What the hell is up with my cooling system!?

risky1 · Jun 8, 2005

I noticed my radiator was leaking, and I pulled it to send it off for repair. I noticed when it was draining that white deposits, gritty, flaky draining out with the coolant. the inside of the raditaor looks clean as far as i can see but whoa! the hose stub on the bottom of the radiator has holes rotting in it!?

This is not where I noticed the leaking from, it was higher up in the cooling fins somewhere. The hose was keeping it from leaking here.

well there was more of this "deposit" in the lower tube so i pulled the water pump and found this'

I was using regular antifreeze until two rides ago and i boiled over, so I switched to hyper-lube super coolant 50/50 mix. when i switched there was none of this. the bottle of super coolant states it is compatable with all antifreeze and protects aluminum cooling systems. can this stuff do this kind of damage? how can i clean out my cooling passages and make sure they are not blocked? can this radiator be fixed?

Maddel · Jun 8, 2005

Uhhh... that looks weird 8O
What coolant did you use?
And what coolant additive?
Could the white stuff be corrosion residua?
May be the leak made the aluminum
corrode inside the cooling system...
Never experienced this with any
bike or car cooling system yet.

Taffy · Jun 9, 2005

i get the feeling a deposit of this stuff (or the previous!) sat above the hose pipe clip exposed to the oxidising effect of the air. that's why you have corrosion above and below the clip.

husabergs have air in the system because you boil etc and also once it has boiled there is air at the top of the tank. these aren't SEALED systems because we don't have a catch tank.

this coolant doesn't mix with oxygen well. the mixture of the two looks to be bordering on a strong acid FFS :shock: :shock: :shock:

i would guess that you're going to get more of this soon.

sorry!

Taffy

risky1 · Jun 9, 2005

So if if it looks like an acid, can't i fush it and neutralize it? is it eating the inside of my motor? :shock:

Taffy · Jun 9, 2005

it WAS eating away at the steel, the deposits are probably a result of it's attack on the STEEL not on the block/barrell. that'll be ok i should think.

don't use that coolant again! get it welded/repaired and get it back together again. in the meantime look for another radiator! that one hasn't got long left and it's going to be trouble again i feel!

i cannot believe how little traffic ebay usa has! over here i bought my rad for $17 and i watched another two weeks ago going (with 3 hours to go) at $5.

good luck

Taffy

risky1 · Jun 9, 2005

I ran a regular antifreeze in the winter and when i owned my 98fe600e i ran Hyperlube super coolant in the summers without any of this. I figured it would be fine in the 02. I Guess i was wrong.

I can buy a new radiator but I really need toknow what i can do to flush the cooling passages in the motor.

risky1 · Jun 9, 2005

Taffy said:
it WAS eating away at the steel, the deposits are probably a result of it's attack on the STEEL not on the block/barrell. that'll be ok i should think.

don't use that coolant again! get it welded/repaired and get it back together again. in the meantime look for another radiator! that one hasn't got long left and it's going to be trouble again i feel!

i cannot believe how little traffic ebay usa has! over here i bought my rad for $17 and i watched another two weeks ago going (with 3 hours to go) at $5.

good luck

Taffy

If you see an other let me know. I will pay you a finders fee and give you a fed ex billing number to ship it to me.

Taffy · Jun 9, 2005

over here we have two or three really solid 'nothing but husaberg' type dealers that always have summink on the shelf. but, bar motoexotica-i can't say about the states?

these people will usually ship abroad from anywhere in europe if the money is right. take this link and keep watching regularly;

eBay UK link

this is the one i use for the USA but if you have a better one please let me know-i can't believe the USA only has 25 bits for sale;

eBay US link

regards

Taffy

volvonut · Jun 9, 2005

A quick way to check the acid level of the coolant is with a DVOM. Set the meter to read DC volts. Put the black lead on the neg. batt terminal and the red one in the coolant at the filler neck. Be careful not to touch the metal of the radiator as this will change your readings. A reading of .1v or higher indicates that a flush is needed imediately. The lower the acid level, the lower the voltage. Like Taffy said, oxygen in the system takes it's toll fast. Frequent flushes will keep the voltage down and using distilled water or reverse osmosis water will help reduce deposites.

Volvonut

dsducati · Jun 9, 2005

From repairing jet ski motors, I see internals looking like this all too often. Usually is from salt water use. The corrosive water combined with air eat away at the aluminum and the white deposits are desolved aluminum. Doubt losing a small layer has hurt the cylinder or any castings, but the thin radiator cores are probably done for. Not sure what was in your coolant to cause this. Have tried lime away, radiator cleaner, hot water to remove this crap without much luck. Comes right off with a pressure washer when the parts are on the bench. Not sure if any of this is helpful or not.
dan

risky1 · Jun 9, 2005

well being the paranoid that I am i pulled the clutch cover to inspect the coolant hole heading into the motor to see if it was full of the white deposits.

fortunatly it looks clean as does the coolant outlet to the radiator.

while i have the clutch cover pulled is there anything i should check for beside the clutch and reed valve. does anybody have a picture of a shot sprauge clutch? i pulled it and mine looks good as far as i can tell. I ask because i noticed that my starter was having a harder time spinning the motor lately, the ignition, and battery are brand new.

berger · Jun 9, 2005

When the sprag is on it's way out the starter motor will turn but the motor will not. Kinda like having a tooth missing on the flexplate of your chevy

berger · Jun 9, 2005

Here is some information on your corrosion topic.
http://www.penray.com/bulletins/water.htm

risky1 · Jun 9, 2005

so the 1 turn of the motor and then the spinning starter with no engine crank is a sign of the sprauge clutch going out huh... dang, back on the phone to motxotica. I should have just bit the bullet and picked it up last week when i was there.

What the hell is up with my cooling system!?

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