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Ideas for adding FZ6 Coolant?

22K views 25 replies 16 participants last post by  russellzarb 
#1 ·
I noticed that my coolant is running very low. Thouht I'd try to top off the resevoir on my own. Here's what I learned:

1. You've got to take two inner fairing pieces off to lift the tank and gain access to the coolant resevoir.
2. There are 3 hex bolts and one very flimsy nylon screw @ the mirror mount for each side.
3. The fairing pieces are a PitA to remove w/o scratching them. The entire gas tank, and not just the tank cover lift up. There are 3 tubes attached to the tank and there's no slack there. Be careful not to over-stretch/tear them.
4. Highly recommend that you do this with a near-empty fuel tank, if possible.
5. Replacing the fairing bits is also a PitA.

6. The coolant resevoir filler cap is accessable w/o lifting the tank, but you need a ciphon or other method to get coolant into the res. I'm going to look for a large syringe or surgical tubing to use.

Anyone else had a better experience or know of a better solution to top-off coolant level? :beer
 
#2 ·
I haven't tried this, but this makes sense to me:

1: Remove Seat
2: Remove rear mounting bolts for tank
3: Remove front mounting bolts for tank
4: Remove tank

That way you don't have to remove all those fairing pieces and scratch them up. Then all you need is a way to hold up the tank.
 
#5 ·
There's an easier way :eek:nfloor

ONLY DO THIS WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD

Take the radiator cap off, put the palm of your hand over the top to completely seal it them squeeze the hose that goes to the water pump, now stop squeezing but keep the pressure on the hose (this forces coolant in to the reservoir bottle) first remove your hand from the radiator top (if not it will just suck it back out again), once your hand is removed from the radiator release the hose, now fill the radiator up to the top and keep doing the whole process again till the reservoir level is at the top mark.

So much easier than removing the tank etc.:cheers
 
#9 ·
04Fizzer said:
The manual doesn't say anything about filling it through the radiator. It says to fill the overflow tank.
Isn't this standard practice for cars too? You should probably check the radiator to make sure its full, but as long as there is a little coolant in the resevoir, you shouldn't have to add any to the actual radiator. Just fill the resevoir.
 
#10 ·
FZ6-KEP said:
Isn't this standard practice for cars too? You should probably check the radiator to make sure its full, but as long as there is a little coolant in the resevoir, you shouldn't have to add any to the actual radiator. Just fill the resevoir.
Yeah. If one or the other is bone dry, I can see filling the radiator (air bubbles are BAD), but if it's just low, there's no reason tear everything apart just to get to the radiator.
 
#11 ·
C & P from web,

The purpose of a coolant recovery tank is to catch coolant that bypasses the radiator cap as the engine warms up. If the cooling system is full, as the coolant expands there's no room and the pressure cap will be forced open. As the system cools, coolant will be sucked back into the radiator, keeping it full of coolant and avoiding air bubbles that can collect in odd places inside your engine and cause uneven heating and even overheating. In fact, small amounts of residual air should eventually find their way to the tank (whether it be a header tank or a coolant recovery tank) as the coolant expands, to be replaced by coolant from the tank as the engine cools off. That's why the tank is supposed to have a few ounces of liquid in it even when the engine is dead cold.

I have always filled the radiator and just checked the level on the overflow tank on any vehicle I've ever owned. What would you do if you flushed the system as you should? You won't fill it back up through the tank I can assure you.
 
#12 ·
For the recovery tank, I just remove the seat and attach a piece of hose to a funnel and fill. That part's easy.

I just did a flush and fill a month ago, and I did end up removing the right side upper fairing and the tank. I was able to remove the recovery tank without removing the side fairings. After I finished the flush & fill, a little coolant from the recovery tank was sucked back into the radiator to displace air bubbles, so I did have to add a little more AF to the recovery tank.
 
#13 ·
The Rayman said:
C & P from web,

The purpose of a coolant recovery tank is to catch coolant that bypasses the radiator cap as the engine warms up. If the cooling system is full, as the coolant expands there's no room and the pressure cap will be forced open. As the system cools, coolant will be sucked back into the radiator, keeping it full of coolant and avoiding air bubbles that can collect in odd places inside your engine and cause uneven heating and even overheating. In fact, small amounts of residual air should eventually find their way to the tank (whether it be a header tank or a coolant recovery tank) as the coolant expands, to be replaced by coolant from the tank as the engine cools off. That's why the tank is supposed to have a few ounces of liquid in it even when the engine is dead cold.

I have always filled the radiator and just checked the level on the overflow tank on any vehicle I've ever owned. What would you do if you flushed the system as you should? You won't fill it back up through the tank I can assure you.
Of course you wouldn't fill it through the overflow. That's why I said the only reason I'd fill it through the radiator is if one of the other was bone dry. If there's coolant in the overflow (and it's not WAY below the low mark), all you need to do is top off the overflow, not tear into the radiator. That's like pulling the engine just to change the oil.
 
#15 ·
The Rayman said:
I was agreeing with you guys. I just posted the web stuff as an FYI. What I posted verifies it is sucked back into the cooling system. But, when I flush a system I personally would not put it back only in the tank... I'm hard headed dammit.:banana
You'd cook the engine and leave too many air bubbles if you filled it only through the overflow tank. You have to fill it through the radiator when you do the flush.
 
#16 ·
yea, i drained my coolant a few weeks back when checking valve clearances, during the process i spilled some residual bits from various hoses and radiator, so when i put it back in (didnt bother with fresh stuff) there wasn't quite enough but the radiator was full (i did put it in the radiator cap BTW) so i left it. a few days later i checked the reservoir and it had run pretty low so i just topped it up with some filtered water. Moral of the story is that the coolant system will leach coolant from the reservoir if it is low so no need to remove the radiator cap! just to gloat ive got the "not available in the USA" naked version and so have easy access to the radiator cap anyway! na-na-nana-naaaaaaa! :p
 
#18 ·
segue00 said:
Lol--- No removal of anything. Just uncap the reservoir, use a siphon hose to fill the reservoire. If you have a pump, even better.
As it turns out, I decided to RTF, which said to add coolant to reservoir, if level when cold is at or below the minimum level.

I bought some pre-mixed Yamaha coolant, and as per the instructions, tried to lift up tank to gain better access to the reservoir cap. I had it in my mind that coolant can be caustic, if spilled, but it is the brake fluid which is caustic/corrosive, not the coolant mixture.

So I followed the manual and removed the fairing bits, lifted the tank and found that access to tank wasn't that much better than it is by just removing the seat. A funnel, plastic tubing and/or a large syringe should do the trick to top-off the coolant level, as you state above.

Beginning to wonder though, if it is normal for the FZ6 to consume an entire reservoir tank's worth of coolant mix in just 1,000 miles of spirited riding. Maybe there is a leak somewhere, but I'm not seeing any evidence of it on the ground.
 
#19 · (Edited)
It may not have been an actual leak. It might have been just air pockets in the cooling ducts being flushed out.

[edit] You can also lose coolant through the vent tube while riding. If for any reason, there's a pressure increase in the system, the excess pressure buit up is releived by routing it through the vent tube. You can lose coolant with the pressure released.

FZ6nIT said:
As it turns out, I decided to RTF, which said to add coolant to reservoir, if level when cold is at or below the minimum level.

I bought some pre-mixed Yamaha coolant, and as per the instructions, tried to lift up tank to gain better access to the reservoir cap. I had it in my mind that coolant can be caustic, if spilled, but it is the brake fluid which is caustic/corrosive, not the coolant mixture.

So I followed the manual and removed the fairing bits, lifted the tank and found that access to tank wasn't that much better than it is by just removing the seat. A funnel, plastic tubing and/or a large syringe should do the trick to top-off the coolant level, as you state above.

Beginning to wonder though, if it is normal for the FZ6 to consume an entire reservoir tank's worth of coolant mix in just 1,000 miles of spirited riding. Maybe there is a leak somewhere, but I'm not seeing any evidence of it on the ground.
 
#20 ·
FZ6nIT said:
As it turns out, I decided to RTF, which said to add coolant to reservoir, if level when cold is at or below the minimum level.

I bought some pre-mixed Yamaha coolant, and as per the instructions, tried to lift up tank to gain better access to the reservoir cap. I had it in my mind that coolant can be caustic, if spilled, but it is the brake fluid which is caustic/corrosive, not the coolant mixture.

So I followed the manual and removed the fairing bits, lifted the tank and found that access to tank wasn't that much better than it is by just removing the seat. A funnel, plastic tubing and/or a large syringe should do the trick to top-off the coolant level, as you state above.

Beginning to wonder though, if it is normal for the FZ6 to consume an entire reservoir tank's worth of coolant mix in just 1,000 miles of spirited riding. Maybe there is a leak somewhere, but I'm not seeing any evidence of it on the ground.
It's going somewhere. Mine doesn't lose any. Is your radiator cap tight? I lost a lot in my car when the jackass at the tire place didn't put it back on right trying to sell me a flush and fill.
 
#21 ·
Topping up Coolant reservoir

Al your tips were really helpful - I found that if I just removed the seat and then used a funnel and a flexible tube , I could top up the reservoir without removing anything else.

A syphon would work but I did not fancy my chances getting a mouthful of anti-freeze.:):)
 
#22 ·
Yup funnel and tubing work wonders.
Be sure to check your coolant levels real soon, as in maybe every day / ride. If you have a leak, you want to catch it. It is possible there was an air pocket in the radiator and it just 'burped' into the reservoir tank, with the air being replaced by coolant, but I would say unlikely. If that's the case though, no worries. If you keep losing coolant, check into it fast, and don't ride it far without fixin er up. I didn't see what year your fizzer was, is it new, under warranty?
 
#24 ·
I would expect to see some metal in the oil, not the coolant. If yours in an 04, and you're seeing metal, I would think your water pump bearings are starting to go. It won't take too much misaligmnent of the pump shaft (caused by wearing bearings) to make the pump impeller rub against the housing. The only other place there is any movemant at all in your cooling system is the thermostat. But we're talking almost no movement at all. Next time you drain your coolant, or sooner even, ya might wanna take the cover off the water pump and see if there's any scraping on the pump housing. There should be no contact at all. A water pump like ours is not a positive displacement pump, so there's no internal contact between the impeller and housing. *cheers*
 
#25 ·
There's an easier way

ONLY DO THIS WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD

Take the radiator cap off, put the palm of your hand over the top to completely seal it them squeeze the hose that goes to the water pump, now stop squeezing but keep the pressure on the hose (this forces coolant in to the reservoir bottle) first remove your hand from the radiator top (if not it will just suck it back out again), once your hand is removed from the radiator release the hose, now fill the radiator up to the top and keep doing the whole process again till the reservoir level is at the top mark.

So much easier than removing the tank etc.
+8,000 Why waste time and effort?
 
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