Walk me through a coolant change, please

[BigChris99]

I want to to change the coolant on my '97 this weekend. I've never done this on my Valk, so I want to do it right and not miss anything. I do have a Honda service manual, but I'd like to hear first hand from you all how to do this. I have Honda HG coolant to use, but I need to get some distilled water to flush my radiator with. Any helpful hints would be welcome. Sorry for being a noob, but thanks for the help.

[RonW]

me, too.

[fubar606]

that makes three of us

[BigChris99]

Ah spring......time to change the coolant on everyones Valks I'm glad I'm not alone!

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

I  can't help you on the exact procedure, it's been a while since I've done it.

I can give you one warning about it though. The nipple on the coolant reserve tank cracks really easy. And, if you pull the coolant tank to drain it you  can crack it without knowing you did it. Then when all is done you'll have a small coolant leak. If you do this right before your first Inzane you will have to have a new tank shipped to you next day air. 

[Jess from VA]

This might be helpful.

http://www.valkyrieriders.com/shoptalk/carlcoolant.htm

If you live in a hot local, you might want to add a dose of this to the 50-50 mix.

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=74&pcid=10

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CPI5ZK/ref=asc_df_B000CPI5ZK1956770?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B000CPI5ZK&hvpos=none&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=85203353410029168&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=

[Chattanooga Mark]

Ask and you shall receive! Those Shop Talk procedures are great.

Thank You,

Mark

[BigChris99]

I  can't help you on the exact procedure, it's been a while since I've done it.

I can give you one warning about it though. The nipple on the coolant reserve tank cracks really easy. And, if you pull the coolant tank to drain it you  can crack it without knowing you did it. Then when all is done you'll have a small coolant leak. If you do this right before your first Inzane you will have to have a new tank shipped to you next day air. 

Thank you for that heads up about the nipple. Is there another way to drain the tank without removing it?

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

I  can't help you on the exact procedure, it's been a while since I've done it.

I can give you one warning about it though. The nipple on the coolant reserve tank cracks really easy. And, if you pull the coolant tank to drain it you  can crack it without knowing you did it. Then when all is done you'll have a small coolant leak. If you do this right before your first Inzane you will have to have a new tank shipped to you next day air. 

Thank you for that heads up about the nipple. Is there another way to drain the tank without removing it?

I siphon it or use a turkey baster now. A mighty-vac would probably work too if you have one.

[BigChris99]

I  can't help you on the exact procedure, it's been a while since I've done it.

I can give you one warning about it though. The nipple on the coolant reserve tank cracks really easy. And, if you pull the coolant tank to drain it you  can crack it without knowing you did it. Then when all is done you'll have a small coolant leak. If you do this right before your first Inzane you will have to have a new tank shipped to you next day air. 

Thank you for that heads up about the nipple. Is there another way to drain the tank without removing it?

I siphon it or use a turkey baster now. A mighty-vac would probably work too if you have one.

Thats fantastic! A turkey baster is perfect! I just so happen to be on my way out the door to the 99cent store......easy, I ride a KLR too I'm going to pick up some distilled water and some aluminum pans to drain the coolant into.....and now a turkey baster too! Thanks!

[GOOSE]

Put 4-ounces of water wetter in the Valkyrie system.

[Chiefy]

With the radiator cap removed, and the over flow tank disconnected, use a can of air to test if the recovery  line is blocked.  Mine was.  I removed it and ran a small wire through it.  No gunk, but I had a kink.  Straightened it out and rerouted it carefully so it wouldn't happen again.

[BigChris99]

Ok, here  is where I am at with my coolant change. I had to pull my reserve tank to clean it out, it had a little gunk in the bottom, not bad, but I wanted to get it as clean as possible. It is kind of a pain to get clean, but I got it done. Now comes the fun part, re-installing the tank, is there a trick to putting the bottom hose on?  I think I need to put it on the nipple first, then put the tank back in place, is that right?  I'm kinda paranoid now about breaking or cracking a nipple.....

[Ricky-D]

I simply take the hose loose at the bottom of the radiator and let the fluid drain out.

Reattach the hose and fill the empty radiator with new.

I do this every other year and have no problems.

I've been running with a small radiator leak for eight years now and use a leak additive to control it.

One time the additive plugged the fluid recovery line and I rodded it out.

if the radiator starts to leak a little I put a little more leak additive in since most of it is gone through my changing the fluid.

Any problem with the leak usually occurs in the cold winter, but still , it is very minor and never does leak more than a drop or two.

You can never be sure that a radiator you may buy from a place like Pinwall will be any better since all their stuff comes from wrecks and the usually are deformed in some way.

If push comes to shove I'll probably take the radiator out and get it repaired but for now I'll just keep changing the fluid to keep from harming the motor.

***

[salty1]

I want to to change the coolant on my '97 this weekend. I've never done this on my Valk, so I want to do it right and not miss anything. I do have a Honda service manual, but I'd like to hear first hand from you all how to do this. I have Honda HG coolant to use, but I need to get some distilled water to flush my radiator with. Any helpful hints would be welcome. Sorry for being a noob, but thanks for the help.

The service manual is available at Dag's website. The coolant change porocedure is covered in full, no guessing. It really is quite easy to do.

http://www.valkyrienorway.com/download.html

[BigChris99]

Thanks to everyone for their help and advice. I've been busy this weekend, but I got the coolant change done this morning. All went well,  got the  reserve tank back in, filled the radiator with Honda coolant and the reserve tank to the high mark. Ran the bike for about 3 or 4 minutes, bliped the throttle a couple of times, topped off the radiator and put everything back together. All good. Then I changed the oil and came inside to watch the end of the NASCAR race from Martinsville. All in all a good day. Now my Valk is ready to ride to work tomorrow afternoon. Thanks again everyone.