Post Radiator Flush Questions

[danath 34]

So I changed my coolant out today. I didnt do a complete flush; I just drained it and filled it back up.

Anywho, when I drained the coolant, it came out perfectly green, and looked like coolant should, if not a bit dark cus it was old (almost 13k miles).
Drained the overflow resevoir, and it came out nice and green, too.

However, I was looking in at the resevoir, and it looked like there was some build-up near the bottom. So I poured distilled water into it to try and rinse it out a bit, and thick white milky stuff came out. Anyone have any idea what this is? I know coolant turns milky if you have a bad head gasket and oil gets in there, however it would all be milky. This was just a little bit, and was separate from the rest of the coolant.

Also, the bike should hold 3.1 quarts of coolant, right? I could only get in ~2 and a quarter... Now granted, the bike was not on stands, and was actually pointed uphill, so there had to be plenty left in the lines. Does this sounds like the right ammount? I rocked it back and forth, and even tilted it as far as I could to either side, and flexed and moved around the hoses to get any air bubbles. After doing this, I started it up, rode it a bit, then topped it off a bit when it warmed up. However, 2.25 was all I could get in... Does this sound OK, or did I mess up somewhere?

 

[quantumracer]

If you didn't drain the block, yes that sounds about right.
Not sure about the reservoir. It's tough to say without being there and seeing it. If you're worried about this being an indication of a bad head gasket...forget about it. Not an indication. The discoloration you talk about would sit on top of your coolant...or at least suspended in it.

 

[BlueHaya]

the reservoir gets some build up of white stuff after a while...common.

Did you burp the system after filling it?....rock it back and forth to get out air bubbles in the system.

Run it till warm..let it cool and check the level in the radiator. Fill the reservoir to the full line after you let it cool back down.

 

[danath 34]

Yeah, I burped it and topped it off two or three times, and ran it to warm and let it cool down a few times, burped it again, rinse, wash, repeat. Il check it out again today and see if its gone down at all.


*edit*
and thanks, BlueHaya, that puts my mind to rest a bit. I wonder what it is? Could it be part of the coolant breaking down as it gets old?

 

[BlueHaya]

Yeah, I burped it and topped it off two or three times, and ran it to warm and let it cool down a few times, burped it again, rinse, wash, repeat. Il check it out again today and see if its gone down at all.


*edit*
and thanks, BlueHaya, that puts my mind to rest a bit. I wonder what it is? Could it be part of the coolant breaking down as it gets old?

no problem. I have no idea what it is...kind of like that stuff you put in the bottom of planters that looks like gel crystals



Some scientist on here run a chemical dialysis on that junk so we know what it is.