Coolant

SO, I recently bought a 1998 500SW, in a decent(?) condition. BUT, on close inspection found that a new radiator was needed. Picked 1 up cheap enough from ebay but when I came to drain the cooling system got about a tablespoon of water from it. My question is, do I need to look deeper into the problem, or has the previous owner just run it dry?

Where were you draining the coolant from?

Draining it from the water pump drain plug. Radiator cap removed, along with top and bottom hose.

I take it there's no water in the oil? If not, refil it and check for leaks. It may have come out of the old radiator.

The old radiator didn't appear to have a leak, just very flat fins, and can't see any signs of water(foaming ) in the oil, so I reckon it's  just a case of flushing out, fitting new radiator and seeing.

Make sure the fan is working properly too.

Good point, I've gone through all  the normal tests - checked the fuse, put a fly lead between the fan switch lead and the frame, and the fan runs. The only thing I need to do now is mke sure the fan switch is working


,

igloocommando wrote:...when I came to drain the cooling system got about a tablespoon of water from it.

There's no harm done in filling up with water, give it a 30-second test run and then drain again. Personally, I wouldn't feel safe until I've seen water spurt some 40 cm out from the drain hole and collected - well, how much was it - 3 litres or so? - in a pan.

Then refill with the correct 50/50 mix of antifreeze/water.

"Perfect Preparation Prevents Poor Performance" as Guy Martin puts it...

stormbringer wrote:"Perfect Preparation Prevents Poor Performance" as Guy Martin puts it...

Perfect planning and preparation prevents piss-poor performance.

What's your address, Martin? I need to send that t-shirt.

P......P.....P....P.....P......P.....P.....Possibly

badseeds wrote:What's your address, Martin?

PM...

Thanks for all the advice guys. I fitted the new radiator, filled it with 50/50 mix, it took about 2 litres, and was full to the top of the filler neck. Ran it for a good 10 to 15 minutes and all seems ok, no leeks and the level was still to the top of the filler. Top and bottom hose both getting hot so the coolant is travelling around the engine. Topped up the expansion tank and ran it again, still all seems ok. Temp gauge is registering, rather slowly, so I think the previous owner must have been a bit negligent in checking water levels. Everything else seems ok, no water in the oil etc, so we'll see. Still in the garage being tarted up so maiden voyage is still a bit away.

Glad you're all sorted. The temp gauges do take quite some time to register and normally mine would be about 20 mins on tick over before the fan cuts in.

Thanks for the tip, thought it didn't move very much - will keep my eye on it during the first ride, hopefully not to far off.

igloocommando wrote:Thanks for the tip, thought it didn't move very much - will keep my eye on it during the first ride, hopefully not to far off.

That's not surprising: these bikes don't tend to run very hot. The fan on mine only comes on after standing idling for a while after a ride on a really hot day (like one or two days a year in the UK).

Blimey... So how far did you ride it with no coolant?

Didn't ride it without coolant, got it off ebay and put it on trailer. Only found the lack of coolant when it was on the lift in the garage.