Motorcycle Repair: Over Heating problem, freezing point of water, coolant pump
QuestionHi Mark My name is Kevin and I have a overheating problem on my 1994 kawasaki Ninja zx9r. the only mod was the exhaust pipe. It over heats after a certin time and never comes back down.I changed the thermostat and even ran with out it while I was waiting for the piece. I also changed the tempreture sender because the fan would not turn on when it's supposed to. That didn't change nothing because I rarely hear my fan turn on. As I ride on the hi way the temp granualy goes up slowly sometimes it comes down a little , just a little but rapidly comes back up. If I go on it will even touch the red. I noticed when I stop with it sometimes I hear bubbleing in the prestone reserve right after I finish riding my bike. Could it be that there is air in the cooling system? Some mechanic told me that maybe when the engine gets to a certin tempreture the metal expands thus creating a leak in between the gasket and head of the engine. The engine does not smoke at all and dosn't smell like prestone ither. Please contact me a.s.a.p my e-mail is kbelo1980@hotmail.com
AnswerHi Kevin,
Cooling systems are designed to be air free. Air in the system lowers the boiling temperature of the coolant much like salt lowers the boiling point and freezing point of water.
When we change our coolant or replace a system part, air enters the system and must be purged using a special tool. This tool pulls a vacuum on the system and then draws fresh coolant in without air.
If an air bubble settles at the coolant pump, it will not move coolant throughout the system.
If the radiator cap pressure is testing ok, the raditor fins are in good condition, and the radiator is not obstructed, I suspect air is in the system.
MityVac sells the tool I mentioned above. It is named Air Evac tool. You may see the tool here:
www.sjdiscounttools.com/mit4700.html
That's the lowest price I've seen for this tool. If interested, shop for the best price.
Respectfully,
Mark Shively
