Burning coolant

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Guest

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My son's 2002 RM 85 that is loosing coolant. At first I thought it was leaking into the crank case however, after draining the oil into a measuring cup I found it measured 550 ML. The oil was not milky. I then pulled the spark plug and found it to be shinny clean on top. This made me think the head gasket was bad. Coolant getting into the head. Changed both head gaskets and lapped the head. No change still loosing fluid. Next I put a layer of Three Bond between the head and the cylinder. No change. Changed base gasket. No change. Any suggestions.

Thanks

Bob
 
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A tiny Pin hole in the radiator maybe when it gets good and hot the pressure build up might squirt a little out. how much is it losing after each ride????
 
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Thanks Mark,
About 2 to 3 ounces per moto. During the Clewiston race about 6 to 8 ounces per lap. We have not noticed any drop in engine performance.
 
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8 per lap is alot to loose i was loosing the same on my Kx but it was the water pump seals and it was getting into the oil (milky) you said yours wasnt but its going somewhere. i would check the oil again and look at the rads when you 1st fire it up , look for a fine pin stream to shoot out
 
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Last night I removed the clutch plate and found that the retainer clip on that holds the water pump shaft in the water pump housing had slipped out of the shaft groove. This allowed the pump to move and rub on the outside of the housing. This could have allowed less collant to pump causing over heating. But I am still concerned that collant is possibly getting into the combustion chamber. I will certainly look for radiator leaks. Thanks Mark.
 
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Hey Richard,
I did replace the cap. My son raced the bike at big Cypress. After three laps I had to add about 8 ounces. I'm at a loss at the moment.

Thanks

Bob
 
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start the bike up from cold.let it run for 30 secs.stop the bike.get a rag and remove the cap.is there a lot of pressure there?
 
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Well reading this seems to me that you have a head gasket leak. I don't care if you changed it. I think that if you did your head is warped, and if its broken on the exhaust side you won't find coolant in the engine cause the exhaust pressure will not allow it to enter. However when you start the bike the exhaust leak will pressurize the cooling system and send your coolant out through the over flow.


If your coolant were getting into the Combustion Chamber you would see a loss of performance. So by you saying there is no loss in performance we can rule that out.
 
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Oh yea , with the above said.....you will find that if thats the case it will be harder to start then normal, and that when you start it for the first time after it sat, you should see a bit more smoke then normal as it starts to warm up.

If you find it to be a warped head, I know a great way to fix it, if its slightly warped.
 
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Thanks Richard & John,
I have noticed it takes several kicks when it is cold. When it does start, it idles at very low rpm. If I touch the trottle too soon it will die. After it's warm no problem, first kick. I did notice that it smokes a good bit when first started. I continue to think that something is warped. I did lap the head when I replace the head gaskets. Should I replace the head? I would appreciate to hear your remedy.

Bob
 
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Yes warped head, No biggie. Get a smooth piece of glass and lay some fine sand paper on it then gently rub the surface of your head in a circular motion, going clock wise then counter clock wise. Now lift the head , take note at the Shiny area, and if you see an area that has not been sanded, it will indicate that your head is warped. Continue as needed to make sure all the surface its flat, do not try to press hard to speed up the process, Take your time and sand it until its true.

On reassemble do not tighten just one bolt then go to the next, Snug each one down then just work each one 1/4 turn at a time until you get to the proper torque, you manual should have that. Most causes of a warped head are either from over torqueing or torquing hard on one before another. The other cause would be over heating.

If you notice its NOT the head, then it has to be the surface of the cylinder ( not as likely) however you can remove the studs and do the same thing to the cylinder.

If you remove a lot of metal you will raise the compression, a small amount won't make much difference, but depending on how bad its warped, if that's the case. If you run race gas you won't tell a difference, pump gas it may ping or knock as a result to a higher compression ratio.

I had to do this a few times, the last one I did this to was my sons KX60 , since then he says it runs much better starts much better , and it don't lose a drop of coolant.

Good luck to you, Hope I was able to help
 
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Dave Riley

Guest
I second John's recommendations.  Here's my story.

A couple of races ago we noticed a little coolant was coming out of the overflow on my kx250 when we revved the engine.  Looked in the radiator and when revved the coolant would spray a little and a little would come out of the overflow.  Doug Harvey said it was a head gasket and Mike Stephens suggested lapping the head.  After repair the coolant will swirl as the engine revs but no spray indicating pressure in the upper hose.  We also had a couple of strange noises so we didn't race.

I did the glass and 600 grit sandpaper on my head prior to reassembly.  I replaced the piston, rings, reeds and all the gaskets.  Cleaned out all the fluid passages, hoses and radiator.  Was real careful and used an x pattern to tighten the head to the right torque.  I replaced the piston because it looked like it was having a little blow by and a couple of brown spots on bottom of the piston looking into it.

At Seminole I did about a half a lap of practice, 2 10AM laps and then my son rode 3 laps at 2PM.  The coolant appears to be at the top of the radiator so no appreciable loss.  I checked the bottom of the overflow at the end of each riding session and no fluid was coming out.

I crashed and fell over several times and that didn't cause much fluid loss.
 
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Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. I think you are right. I am going to replace the top-end, inspect the head and cylinder and re-lap the head. I mentioned earlier that I put a layer of Three Bond between the head and cylinder. That may show where the coolant is entering the combustion chamber. (Was real careful and used an x pattern to tighten the head to the right torque.) I will be more careful how I put the head back on.
Another question: I noticed a discharge out of the power valve hose. I'm sure that has something to do with the over all problem.

Bob
 
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Oh BTW I'll let you in on a little secret.....coolant don't burn
 
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