Coolant is leaking !!!

RedFZ6

RedFZ6

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I took my bike for a ride today as the weather was very nice, 75 degrees and partly cloudy. So, after a quick 30 minutes of spirited riding I returned to my home to found that my radiator is leaking/dripping badly from the lower left side of the radiator guard which I think because of the kick stand tilting the bike to the left, so I removed the guard to see where is it coming from, It's leaking from the radiator cap area, but I need to make sure it's the ****ing cap or the radiator itself. Heck, the cap is $50 and the rad is $400 so I'd rather pay $50 for the golden cap than the platinum rad, I also changed the coolant in last September and got around 5k miles since then. I don't know why those cooling components are so expensive :confused:

I'll keep you posted.
 
Does that radiator have an overflow hose near the cap? Check the seal on the cap...
 
+1 on the hose.

Harleys don't (v rod doesn't count) need those costly parts. They bend you over when you buy it;)
 
It's also possible that when you changed the coolant last fall, you did not seat the cap correctly.....

What's going on at the catch bottle?
 
As a temp fix you could try to seal it with a radiator repair kit or use a leak kit. Just read the bottle to make sure it is safe to use on bikes.
 
Just got the chance to check it out and snap a few pics, I picture is worth a million words.

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The catch/overflow bottle is half full and the overflow hose is not leaking, and am sure the cap is seated correctly cause It did not leak since I changed the coolant, but I guess the seal on the cap is going bad, Anybody knows if I can change the caps' seal instead of changing the cap assembly?
 
You're right.... the pics remove all sorts of doubts. You may be able to clean the gasket on the radiator cap -- either way, you need to pull the cap off and take a good look at the mating surfaces to see what's going on.

Why in the world would a radiator cap cost so much? $49 on Motorcycle Parts, Motorcycle Accessories ? BikeBandit.com for an '07 radiator cap? Anybody know what the pressure rating on this one is?!?

FWIW, I've checked 2 or 3 different Yamaha PN for the cap.... '04, 06 and 08..... all of them cost $49.

I'd try one from a wrecked bike, before I'd pay that for a rad cap.
 
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Probably 31 bucks from Ron Ayers.com and I bet you can get it cheaper on fleabay.

Bet it's dirt/debri on the gasket or the seat and if the gasket is bad bet you could clean it with acetone and swipe some black RTV on it let it set up and use the bike while you wait for a decent priced replacement cap.
 
I'll try to clean the seal and the mating surface and see if that works, if not then I guess I'll have to order a replacement from Ron Ayers.com for $31, I don't feel buying used parts for anything that relates to the engine or brakes is a good idea.
 
Motogiro said:
17 bucks to ship!?! :eek: :spank:
Click to expand...

This is why a cross reference for another cap, that is the same size and rated for the same pressure is the best route....... if you really really feel the need to have that bolt on there to ensure you don't lose the rad cap, that's a drill and a bolt away..... or safety wire.

$24 even seems steep to me for a cap; I'd be checking what the typical cost is for a car application, and if it's within $5 of this, I'd find a comparable part at an automotive parts store. $50 is stupid for a rad cap.
 
^^ thanks bud, that's a great idea, I'll take the cap with me tomorrow to the local autozone and see what they have, I might buy one just to change the old rubber seal.
 
If the rubber seal is messed, can you make one up out of an old inner tube, or ?

On the third picture, is that a spot weld on the cap??

Are the sealing surfaces flat?

You want to check the for sale section or post a WTB as well...
 
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^^ what you're seeing in the third pic is a notch or whatever it's called to stop the cap from turning, and I don't think you can change the seal since it's riveted in the cap.

I just had the chance to remove the cap, the seal looks in a good condition and the mating surface looks clean but I decided to change the cap anyway, found a cap with the same 1.1 bar pressure rating (16psi) from autozone for $6, but guess what?? it's still leaking from the same place :eek:

I'll remove it again and sandpaper the mating surface just to make sure that it's smooth and clean.
 
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