Coolant replacement Kawasaki EL 250
Michael Heyse
problem, but how do I properly refill it? Is it OK just to re-fill the
container? There's also an opening on top of the cooler, do I have to
fill in some liquid there too? If yes, how do I know how much?
Thanks a lot!
Michael
Mark Olson
Assuming the EL250 has the same cooling system as an EX250 (a reasonable
assumption) it takes about a liter to fill up the entire cooling system.
Your owner's manual will tell you the exact figure. If you don't have
an owner's manual, order the factory service manual. It's worth its
weight in gold if you are going to do any of your own servicing.
My method is to flush the system multiple times with pure water to remove
all traces of the old coolant[1]. Tap water is OK for all but the final
flush, for the final flush use distilled water. Then pour pure antifreeze
into the radiator (cooler?), half the volume of the system. That way you
will get the exact 50/50 concentration no matter how much water remains
in the system. Fill the radiator up to the top with distilled water.
Fill the coolant reservior to the 'hot' line with a 50/50 mixture of
distilled water and coolant.
Start the bike and let it idle until the thermostat opens, continuing
to monitor the coolant level in the radiator. When you can't get
any more water into the system, put the radiator cap back on and ride
the bike until it's fully warmed up, then let it cool down completely.
When the engine cools down, the cooling system will suck coolant in from
the overflow tank. Repeat the heat/cool cycle and fill the coolant
reservior as needed (fill to the cold level line when cool) until all
the air is out of the system.
[1] Make sure you use a silicate-free antifreeze. I prefer the
new Dex-Cool extended life type coolant, but changed at the same
intervals as the old garden variety green colored coolant. Dex-Cool
type antifreeze can be mixed with the traditional green type, but its
special anticorrosion properties will not be exhibited if there is *any*
contamination with old coolant, hence the multiple flush recommendation.
--
Mark '01 SV650S '81 CM400T '99 EX250-F13
Sobowtor
From: Mark Olson ols...@tiny.invalid
Date: 9/22/03 5:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id: <3f6eeb57$0$174$a186...@newsreader.visi.com>
Then pour pure antifreeze
into the radiator (cooler?), *half the volume of the system*. That way you
will get the exact 50/50 concentration no matter how much water remains
in the system. Fill the radiator up to the top with distilled water.
Fill the coolant reservior to the 'hot' line with a *50/50 mixture* of
distilled water and coolant.
>>>>
To be precise ... If you pour in half the volume of the system of pure
antifreeze, you don't need to add 50/50 mixture to the reservoir. Add just
water.
Stan
Mark Olson
[Mark Olson wrote in article <3f6eeb57$0$174$a186...@newsreader.visi.com>]
> Then pour pure antifreeze
> into the radiator (cooler?), *half the volume of the system*. That way you
> will get the exact 50/50 concentration no matter how much water remains
> in the system. Fill the radiator up to the top with distilled water.
> Fill the coolant reservior to the 'hot' line with a *50/50 mixture* of
> distilled water and coolant.
> To be precise ... If you pour in half the volume of the system of pure
> antifreeze, you don't need to add 50/50 mixture to the reservoir. Add just
> water.
I was assuming (correctly, I think) that the total system capacity
as spec'ed does not include the overflow tank. BICBW.
In any case, I don't like the idea of filling the reservior with pure
water. Eventually, over time, the entire contents of the reservior
would get mixed with the rest of the system, but it might take quite a
number of heat/cool cycles, and if you live in the great white north
like me, that could be a bad thing.
If you're confused by all this, just premix all the coolant you'll need
50/50, and fill everything with that. Whatever water you have left
in the system after flushing will dilute the percentage of coolant
below 50%, but not by much, in a system where the engine drain plugs
get almost all the flushing water out. If you're determined to hit
exactly 50%, I'd start out with a slightly higher concentration of
coolant vs. water to account for the small amount of water left in
the system after flushing.
Whatever you do, don't exceed the maximum concentration of coolant as
spec'ed on the coolant container label, IIRC it isn't good to go over
70% antifreeze, as the heat transfer ability of coolant isn't as good
as water, and the freezing protection actually goes down after that
point, too. 50/50 should be good to -34 F/ -37 C, which should be
plenty good unless you live north of the Arctic Circle.
--
Mark '01 SV650S '81 CM400T '99 EX250-F13 DoD #959635 RFB #2
mjt
> Fill the coolant reservior to the 'hot' line with a *50/50 mixture* of
> distilled water and coolant.
>
>>>>>
>
> To be precise ... If you pour in half the volume of the system of pure
> antifreeze, you don't need to add 50/50 mixture to the reservoir. Add just
> water.
... you misread it - the 50/50 part was filling the reservoir
.
--
/// Michael J. Tobler: motorcyclist, surfer, skydiver, \\\
\\\ and author: "Inside Linux", "C++ HowTo", "C++ Unleashed" ///
\\\ http://pages.sbcglobal.net/mtobler/mjt_linux_page.html ///
"The National Association of Theater Concessionaires reported
that in 1986, 60% of all candy sold in movie theaters was
sold to Roger Ebert." - D. Letterman
Sobowtor
Date: 9/22/03 6:53 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id: <LINbb.60$MB...@newssvr22.news.prodigy.com>
Sobowtor wrote:
> Fill the coolant reservior to the 'hot' line with a *50/50 mixture* of
> distilled water and coolant.
>
>>>>>
>
> To be precise ... If you pour in half the volume of the system of pure
> antifreeze, you don't need to add 50/50 mixture to the reservoir. Add just
> water.
... you misread it - the 50/50 part was filling the reservoir
>>>>
Regardless of where you pour in the 50/50 mixture, if you already have 50% of
the system's volume filled up with pure antifreeze, you're going to end up with
concentration greater than 50%.
50% + whatever(50/50) > 50%
For practical reasons, I would just pour in the 50/50 and add some more after
every warm up/cool down cycle.
Stan
Michael Heyse
contains antifreeze and anticorrosion additives so I don't have to worry
about getting the right mixture.
BTW - the replacement seemed to have worked quite nicely, just hope the
bike's not going to blow up on me...
Can you tell me after approximately what time the radiator (sorry didn't
know the english term) will start to heat up? Until now I just let it
idle a couple of minutes and the coolant pipes weren't even warm
although the exhaust-bends were already boiling hot...
Mark Olson
> Can you tell me after approximately what time the radiator (sorry didn't
> know the english term) will start to heat up? Until now I just let it
> idle a couple of minutes and the coolant pipes weren't even warm
> although the exhaust-bends were already boiling hot...
The radiator won't get hot until the thermostat opens. How long that
takes depends on the air temperature and how fast your idle speed is, etc.
It won't hurt to open the throttle a bit and hold the revs at 2500 or so
until the thermostat opens- just make sure you don't leave the choke on.
Brian Johnson
> Thanks a lot, guys, but I'm using a pre-mixed cooling-liquid that contains
> antifreeze and anticorrosion additives so I don't have to worry about
> getting the right mixture.
Unless I'm mistaken, anti-corrosion additives are usually silicates.
Silicates are reportedly bad for your seals. You may want to use a
different brand of coolant.
--
Brian
'91 EX500
'78 R80/7
http://sherbang.com/motorcycle
Mark Olson
> On Tue, 23 Sep 2003 14:07:05 +0200, Michael Heyse wrote:
>
> > Thanks a lot, guys, but I'm using a pre-mixed cooling-liquid that contains
> > antifreeze and anticorrosion additives so I don't have to worry about
> > getting the right mixture.
>
> Unless I'm mistaken, anti-corrosion additives are usually silicates.
> Silicates are reportedly bad for your seals. You may want to use a
> different brand of coolant.
There are many coolants on the market with excellent anti-corrosion
properties that are silicate-free.