Pesky coolant leak

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jchesshyre
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Pesky coolant leak

Post by jchesshyre »

My bike developed a minor leak from the lower hose connection at the RH radiator - a scuff in the hose from my accident back in 2017 which had finally turned into a hole.

I have changed the hose with a used but good condition one I had from when I bought a whole used set after the accident. Still leaking, but now from the joint, not because of any hole but just because of a poor seal at the radiator. The jubilee clip wasn't looking the best, so I've replaced that and tightened it securely - leak still there. I also cleaned up some corrosion on the stub on the radiator which I thought could be preventing a tight seal forming.

But the bloody leak's still there! I've owned bikes with liquid cooling continuously since 2004 and have never encountered this! Normally giving the jubilee clip a slight nip up sorts it. But, something I've never been really sure about is, how tight should they be done up? I've now done it up to the point when it feels like I'd be straining it to go any further. Why else might this still be leaking? Maybe I just need to try a different hose although the one I've put on still feels perfectly pliable. Once fully warmed up the leak goes - it's just during the partially warmed up stage that it drips constantly.
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Wicky
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Re: Pesky coolant leak

Post by Wicky »

Mmm I'd try with the stub giving it another good rub down all the way around with medium to fine wetndry to remove any pitting from corrosion. And then get a new silcone hose set. If pitting deep then clean as best you can to key, then fill with epoxy metal and wetndry perfectly smooth.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AS3-PERFORMA ... 3121972101

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mikalor-ASFA ... 3363407710
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8541Hawk
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Re: Pesky coolant leak

Post by 8541Hawk »

When I ended up with a leak at the lower hose it was due to minor damage to the connection due to a get off.
I worked just fine until I had the hose off and reinstalled it.
From that point on it had a small leak at the connection due to it being slightly out of round.

Long story short......I could never get it to seal again no matter what I tried and the final solution was to replace the radiator. :thumbdown:
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jchesshyre
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Re: Pesky coolant leak

Post by jchesshyre »

Thanks - I have a feeling that this may be the case here, either from the off in 2017 or even from over-tightening the jubilee clip (I'm guessing this is possible since the rad is quite soft aluminium?).

That said, I have cleaned the stub more fully and this time gradually increased the clip tension until no drips emerge, so fingers crossed it is now sorted.
jchesshyre
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Re: Pesky coolant leak

Post by jchesshyre »

Can't get the lower RH radiator stub to stop leaking so I've got a new used RH rad.

What's a good way of flushing it out before fitting? It looks to have some (not terrible) scale etc. inside. Is it necessary to buy Radflush or similar or is there a household chemical that would do the job, bearing in mind it's just the rad and not the whole system I'm flushing?
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Wicky
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Re: Pesky coolant leak

Post by Wicky »

Workout if the whitish 'scale' is limescale if tap water has been used as coolant or if its aluminium oxidising corrosion.

Try and scrape some off and see if it fizzes with some kettle descaler. (I wouldn't use kettle descaler as a radiator/ coolant flush as even mild acid might get carried away!)

Halfords will have specific coolant flush > https://www.halfords.com/motoring/engin ... lush-250ml

And if the hose still leaks - a light smear of this on the spigot might do the trick to act as a gasket seal > https://www.permatex.com/products/adhes ... r-sealant/

or this > https://www.permatex.com/products/adhes ... ak-repair/

But again new silicone hoses considering the age of OEM Honda hoses would be path for long term fix.
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jchesshyre
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Re: Pesky coolant leak

Post by jchesshyre »

Thanks Wicky. I've used the stuff in Halford's in the past which I believe uses oxalic acid among other things. I was hoping not to have to "splash" out on some of it since it's designed for a whole automotive cooling system. I *think* the corrosion is aluminium oxide but will do the check you suggest!
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Wicky
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Re: Pesky coolant leak

Post by Wicky »

Some folk use vinegar or other homemade chemical witch's brew to flush - bit for the sake of a couple of quid I'd personally use a proper product.

https://mechanics.stackexchange.com/que ... d-chlorine
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fabiostar
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Re: Pesky coolant leak

Post by fabiostar »

i blocked one end of mine up and poured boiling water and harpic black bleach into them, give them a good shake and about an hour later poured them out and was amazed at the crap that came outa them :clap:

a few more rinses before fitting and bingo.
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jchesshyre
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Re: Pesky coolant leak

Post by jchesshyre »

Cheers lads, in the end the rad wasn't as bad as I thought, at all, and I just flushed it with water.

Refitted it and the top hose connection's been leaking a bit but I loosened the clamp slightly, turned it round and tightened it again and the leak seems to have stopped.

It's interesting comparing this cooling system with the CB500's which I'm familiar with as well having owned two, a '96 and now a '97. The VTR's one seems far more prone to leaks at hose unions than the CB's but at the same time a lot less sensitive on the gauge to leakage problems – the CB was running a bit hotter than normal for over a year and I couldn't work out why, until it turned out that one of the carb heater hoses was leaking air in during engine cool-down (there were no visible fluid leaks but I replaced the hardened hoses with soft new ones after replacing everything else in the system and this finally sorted the issue – something to bear in mind!)...whereas during the slight fluid leaks I've had with the Storm I've hardly noticed any difference with the running temperature on the gauge...this difference could of course just be the gauges' characteristics however!
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vtrjames
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Re: Pesky coolant leak

Post by vtrjames »

I had same issue where the radiator connection corroded through..I did as previously described,rubbed it down,filled the hole with chemical metal and when dry sanded and re shaped..all good since then
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