Coolant Pouring Out ? Next Steps

I was riding home from work the other day (National Ride to Work Day) on the interstate when I heard something pop and all of a sudden antifreeze was spraying everywhere (including my pants and feet - another reason not to ride in shorts and sandals). I was maybe 5 or 10 miles from home and managed to make it home by watching the temp gauge carefully and turning it off at lights. I had to stop once or twice when it went into the red to let it cool down.

I've got it all apart and I'm trying to figure out where my problem is. Nothing is obvious ? the radiator hoses look okay and I can't see much else. I tried pouring distilled water into the radiator to see where it would come out. It didn't come out up front near the radiator like I expected, but back around the center stand. Any advice on what to do next? What is the most likely culprit of what went? I'm thinking i'll need to remove the air box to see what's going on under there. Thanks in advance.

Sounds like one of the hoses to the elbows in the 'V' let go. Under the carbs/rubber mat.

How many miles? Does sound like maybe one of the hoses under the carbs (in the "V"). I pulled my carbs and replaced not only all the hoses but also the two water necks under the carbs last fall (part of my 100K maintenance). Plenty of posts on the forum about doing it. Here is one picture with the two main hoses, bi-pass hose and water necks replaced.

Let us know what you find.
Ride safe,

Has to be a hose under the carbs. Time for a major coolant system overhaul. Yes, how many miles?

My vote goes along with the under Carb area...

Could be the lower hose off the radiator. You might want to look here Linky Pretty much shows you what all it could be.

The bike has 41k miles. Okay, sounds like I'll be pulling the carbs etc. I'll look around for posts about how best to do a cooling system overhaul.

after you pull the carbs you'll likely see one of those two hoses in the picture from post #3 with a big gash in it, about 2 inches long or so. That's why your coolant gushed out so quickly. Lots of experience here with that job, so just ask about anything you're not sure about.

Once you get the carb bank off you can save yourself a lot of time. Go to your local auto parts store and borrow at kit that will pressurize your cooling system. with the carb bank off you can see most of the areas and will be able to identify any and all leaking points. When one of my cooling elbows cracked it only showed up under pressure and it drained the coolant out pretty quickly. If you have not replaced the carb boots in a while you might as well do that since they are probably hardened and will not seal correctly when you get it all back together.

What do I actually have to remove to see what's going on in there? Do I have to pull the carbs before I can see those hoses?

Yes ..

RobbieAG said:

What do I actually have to remove to see what's going on in there? Do I have to pull the carbs before I can see those hoses?

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yes. Once you have them off there's a few other things to tend to while you're in there.

In addition to the hoses, new carb boots, elbows/O-rings are the primary things, and there's a small hose on the front of the carbs that usually gets trashed while prying it off the carb assembly. someone else will likely come along with a complete list shortly.

after loosening the clamps, to get the carbs to release from the boots you'll need to pry on the assembly with something like a broomhandle (I used a length of 1" PVC pipe) using the frame crossmember for leverage.

Be careful where you pry on the carbs - not on linkages. DO NOT take the rubber snorkels off the top of the carbs before you remove the carbs. It will all come out as one piece and is a right PITA to put back on if you do. Learned that one all by myself.

This should be of some help (from the ST1100 Archive Of Wisdom):
http://www.st-riders.net/index.php?topic=3523.0
Also, see my album at the link in my sig line.

Please don't take offense, but IMHO based on your description, running the bike instead of immediately shutting it down and parking it, risked serious damage to the engine. The temp gage is not reliable when the coolant level drops and the sensor is uncovered.

Good luck,

John

John OoSTerhuis said:

Please don't take offense, but IMHO based on your description, running the bike instead of immediately shutting it down and parking it, risked serious damage to the engine. The temp gage is not reliable when the coolant level drops and the sensor is uncovered.

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No offense taken. I made a judgement call partly because of the danger of pulling over on the interstate, and maybe not fully understanding the situation with the temp gauge not being reliable in that situation. I hope it was not an expensive mistake. I did turn the engine over quickly the next day just to make sure it wasn't seized.

Thanks for the info.

BTW, you really weren't riding in shorts and sandals, were you, Robbie?

John :STOC: Ten Fifty-Eight

via iPhone 4S

John OoSTerhuis said:

BTW, you really weren't riding in shorts and sandals, were you, Robbie?

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Nah, I'm an ATGATT guy!

If you ever considered installing cruise control, this would be a good time.

I removed the air box and now I'm trying to get the carbs off. I have the Clymer manual and it says to drain the float bowls first. Is that necessary? I can't for the life of me see where the screws are and don't have the right screwdriver (I plan to get one) to reach it. Even if I could get to the screws, there's no way I could get a hose in there to drain the gas. Do you just let it drain into the V of the engine? It seems like it would be much easier to drain once the carbs are off.

jspringator said:

If you ever considered installing cruise control, this would be a good time.

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Hey Jim! I'd love to, but I want to get it back together and make sure I didn't damage anything before I sink more money into it.

RobbieAG said:

I removed the air box and now I'm trying to get the carbs off. I have the Clymer manual and it says to drain the float bowls first. Is that necessary? I can't for the life of me see where the screws are and don't have the right screwdriver (I plan to get one) to reach it. Even if I could get to the screws, there's no way I could get a hose in there to drain the gas. Do you just let it drain into the V of the engine? It seems like it would be much easier to drain once the carbs are off

Click to expand...

No need to drain the carbs.