Coolant change

[Jambriwal]

Jambriwal
online
Member
Join: Dec 2015
Posts: 52
Hamburg NY

Jun 05, 2019 · #1
Coolant Change
Coolant change or Anti Freeze depending if your north or south of the Mason Dixon line.
20,000 Miles. Manual specifies 24,000 but I had the time and the coolant was reading low.
I followed the shop manual and that's were things began to go wrong.
Pull radiator pods, belly pan and left side cover for coolant recovery bottle dipstick.

Coolant drain just above oil filter, 8MM socket. Remove radiator cap right side and radiator plug left radiator.
Let her flow.

Replace copper sealing washer for drain plug and o ring for radiator plug b 4 refill.
Easy enough yes.

Then book tells you to remove coolant recovery bottle. DO NOT DO THIS.
The hose that comes from the right radiator into the coolant recover bottle is about 3 " too short.
The only way i could get it in was with an 11" long bent nose pliers. Many failed attempts. ##&&***^^$$#@@
Instead use a turkey baster with a long hose attached to evacuate the bottle.
Coolant was a little low in the bottle so that prompted the change. Never had a problem with overheating but
who knows how it was from the factory.

I measured 3 qts out " Very Dirty" and put 3 1/2 back in. Book calls for 4 but it is what it is.
Fairly simple job after you take half the bike apart to do this but that is okay. I needed to familiarize myself with
all this, bolt, push pin hardware because its been a year and what you did last year seems long ago.
That's it. Job done

[st2sam]

Thanks for sharing with us, especially don't remove recovery bottle.
I'm not very surprised they (Honda) make it more difficult than it should be.
Almost as bad as "wheel removal" according to the book.  

Quick question.
Why replace fluid so soon? I thought antifreeze should last twice that long, if not longer?
I'm also just thinking it's the same coolant that's in their (Honda) cars?  

Thanks again Jambriwal.  

[recman25]

  OK, so I'm reading your description of how you did this. What model do you have? I just did this a couple months ago on my '99 I/S. All I did was put a drain pan under the water pump, remove the 10mm drain plug and cracked open the radiator cap. All the antifreeze flowed out. No disassembly of pods or anything. The only thing I'd agree with is the removal of the reservoir.  That little hose can be a b@#^h.


I just realized Im on the 1800 board. Too much fathers day

[bscrive]

Thanks for sharing with us, especially don't remove recovery bottle.
I'm not very surprised they (Honda) make it more difficult than it should be.
Almost as bad as "wheel removal" according to the book.  

Quick question.
Why replace fluid so soon? I thought antifreeze should last twice that long, if not longer?
I'm also just thinking it's the same coolant that's in their cars?  

Thanks again Jambriwal.  

I agree.  24k is too soon to replace the antifreeze.  It could go another 24K without any issues.  The stuff in my Santa Fe is 10 years old and it still checks out fine when I test it.  That is an extreme case and I would never let my bike go that long.  I am just too lazy to do my SUV.

[Jambriwal]

Service manual calls for change at 24,000. The motorcycle is 5 years old and the coolant looked dirty. I tend to be proactive on maintenance for the machine and my own satisfaction.
After 21 years of Harleys this Valkyrie is a diffent animal.
I've changed oil, air filter, steering head bearings ,spark plugs and removed wheels to get new tires shod.
A few othr modifications along the way.
Now that I've gotten to know her a little better.
I have more confidence in my bike and myself.