Coolant leak, ride aborted....argggggg
02-14-2011, 04:25 AM
#1
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Coolant leak, ride aborted....argggggg
Went to ride the bike yesterday and found a coolant leak at the back of the rear head. 
Cleaned it off, ran till warm,, and coolant in the same place, parting line at the gasket between head and cylinder..// Still possible it is leaking from farther up and forward and running back along the gasket line..... but I don't have that kind of luck....
Bike gets stripped tonight,, see if I can find the source with 15psi on the system.... might even do some UV leak test dye.....
Cleaned it off, ran till warm,, and coolant in the same place, parting line at the gasket between head and cylinder..// Still possible it is leaking from farther up and forward and running back along the gasket line..... but I don't have that kind of luck....Bike gets stripped tonight,, see if I can find the source with 15psi on the system.... might even do some UV leak test dye.....
02-14-2011, 05:52 AM
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Man sorry to hear...on my first ride of the year saturday, about halfway through our ride we were going through some traffic lights, and a friend notice I was leaking coolant off my left side, coming from the lower left radiator hose end, but only leaked a few ounces we saw and then stopped.....guess it's that time of year...
02-14-2011, 07:44 AM
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Let's make it 3 for 3...I just found and hopefully repaired a coolant leak too. Right at the lower hose as it attaches to the right side radiator.
I gave the system a vinegar/water douche, re-filled the system, and retightened the hose with a new, and slightly wider, hose clamp. Didn't see any damage to the hose or any cracks in the system.
Strange to have a leak develop where there was none before with no visible damage anywhere.
I gave the system a vinegar/water douche, re-filled the system, and retightened the hose with a new, and slightly wider, hose clamp. Didn't see any damage to the hose or any cracks in the system.
Strange to have a leak develop where there was none before with no visible damage anywhere.
02-15-2011, 05:28 AM
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Leak confirmed, Head gasket,...bummer... will order parts tis morning. Man, great weather is here this week, I deploy soon and will off the bike for another year... CRAP..
OK, self pity moment over....
I understand the rear head will come off the engine in frame, the question to those that have done it... was a huge pain to move in around the frame? Better off to remove the engine and put it on the bench?
OK, self pity moment over....
I understand the rear head will come off the engine in frame, the question to those that have done it... was a huge pain to move in around the frame? Better off to remove the engine and put it on the bench?
02-15-2011, 09:42 AM
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02-16-2011, 12:25 AM
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Stupid has a new name...
Not to hijack your thread but this is a story with a warning.
After I did all the work I noted in my earlier response to this thread, I took the Hawk out for a long ride yesterday. Out on the freeway it ran cooler than normal. I thought this was due to the flush job I did...I was happy. Back on city streets in stop and go traffic I noticed the temp rising; faster and higher than before in similar situations. Oh no, I guess I failed to fix the leak...except at stop lights, no coolant hit the pavement. Checking further I noticed no sound from the radiator fan.
I barely made it home before the temp gauge ('98) hit the red zone. Still no coolant spill or boiling sounds. After the bike cooled down I removed the fairing and uncorked the radiator cap. Still lots of coolant and no signs (or smell) of leakage. I pulled the temp switch wire and grounded it to the frame and the fan failed to spin. When I tried to spin the fan by hand I found it was binding on something. The coolant over flow tube was jammed between the rim of the fan and a frame member. I freed the tube and tried to ground the wire again; no go...I must have burnt out the fan motor. Last hope; check the fuse. It was blown and I replaced it with the spare that Honda knew I would need one day. Fan spins like a champ now.
Thinking back now, I remember a week ago I absent-mindedly tucked the loose looking hose back into the frame area while sitting a a stop light.
After I did all the work I noted in my earlier response to this thread, I took the Hawk out for a long ride yesterday. Out on the freeway it ran cooler than normal. I thought this was due to the flush job I did...I was happy. Back on city streets in stop and go traffic I noticed the temp rising; faster and higher than before in similar situations. Oh no, I guess I failed to fix the leak...except at stop lights, no coolant hit the pavement. Checking further I noticed no sound from the radiator fan.
I barely made it home before the temp gauge ('98) hit the red zone. Still no coolant spill or boiling sounds. After the bike cooled down I removed the fairing and uncorked the radiator cap. Still lots of coolant and no signs (or smell) of leakage. I pulled the temp switch wire and grounded it to the frame and the fan failed to spin. When I tried to spin the fan by hand I found it was binding on something. The coolant over flow tube was jammed between the rim of the fan and a frame member. I freed the tube and tried to ground the wire again; no go...I must have burnt out the fan motor. Last hope; check the fuse. It was blown and I replaced it with the spare that Honda knew I would need one day. Fan spins like a champ now.
Thinking back now, I remember a week ago I absent-mindedly tucked the loose looking hose back into the frame area while sitting a a stop light.
02-16-2011, 04:13 AM
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02-16-2011, 06:02 AM
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Are these VTR1000F head gaskets?
The question becomes,, anyone want to take a guess if what is in the picture are really VTR gaskets?
Pretty sure they are.. but like many of us who have spares from many different bikes, current, past, etc on the shelfs. Sometimes things get mixed up.
I'll have the head off tonight but wanted to see what you all had to say..
Thanks.
Pretty sure they are.. but like many of us who have spares from many different bikes, current, past, etc on the shelfs. Sometimes things get mixed up.
I'll have the head off tonight but wanted to see what you all had to say..
Thanks.
02-16-2011, 06:30 AM
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Can't tell for sure from the pic but they look right:https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...ad.php?t=17262
02-16-2011, 07:00 AM
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02-21-2011, 06:58 PM
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Life happens
Thanks to Cilby for sending me the head gaskets. (still have not received the ones I ordered )
Life happened..... so have been putting off the tear down till today. On the bright side, a Marquez Racing Bike took 3rd at Arena Cross in Belton Texas this weekend (my son
) And 900 feet of fence posts were driven into the ground 
60 minuets in to it..
And it is apart.. and confirmed, head gasket leak.
You can clearly see the area the gasket was leaking at, and it exactly matches where I was seeing coolant on the outside rear of the head.
And you can see the very common "clean" spot on the piston, typical of a steam cleaned piston when you have a coolant leak.
Head is back on... cams in, timed, but done for the night.. 2 hours start to quiting point...... I'll come home at lunch and finish it up..
)Life happened..... so have been putting off the tear down till today. On the bright side, a Marquez Racing Bike took 3rd at Arena Cross in Belton Texas this weekend (my son
) And 900 feet of fence posts were driven into the ground 60 minuets in to it..
And it is apart.. and confirmed, head gasket leak.
You can clearly see the area the gasket was leaking at, and it exactly matches where I was seeing coolant on the outside rear of the head.
And you can see the very common "clean" spot on the piston, typical of a steam cleaned piston when you have a coolant leak.
Head is back on... cams in, timed, but done for the night.. 2 hours start to quiting point...... I'll come home at lunch and finish it up..
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