[Andy1988]

hi, just got back from a ride out and for some reason my tornado has decided to splill coolant all over i noticed a few miles away from home my foot was slipping on the r/h foot peg but didnt think anything of it till i got home and there was clouds of steam coming from under the fairings! anyway iv had the panels off to have a look thinking it was maybe the core plugs but these are fine, it seems to of come out of a clear plastic pipe that is tied up to another coolant hose just up above where you would top the oil up from. im guessing this is the overflow from header tank located under the rear l/h fairing and indeed looking through the inspection hole it looks completely empty, how do i go about filling the coolant back up to the correct level? do i just add it through the coolant cap under the seat and fill it till its at the correct mark on the expansion tank? also any ideas why it had done this? i was going at a good pace but it wasnt registering any higher than normal on the temp gauge? many thanks for any help!!

 

[fredzedex]

I'm sure an expert will be along shortly,but the expansion tank needs to remain empty. Just top it up to just below the filler neck in the rad cap under the seat. I think......

Were you doing a lot of town riding when she got hot ? mines spat a bit of coolant out in slow moving traffic before:doh:

Top it up to see if it's leaking somewhere,you only need a micro hole in the core plug for under pressure coolant to force it's way out, are all you're hoses intact?

fred

 

[Andy1988]

hi fred, no i was wringing its neck over the moors at the time, temp gauge looking normal from what i noticed, lump felt very hot when i got the fairings off though. it seems to of come from a clear overflow pipe thats on the r/h side of bike a few inches up from where the oil is topped up. if i top it up the seat does that not then fill the expansion bottle or is this normally filled seperatly? thanks

 

[tomr10]

im pretty sure the expansion tank stays empty

 

[fredzedex]

I think, and I'm no expert here, the expansion tank is for just that,expansion of hot coolant. When you refill it to the correct level it shouldn't fill the tank.

we used to have saying in the army with our armoured vehicles, "top up,motor on'

hopefully an expert will be along soon,although most are in Scotland with no internet acces:doh:

Fred

 

[pipdavidson]

all you need to know is on errols site

heres a link: Coolant System Bleeding

 

[Engenia]

Don't try and fill the expansion tank. Fill at the radiator cap only. The expansion tank is only for expansion. When the bike cools, that will be sucked back into the radiator.
The overflow happens when the bike overheats. Mine did this when I idled it too long (about half an hour). The fans aren't good enough to control the temperature rise when the bike is standing still, at least on my bike. My radiator is far from new though. (Note to one's self: build a tuneup fan)
Why does it spill it's guts?

1. If your coolant level was low to start with, that may contribute to overheating. Bleed the system. Pip posted the link ....
2. If your fans are not working, that will definitely let it overheat. Check the fuse, and run the diagnostic on TuneECU to confirm.
3. Check your radiator cap. The original had a washer that was too small and it wouldn't seal properly.

Don't trust your temperature gauge even if it is a rev D or later. It reads low by a long way. When mine spilled it's guts, the gauge wasn't quite in the red. The ECU will get it right though. It was registering 125C from memory.

 

[Andy1988]

Thanks guys all very helpful! I have topped it up and squeezed the pipes plenty which seemed to get rid of some air but I will get a friend up today to help me tip the bike from side to side just to be certain. Iv ran the bike on idle a few times since topping up and the fans are cutting in at just over 90degrees on the temp gauge every time and they were working ok whilst out as well although I was never stopped still long enough for it to get very hot.
it seemed to have done this whilst coming back home I was getting quite a move on but no more so than it's used to and it's always been fine before.
anyway I will bleed as recommended and see how it goes, I'm just worried with it now as I don't want it doing it again miles from home or worse blowing the motor as I know the temp gauges can be funny and then I don't realise she's getting hot, oh well might get to see how good the warranty is I guess

thanks again!

 

[Andy1988]

Well filled up and bleed as everyone suggested, went out today 16miles to fuel station and she was blowing coolant out the overflow yet again,
bike getting very hot as soon as left to stood or engine under load, was fine aslong as I was doing 60ish with no load on engine it would settle to about 90 but well into the red otherwise.
Will be giving the lads at Bennetts a call tomorrow and hope they can fit it in quicker than the 2months it was for a service

 

[mtmags]

The faster you go the hotter it gets?
This problem has nothing to do with your coolant level, I say this because you have obviously filled it a few times and bled it.

You are experiencing a loss of flow of coolant through the motor or a loss of flow of air through the radiator, first off.........
Loose impeller bolt..........or one of your dipshit friends stuffed a couple pairs of shittled undies in your air ducts......I suppose it could also be some other kind of blockage of airflow to the rad but short of a mouse nest I don't know how enough debris could get jammed up against the rad.
Had the bike had any work what-so-ever done right before this problem exhibited itself? You could have a squished hose from improper re-assembly.

Malfunctioning thermostat.(stuck closed/cold bypass only)

 

[Andy1988]

Hi sorry maybe wasn't too clear,
bike temp around 90 degrees when going over 60mph without load,

under load ie accelerating or as soon as slow down going into a 30mph etc bike temp goes well up into red.

thanks

 

[Andy1988]

I didn't know if it may be a water pump problem? I had a car and although there very different kinds of engine it did exactly the same thing and water pump had failed, the bike has only done 1500miles now but has obviously been sat crated up for 10yrs so this maybe the problem, not sure how to check though I don't want to go messing around too much incase I can't get any work done under the warranty

 

[Andy1988]

Oh and the bike had been in for its first service but there hasn't been a problem until now and that was about 2weeks ago and iv done 600miles since then till the problem started

 

[mtmags]

Gotcha, I as well as most owners can tell you that it's ALWAYS going to be on the verge of overheating if you drop below 40mph for more than 1 minute. Tailgating a tractor trailer will also cause her to run the same way(lack of airflow).
However, once over 40mph, I don't care how heavy handed you are, it will hold that needle pretty darn steady.

Shine a flashlight down the charging tubes leading to the radiator and make sure a rodent hasn't made a comfy home out of the space in front of the radiator.

If it wasn't for the temp gauge reading to go along with the physical act of boiling over I would also be looking at a head gasket leaking compression into the water jacket, raising the pressure to the point of overcoming the radiator cap. I say this because you observed the "no load" cool running and the overheat/boil over under load.

 

[Andy1988]

Up until now I always found the temp quite reasonable it would only really get very hot sort of around 100degrees mark when stook in traffic for more than 5minutes now it shoots up immediately as soon as even slow down below 60mph and going straight into red on temp gauge, checked rad and air ducts all seems good

 

[mtmags]

You can see straight through the radiator? A few bugs or debris isn't going to cause this, it would have to be at least 20% blocked to cause the problems you're having.

Time to get dirty and make sure:
You did the bleed procedure correctly( seriously.....you could just have an airlock in the system)
Water pump is functioning correctly.
Thermostat?
All coolant pipes are routed properly( very easy to squish)

 

[mtmags]

Just double checked the manual: drain your coolant, pop the tstat housing off, drop the tstat in a pot of boiling water.....does it open?

Pop the water pump inlet elbow off and confirm that your impeller will not spin freely by hand, which would indicate one of two possibilities: the nut is loose, or the drive dog is no longer driving the pump. Pray for the nut to be loose.

 

[Andy1988]

Where I the thermostat located? I know the water pump is on the l/h side with the two hoses going to it so il pop that off and see if the impellor is spinning or not, cheers

 

[mtmags]

Just to be clear, the impeller should NOT turn by hand, not easily at least. If it does, grab a wrench....you're about to fix the problem.

The tstat is located just behind the cam chain tensioner on the other side of the bike from the water pump. Couple of bolts, a water temp sensor mounted right to it, and a rad hose as well.
It's a domed casting and under that dome is your tstat and it should.....with little effort, fall out into your hand.


DRAIN THE COOLANT BEFORE DOING EITHER.

 

[mtmags]

Tharrrrr be yer treasure matey......you'll have to take her clothes off to get it.