Coolant Leak

[podman]

Spent a considerable few hours cleaning/polishing the storm today and while I sat back to admire my handywork, my satisfied feeling evaporated when i spotted some coolant sitting on the lh engine case cover..

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Checking the thermostat(?) above it, the large rad pipe felt & appeared to be sticky where it joined the thermostat, so I gave it a blast of carb cleaner , wiped it away and nipped up the hose clamp.

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Alas, 30 mins later the coolant reappeared in the same place...Im sure the bike wasnt doing this until ive laid it up or I would have noticed it, it hasnt got hot at all this year and the coolant tank reservoir is still at the upper level so it isnt much of a leak I think but needs sorting of course.

Any pointers or common things around this area I should be looking for? My first thought is to lift the tank and check all the hose connections to the thermostat, do i need to remove the tank and airbox to get at this area?

Thanks in advance.

[popkat]

You may need to remove carbs as well to get good access. Can you get to the smaller hose in the picture with a 7mm spanner and tighten it a bit.

It's likely to be corrosion built up on one of the spigots where a hose connects, tightening the leaky one should hopefully cure it. If you have to pull the hoses they don't come off very easy, not much wiggle and pull room and they've been on a good few years.



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[podman]

Thanks for the pointers mate, im right in thinking there is a sort of fuel tap fixed under the tank anyway, good job I drained it of fuel the other week.

[StuartWags]

its looking clean

I have had one case where the the hose clamp locked up whilst tightening up, it felt like it was done up when it was not. However, i had had the thing in bits and this was found after rebuilding it

[podman]

Thanks Stu...

Looking at a picture in some previous threads, it would
appear I can get to the hose connectors without removing the carbs...which would be good.

[tony.mon]

You can see then but not necessarily get to them...
To make sure that it's that one and not coolant blowing back there from somewhere else as you ride, tape kitchen towel paper over the spot and it becomes obvious where the leak starts.

If it's not the main hose going to the lh rad, then the culprit is usually the small stub hose coming from the rear of the front cylinder head.
To get to that one, carbs and airbox off....

[podman]

Ta...after removal, do the carbs need to be balanced/synched afterwards, if so, I may as well leave it to a garage.

[podman]

It appears one spiggot is missing a matching hose...i havent a "spare" anywhere!

[podman]

Ah, looking at the parts diagram, there is no hose there anyway but that area is where i have the leak from.

Air box next....

[E.Marquez]

Pressure testing is the fastest way to find that leak... No need to spend a ton on a shop grade tester, a cheap ebay set from china will do.
something like https://www.ebay.com/i/162700581141?chn=ps&dispItem=1
Its crap, will likely fall apart on its 10th use, but for most here , 10 uses is likely a lot of years where the kit will sit on a shelf collecting dust for years at a time..

While your hunting down leaks, would be a fine time to replace old, hard (or soft spot) hoses prone to leaking, cracking ect.
a Silicone hose set and the proper clamps are more $$ then OEM hoses, but should last longer and look a treat as well.
Most sets do not come with the smaller vacuum lines, but I've found sources for those as well as some nice gold color spring clamps.

As your digging in to the bike under the tank, if you have not yet added the vacuum port (called JOINT, BOOST
16214-MB0-000 and the sealing washer WASHER, SEALING (5MM)
90452-323-000) to the second cylinder head for ease of doing carb sycn now would be a great time as you will have access.

[podman]

Thanks for the info bud, new hoses sound nice but hopefully I wont need that pressure tester just yet.

Usefully, the RD500 toolkit comes with a hooked rubber coated wire to hold the tank up whilst your working on the bike, its seen plenty of use with the 500 but was also handy for helping me remove pipes etc from under the tank.

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Air box off and it was easy enough to get to the clamps without disturbing the carbs, the one nearest the rear cylinder was indeed slightly loose, so I clamped that up, cleaned it all down and so far, no leak.

Air filter wasnt in the best of condition so ill replace that.

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Foam things in the box itself turning to powder so ill replace them along with the air filer, are these foam pieces critical? What exactly do they do?

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Will also replace the spark plugs whilst its easy to get at the rear pot.

Gave it all a bit of a scrub up underneath and hopefully when I have a look in the garage tomorrow, all will be dry..

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[tony.mon]

It appears one spiggot is missing a matching hose...i havent a "spare" anywhere!

That one is sealed off, and isn't used on a Storm.

[tony.mon]

It appears one spiggot is missing a matching hose...i havent a "spare" anywhere!

That one is sealed off, and isn't used on a Storm.

The foam filters are to clean the air going above the diaphragm in the CV carbs.
Just buy a piece of air filter foam from an off-road shop for three or four pounds and you'll have spares for years.
Just cut them out with scissors.

[podman]

The foam filters are to clean the air going above the diaphragm in the CV carbs.
Just buy a piece of air filter foam from an off-road shop for three or four pounds and you'll have spares for years.
Just cut them out with scissors.

Gotcha...out of interest, if the air has already gone thru the filter to reach this part of the air box, where has the carb taken the air from that needs filtration by these extra filters?

[tony.mon]

The engine's air filter is after the foam triangles.
They are sacking in unfiltered air.
The air enters into the triangular sections through the vertical tubes which lead in from below the airbox.