Screwing up a coolant change

[RERfjr]

I have a 2013. I drained the coolant from the pump. Emptied and refilled the tank. Filled the radiator ( capped it?) and ran it. Fans came on but temperature continued to rise. Allowed to cool some topped off radiator and ran it with cap off. Same story fans came on an temp did not drop. Temp went to 222-224 F. Any ideas?

 

[Spud]

I'm being serious here..... Are you filling and topping it off from the reservoir bottle rubber cap or the actual radiator pressure cap hidden under the tupperware? They aren't the same.

 

[RaYzerman19]

If you did this with the bike not moving......... seems plausible to me. Fill reservoir to max, button 'er up, go ride. Check when it cools off, reservoir will drop a bit to fill the small air space in the rad. On future rides, after it cools down, there shouldn't be any change in level. You're good to go.

 

[RERfjr]

I just topped off the radiator and it is behaving. Fans came on at 220 and the temperature dropped 10-12 deg. I let them cycle twice. I'm letting it cool now and will check the levels.

I may have panicked prematurely. Thanks

 

[smithpa68]

Just a sign of someone who loves his bike.

 

[2degreesout]

air pocket?

 

[C&C]

air pocket?

My take (guess) too. You now seem good to go.

 

[RERfjr]

Thanks for your help. Is there a way to avoid air pockets. Fill radiator very slowly?

 

[RaYzerman19]

I've found the best way is to pour in very slowly....... as well, just fill until the coolant covers the rad cores sufficiently, run the engine until the thermostat opens (you will see coolant circulating), then blip the throttle a couple of times to purge the air. Then shut down, fill to the top and put the cap on. Drain/flush/fill the reservoir until just over max, button 'er up. Usually run it until the fans kick in and shut it down. Next cooling cycle, rad will self-fill, reservoir level will drop a bit. Good to go.

 

[rickysnickers]

Thanks for your help. Is there a way to avoid air pockets. Fill radiator very slowly?

Yes. After you fill the radiator, start the bike and let it run. Once it gets up to operating temp, the fluid will start to bubble. Leave the radiator cap off during this procedure! This will allow the air to escape. The fluid will bubble out some. Once it has done this, then you can shut the bike off. There will be some fluid to clean up, but once you refill the radiator, there won't be any other issues.