Few maintenance questions

[hypnotic 31]

How do you guys check coolant level when you are looking at it from the side that the manual recommends (where you can see lower and upper level marks)? I can't see any liquid from that side but have to check from the opposite end but then I can't see the lower/upper level marks.

 

Also, I've got the bike from the factory with the wax on the chain. I am planning to use gear oil for lubricating. Do I need to clean the sprockets before oiling the chain or it's just enough to clean the chain?

Edited March 18, 2017 by hypnotic

[shiggsy 529]

A good tip is to shine a torch on it from the opposite side, liquid shows up then.

[DaveM59 1,605]

If you cannot see the coolant in the plastic reservoir, chances are it's well diluted and needs a thorough replacement as the antifreeze should colour it either blue or red and be clear to see...or there is non in there. Has the bike had a dealer PDI check?

You check the coolant (cold) by removing the radiator cap top RH side of the rad and filling it to the brim then refit the cap and fill the plastic expansion bottle to the upper mark. The marks are moulded into the bottle and are just above halfway up and about 15mm below that for minimum so you need to see coolant around halfway up the bottle at the deepest part under the filler cap.

Run the engine until warm, let cool and double check both levels and then never open the rad cap again just check and top up the expansion bottle as required, which should be hardly ever.

 

No idea about the chain, I just lightly oil very occasionally with used engine oil. Lots of theories and methods for correct chain maintenance, do what works for you basically.

[hypnotic 31]

21 minutes ago, DaveM59 said:

If you cannot see the coolant in the plastic reservoir, chances are it's well diluted and needs a thorough replacement as the antifreeze should colour it either blue or red and be clear to see...or there is non in there. Has the bike had a dealer PDI check?

You check the coolant (cold) by removing the radiator cap top RH side of the rad and filling it to the brim then refit the cap and fill the plastic expansion bottle to the upper mark. The marks are moulded into the bottle and are just above halfway up and about 15mm below that for minimum so you need to see coolant around halfway up the bottle at the deepest part under the filler cap.

Run the engine until warm, let cool and double check both levels and then never open the rad cap again just check and top up the expansion bottle as required, which should be hardly ever.

 

No idea about the chain, I just lightly oil very occasionally with used engine oil. Lots of theories and methods for correct chain maintenance, do what works for you basically.

I'm curious, why radiator cap should never be opened?

[Rocker66 34,448]

Radiator cap should never be opened until engine is cold as you don't want scalded hands

[DaveM59 1,605]

Exactly, but the way the system works is that when you start with a brimmed radiator and an expansion tank half full, as coolant heats it expands and pushes the extra into the expansion bottle, so you need a bit of room for this. As the engine cools the coolant contacts again and the vacuum draws back the extra from the expansion bottle again so when cold it should be back where it started. As it's a sealed system there should never be any loss of coolant so once you have filled the rad to the brim and the expansion bottle half way, should there be a slight loss (nothing's perfect) then the loss will show in the expansion bottle and the actual cooling system and rad will always still be full. That's why you should never need to open the radiator cap again unless you have drained coolant or had a leak of some sort big enough to notice such as a weeping hose clip or cracked hose.

The antifreeze used on a new bike may be comparably colourless compared to aftermarket types and needs changing after 2 years (check the handbook) but if you use red antifreeze it lasts 5 years so worth using as it both lasts longer and is far easier to see in the bottle. Green or blue lasts 2 years as a general rule but make sure the type you chose is suited to the engine, it has to be a type that is inert to the ceramic seals in the water pump or they wear. Halfords own brand is.

[shiggsy 529]

2 hours ago, Rocker66 said:

Radiator cap should never be opened until engine is cold as you don't want scalded hands

That gives the impression is might be safe to open with gloves or something. On a hot engine the coolant is under pressure, if you open the cap coolant can shoot out under pressure, so never open a radiator cap until the engine has had a chance to cool down for about 15-20 minutes.

[Rocker66 34,448]

I would have thought the inclusion of the word "never" should say that it is not safe under any circumstances

[DaveM59 1,605]

Exactly as the coolant is under pressure when hot so NEVER open it until the engine is cold.

Never in my original post really meant you should never need to open it between coolant changes more than never ever need to open it.

[hypnotic 31]

Thank you all :-)

[shiggsy 529]

11 hours ago, Rocker66 said:

I would have thought the inclusion of the word "never" should say that it is not safe under any circumstances

True, but the bit added on the end draws away from that and defines a specific reason, plus I did say '....gives the impression....'.

[Rocker66 34,448]

4 hours ago, shiggsy said:

True, but the bit added on the end draws away from that and defines a specific reason, plus I did say '....gives the impression....'.

Well if you want to draw that impression that is up to you. Personally if I!m told I should never do something because it would cause injury I wouldn't do it

srill what would I know after all I only spent many years as a H&S rep

[shiggsy 529]

  ffs....

[Andy m 23,540]

40 minutes ago, shiggsy said:

  ffs....

 

Just don't ask about yellow snow

 

Andy

[SteveThackery 3,090]

Talking of the danger of radiator caps......

 

One day my Skoda (rear engined) overheated so I stopped at the side of the road and lifted the lid (which is where the boot lid would normally be, if you see what I mean).

 

I was impatient to refill it with water, but very aware of the dangers of boiling water and steam shooting into my face.  Therefore I stood well back and carefully opened the radiator cap at arm's length.

 

What an idiot!  A jet of boiling water and steam shot straight up, deflected off the underside of the bonnet and shot backwards straight at my face.  Instinctively I had turned my face away but it scalded the entire left side of my head.  For several days my scalp was covered in blisters, and a sticky, clear liquid leaked out of my skin and ran down the side of my face.

 

That was a lesson well and truly learned.

[Andy m 23,540]

Is that the source of the famous line "why do Skodas have heated rear screens..." ?

 

I still wonder if VW paid Jasper Carrot to get the share price down?

 

Andy

[fred_jb 10,265]

7 hours ago, SteveThackery said:

 

What an idiot!  A jet of boiling water and steam shot straight up, deflected off the underside of the bonnet and shot backwards straight at my face.  Instinctively I had turned my face away but it scalded the entire left side of my head.  For several days my scalp was covered in blisters, and a sticky, clear liquid leaked out of my skin and ran down the side of my face.

 

That was a lesson well and truly learned.

Nasty!  Unfortunately it is a double whammy if you unscrew the cap on a pressurised cooling system before it has cooled.  Even though it might not have been boiling before, if you suddenly depressurise a vehicle cooling system, it is possible that the water inside will be hot enough to come to a boil instantly once the pressure is reduced to normal atmospheric pressure.  So, when you do this the water very suddenly and explosively starts to boil, i.e. turn into its gaseous form which is steam, and this gas expands the volume of the coolant and forces water and steam out of the small opening at high pressure. Added to that, the ejected water could well be hotter than 100 degrees.

 

The reason for this is that because the coolant is under pressure it doesn't boil at the normal 100 degrees C, but as long as it stays under pressure can get hotter than that without actually boiling.  This principle is how pressure cookers work - because they are pressurised the water inside can get hotter than 100 degrees and so cook food faster than normal boiling.  The downside is that if the pressure is suddenly released and the water is at 100 degrees or higher then it will immediately and violently start to boil.

 

At normal atmospheric pressure water boils at 100 degrees and cannot physically get any hotter than that - any additional energy supplied to it just gets used in the process of turning water into steam, which is what boiling is. Hence there is no point in having the gas ring under a saucepan of vegetables turned up any higher than is needed to keep the contents only just boiling - any higher and you are just wasting energy turning the water into steam faster than necessary. Incidentally, this also means that it is difficult to make a good cup of tea at high altitude - because atmospheric pressure is lower the higher you climb, water boils at a lower temperature and just can't be made hot enough for a decent brew!