mcmlcccvrs
New member
The bike is apart due to what is clearly dried coolant on the left hand rear side of the tank right where the crimping is. It starts about half way up. I noticed it earlier this year and rinsed it off to see if it would reappear which it did. The bike intermittently uses coolant (I marked the clear line on the side of the overflow tank to watch the level) and I can smell it when the engine is hot. It doesn't drip anywhere and only has the slightest amount of residue on the top of the engine right under the bottom left side of the rad. The leak obviously isn't bad enough to actually drip but just evaporates with heat. I want to say it has used about 300-400ml in the 3,600 miles of riding this year.
I'm not interested in adding radiator sealant to the coolant or running a bead of silicone in an attempt to address the issue, neither of which would be long term solutions. I have a spare rad in what appears to be beautiful shape with not a ding in it anywhere although it does have some brownish residue inside after I flushed it out. Not sure what that is as it is an aluminum core and plastic tanks. It does have a 6 month warranty and came out of a 1984 K100RS with just over 14,000 miles.
I have spoken to a shop already that a large dealership takes their rads to. They can pressure test and try re-crimping it.
So, how to proceed? I will most certainly have the spare rad tested, but do I bother to waste my time at all with the original rad by letting them see what they can do with it?
Have any of you guys attempted re-crimping or just replaced the rad when the tank started to leak in this area? Is there some sort of seal or gasket between the tanks and core when it's assembled?
Thoughts?
I'm not interested in adding radiator sealant to the coolant or running a bead of silicone in an attempt to address the issue, neither of which would be long term solutions. I have a spare rad in what appears to be beautiful shape with not a ding in it anywhere although it does have some brownish residue inside after I flushed it out. Not sure what that is as it is an aluminum core and plastic tanks. It does have a 6 month warranty and came out of a 1984 K100RS with just over 14,000 miles.
I have spoken to a shop already that a large dealership takes their rads to. They can pressure test and try re-crimping it.
So, how to proceed? I will most certainly have the spare rad tested, but do I bother to waste my time at all with the original rad by letting them see what they can do with it?
Have any of you guys attempted re-crimping or just replaced the rad when the tank started to leak in this area? Is there some sort of seal or gasket between the tanks and core when it's assembled?
Thoughts?