KrZy8 - Crap, radiator leaking

Well crap. Noticed small coolant smell. Noticed small amount of coolant on ground. Noticed the catch tank is empty. Pulled left lower cowling. Hoses and connections good.

Fire her up, run to fan cycling. No leak. WTFO?

Let cool. Fire up again. Fans running. No leak. WTFO2?

Let cool. Top off radiator. Fill catch tank to brim. Yes, I know, to brim is too much but we're testing.

Fire up. Find leak. Upper left radiator core. Well crap.

When I was young, "they" suggested putting the white of an egg in the radiator water .

dcarver,

I suppose any local radiator shop can fix yours; FJR rads aluminum? I don't recall now. However, I've used these guys a few times with good results:

https://www.motorcycleradiators.com/ (out in West Jordon, UT).

My FJR rad was slightly bent so I had it straightened, cleaned, flushed, pressure tested etc.... all good (repainted it myself).

Downside is having to ship it to and from Utah of course but they can usually do a quick turn-around on the work.

Regards,

Mr. BR

'They' used to say pepper to.

I guess as long as you keep a close eye on your engine temp...

How much does a used (or new) replacement go for vs. an(other) engine?

Edit: $136 shipped.

I wouldn't be fooling around with anything else at that price.

I popped a leak on my ZX6R last year - the radiator was shoved back into the exhaust header in my crash last year, but it took about 6 months for the leak to appear. Its aluminum of course and the fins crumple like tissue paper, but got it repaired for $90. I thought it was safer than buying a no-namer off of ebay for $120, and a lot cheaper than buying an OEM ($820!!!!!!). Its ugly but is holding water now....

Dcarver doesn't strike me as the type to avoid a cheap halfassed but still works pretty well solution:

Don.

Sure Cure for leaky radiator.

Don, wasn't that a used radiator I swapped in back in 2013?

DC - I think airboss has your solution!

...you can thank me later!!

--G

rPGoatBoy said:

Dcarver doesn't strike me as the type to avoid a cheap halfassed but still works pretty well solution:

Click to expand...

No, no Thank You. I've always wondered what that stuff did to the rest of the coolant system..

airboss said:

Don.
Sure Cure for leaky radiator.

Click to expand...

What, and not get my 200k miles on KrZy8? Besides, if I were to purchase new, it wouldn't be an FJR these days..

kaitsdad said:

Don, wasn't that a used radiator I swapped in back in 2013?

Click to expand...

YES! It was ExtremeMarine's radiator from a 2008 year if IIRC.

escapefjrtist said:

DC - I think airboss has your solution!
...you can thank me later!!

--G

Click to expand...

Et tu, Brutus?

I used pepper on my WR450 after a meeting with the ground tweaked the radiator and caused a small leak. Won't harm the pump and doesn't clog things up. Never leaked again in 6 years and a few coolant changes. Your leak sounds pretty small could be worth a shot.

Evidently, it's been leaking for some time, based upon visual evidence of corrosion.




Upper left hand cvorner.




Check out the corrosion on the frame. This has been going on for some time.


Off bike, it sure doesn't seem like much.


Went to the parts shelf and found my old one, from the KrZy8 deer strike.


Takes a fair amount of work to pull the radiator.


I have officially decided this is the last time I'm laying on the ground. Yep. Purchasing a lift. ASAP.

Based upon the radiator, and the plastic cover broken to bits in the same area as radiator damage... something hard came flying through and imparted force...

Until the new part arrives, fixed!


The radiator mount, battery side, was a real bugger. I had the left side already in, but due to a tangle of wires, gaining a straight shot to the threads was difficult. I botched the initial threads by trying to center the bolt using a t-handle wrench. Had to chase it with a tap, using a 1/4" ratchet extension and 5 mm socket with electrical tape on the tap end to prevent slipping from the socket being slightly oversized. What a royal pain in the ass. Took me over an hour to recover from my initial hasty mistake.


Just found this pix - from when I performed steering head bearing service - note the leak in the upper right corner.

There was a video posted on the FB FJR-Owners group from a guy whose leaky radiator resulted in holes in his headers! Was ugly!

A rock holed mine. I had the leak fixed by a guy who builds custom radiators, but I eventually replaced it with a new one.

I also installed a metal rad guard.

That battery side radiator upper mount point is a b!#%

bluesdog said:

That battery side radiator upper mount point is a b!#%

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True that. Especially with all the extra electrical's I've run on KrZy8.

Ran a second run to fans-on and no leaks.

Unfortunately, the new oil filter leaks like a sieve.

Did any of this resolve that popping noise you have? Maybe that broken plastic piece??

HotRodZilla said:

Did any of this resolve that popping noise you have? Maybe that broken plastic piece??

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No, 'Zilla.. still popping away.

Buy a gen l nuff said.