to start looking, but I'm guessing a pressure test on the cooling system would be a great place to start. I found this on Amazon, but I might try and see if AutoZone has any available to rent.

http://www.amazon.com/Mityvac-MV4510-Motorcycle-Cooling-System/dp/B005MVBFKQ
 
#7 ·
I'm hoping it's just the additive in the coolant..... can you contact the company that manufactured it, and ask them?

Methinks it's oil in your coolant.... you could do a chemical analysis to find out what that is. This time of year, it's a beyotch to troubleshoot a cooling system problem -- you don't want to leave it without antifreeze....
 
#8 ·
I would be a little concerned about head gasket at this point...

Just curious, when you are flushing the system, what are you using? I always prefer a 50/50 mix of distilled water and distilled white vinegar. I always do at least 2 flushes with that mixture, and then a final one with JUST distilled water.

As far as the coolant and additives you use, I recommend straight up engine ice.
 
#10 ·
I don't see any oil in that coolant. If your thinking the yellow color is caused by oil your wrong. It's caused by rust. Oil will separate from water and float on the surface. It will not mix with water. I think your just looking at an adaptive that is either causing corrosion of the steel parts in the system or is not compatible with the coolant your running. If it were me, I would do a good flush and run pre-mixed Preston in it for a while and see what it looks like in a few months. No additive.
 
#11 ·
I agree with the others, I had an oil cooler crack internally and force all my oil into the cooling system and my coolant turned into a thick muck like a dark milk shake that also ended up pushing everything out the overflow hose. If you are not taking it to the track I would stick with regular 50/50 antifreeze mix.
 
#12 ·
Thanks guys, I filled it back up with distilled water Saturday afternoon after flushing it out. I'm going to drain that today and refill with the 50/50 mix when I refill the oil. I'll keep you guys updated. Oh, and FYI, whatever that Brown muddy shit is has since seperated and is now at the bottom of each jug. The water is now almost completely clear. I guess I'll be calling the manufacturer if this additive today as well.
 
#14 ·
If it is a street bike, there is no reason to run anything other than 50/50 coolant. Running something like water wetter is all well and good for track useage where it is required but it is not as good as corrosion prevention as standard antifreeze.

As for what you took out, that is corrosion, plain and simple. It doesn't appear to be any kind of oil contamination so you do not need to worry about an internal leak somewhere.

For what it is worth, I believe you are over-analyzing this (and I am one OCD motherf*cker so that is saying something) and should just put 50/50 in and call it done.
 
#16 ·
Ok, again, thanks for all of the help. I might have been over analyzing a bit. Ok, maybe quite a bit but it really freaked me out. Flushed the system again this morning, added 50/50 and refilled the oil. I should be aheading out for a ride after a few conference calls, so I'll let you guys know how it goes tonight when I've had a chance to inspect everything again.
 
#17 ·
Tried researching it a little to see if anything came up and I saw this. I think this is general automotive, not strictly motorcycle, but this guy seemed to know what he's talking about. This pretty much echoed what was said about about it likely being rust, but this guy went into detail describing why rust may be forming in your coolant system.

There are very few things that make coolant turn brown. Dirt is not one of them unless you are putting dirt in. Rust is one thing. If you have air in the system, or if you have mostly water rather than the correct mixture of coolant and water, rust can form in the system and turn the coolant brown. It will also plug up the radiator and cause your car to overheat. Coolant with rust in it can look like mud if there is enough rust. It is also more of a reddish-brown. Another thing is oil. If oil is getting into the coolant through a blown head gasket or some other internal leak, it will sort of mix with the coolant and turn it brown and foamy. It will look somewhat like a whipped latte and smell kind of oily. A third way is exhaust getting into the cooling system through a blown head gasket, cracked block or cylinder head, or a compression leak between a cylinder and a water jacket. In this case, two things are happening. First, the exhaust is actually slightly smoky, and it causes the coolant to turn brownish. Second, the exhaust actually forces its way into the cooling system, and forces coolant out through the overflow bottle. This allows air in, which causes the rust issue I mentioned before. If exhaust is getting into the coolant, the coolant will have a very strong exhaust odor. If it is just rust, you can flush the system and replace the coolant with the proper mixture. If it is oil or exhaust, this is an indication of a more serious issue, most likely a head gasket or a cracked block or head. A good mechanic can tell if it is a head gasket or compression leak. In fact, so can you. When the engine is cold, take the radiator cap off and start the car. Seal the radiator opening with your palm. If you feel a pulsation, it is an indication of a blown head gasket or a compression leak. Further testing will be needed. Normal coolant is either lime green or orange-juice orange, and it smells kind of sweet. One of the properties of coolant is to prevent rust and corrosion. If it is the wrong type or the wrong mixture, rust and corrosion may occur.
 
#20 ·
Ok, so it looks like I just overreacted a bit and there doesn't appear to be any mixture of oil/coolant. The additive I was using is apparently shit with all of the humidity and temperature changes here. I flushed it again and refilled with 50/50 as well as an oil/filter change. Everything seems to be good to go! Thanks for all of the help guys.
 
#21 ·
I might get flamed, but run a bit of cascade powder in one of your flushes. I know it sounds weird, but I took my Jeep Wrangler cooling system from zero to hero with that and a product at ACE called dishwasher magic. Theory is: pH neutral, heat activated, detergent abrasives that do work. The radiator I replaced was cleaned down to original metal. It cleaned most of my crudded up block as well.

It's part of my 6 month coolant maintenance on my zx6r now.
 
#22 ·
Flamed might be a strong word.....

I've always been reluctant to do anything to a cooling system, until such time as it demonstrates it's got a problem. Anything that gets added to the coolant, is a contaminant. Anything that is a solvent -- especially strong enough to strip down to 'bare metal', is also going to work on the seals and gaskets in the system.

If there is already corrosion of some type, that is going to cause pitting and weak spots. Dissolving anything that might be in those weak spots does not seem prudent.

Your mileage will of course vary.
 
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