Coolant Capacity Discrepancy

[EvilBetty]

My thought was to get an extra bit of hose from the parts store then just unhook a clamp and put the T in when needed.

[Stretch]

That'd work... only have it on the bike when actually flushing it.

[FullMonte]

Monte, don't get vexxed... on many engines it's simply not possible to remove every bit of coolant from the case / block with the engine sitting in the vehicle.  That's why folks flush out the old coolant with a pressurized water source (hose).  You got the majority of the old coolant out (twice), so you're good for a long, long time.

Good to hear that.  I'm running out of time and don't want to pop the tank again over the weekend just to add some coolant.  I don't see a way to flush the system because the tank has to be on the bike (blocking access to the radiator cap & bleed screw)with the fuel line connected in order to run the engine.  Is knowledge of the secret Triple Handshake required to accomplish this task or summat? :lol:

[Stretch]

I improvised a short table (Jesse boxes on the floor, with scrap plywood on top) on the right side of the bike and set the tank on it.  If you cut the cable ties, the fuel line and fuel pump wires have enough slack to reach the tank.  On my '05 anyway... they have just one fuel line to contend with.

[FullMonte]

Well folks, I had to cut my trip short  by a couple of days.  Everything was fine until she started drinking coolant 1200 miles into it.  On Thursday we did a 64 mile dirt ride with some very technical rock sections (Black Gap Road-Big Bend, TX)and she overheated.  So I fed her only the finest Dasani water that money can buy. :lol: Beggars can't be choosers or summat.  She wouldn't idle or run right after that and finally stopped drinking in Arkansas on the way home.  After 3525 miles, I was just relieved to make it back with the bike in one piece.   Note to self: Do NOT under any circumstances change the coolant before a big trip.  Ever.  My vacation turned into a stress filled ride.  Of course, taking the bike past its design limits may have been a contributing factor, but hey if fano can do it... why not.

[Stretch]

It was fine for 1200 miles, overheated for a while, and then was okay again?  That's odd.  Is the radiator fan working?  Fuse okay?  That might make the bike run cool enough on the open road (with airflow at speed), but get hot on trails (with little air flowing through the radiator).

Also take a look:  Overflow tank not cracked?  Overflow tubes and elbows in good shape?  Radiator cap pressure-tested?

[Bixxer Bob]

I just changed my coolant today, didn't do anything except remove the hose going to the pump, flushed, left it to drain overnight, filled up today, approx 2.3 Litres.  Ran up till warm,  (with the tank on a table as per Stretch's description) burped her with the bleed screw and all seems to be well.  Fingers crossed.... :roll:

Also, taking the tank off is nothing to shy away from,  after you've done it a couple of times you won't think twice.  Only takes about ten minutes - and that's being careful.

[walker]

did you drain it on the side stand, or on a center stand? When I drained mine, I did it on the side stand, then stood the bike back up to work on it later - don't know if that really makes a difference.

[Bixxer Bob]

On the side stand.

Cooling systems can behave in funny ways though.  I've had cars that were a real pain to burp after filling up - although it's usually the heater matrix that's the cause there.  I'm more or less finished the 12k service now, so will take her for a short run to come up to temp tomorrow, just to check she's ok.

[walker]

great point! I remember the most annoying was 1. getting the water pump replaced on the porsche 944S (really odd shape, wrapped around a corner and was flush mounted, and then 2. purging the system of air. Wow what a pain.

[FullMonte]

It was fine for 1200 miles, overheated for a while, and then was okay again?  That's odd.  Is the radiator fan working?  Fuse okay?  That might make the bike run cool enough on the open road (with airflow at speed), but get hot on trails (with little air flowing through the radiator).

Also take a look:  Overflow tank not cracked?  Overflow tubes and elbows in good shape?  Radiator cap pressure-tested?

Yep Stretch, everything was flawless the first 1200 miles until we reached the higher temps of the TX hill country.  It sipped a little between Brackettville and Del Rio, but was still between the min & max lines on the tank.  OK, I thought.  In 94 degree stop'n go Del Rio traffic, it drank some more.  25 miles down the road it had almost sucked the puke tank dry.  I thought I'd add a little water to fill it up but it kept drinking over the next 5 days, and didn't stop until Arkansas on the way home.  I ended up buying a gallon of PEAK antifreeze at a gas station and using that after awhile.  Nothing was cracked or broken.  Fan works, no leakage from tank or tubes, no drips, etc.  I replaced the radiator cap with the one suggested in the Tiger parts cross reference thread here.
    I think an air bubble got into the system and it didn't manifest itself until the bike got hot.  The temp gauge never registered more than 1/3 of the way up the scale, so it never got critical... I think.  The wierd thing is the bike wouldn't idle first thing in the morning during initial startup for four days beginning Friday.  Once it cleared its throat it was fine.  The closer we got to TN the better it ran.  The gas out west really is an inferior blend.  The bike seemed down about 10hp last year too when I was out there.  Once out of TX she ran like a Tiger should.  
    I'd like to find a Sagem/Triumph scanner to hook up to the ECU to look at codes, but the dealer went belly up last year and I'm not taking the bike 100 miles away for that.  I'm just glad she got me home.

[Bixxer Bob]

Monte,

First, apologies for hijacking the thread.

Next, OBD2 is an international standard so any OBD2 reader will work.  You can get OBD2 reader software and an adapter cable on Ebay for about $25.  It's where I got mine and it works well enough - certainly better than 3 warmup cycles to clear the warning light AND you know why it was on it the first place.

Try this: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VAG-COM-SERIAL-VW ... 240%3A1318

If you don't want to use a laptop,  you can get a complete tool like this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/U380-OBD2-EOBD-OB ... 240%3A1318

All in all, about the price you'd pay to have the dealer read it once for you.

[FullMonte]

Thanks alot Bixxer Bob.  I won't tell anyone your Give a fook-o-meter is broken.

[Gam]

So.. I'm new and this forum has helped save me GOBS of money.  I thank each and every one of you that has contributed.  I hope to add something to this massive brain pool at some point.

I've taken this monster (2005 955i)  apart to change the plugs (I had NO IDEA how involved it was) and figured I'd do the coolant and oil and chain since I've got her apart.

I disco'd the lower rad hose off the pump and a bunch of red sludge came out - then the blue coolant.  It yielded only about 0.5 gal.  I've opened the bleeder screw.  So the ONLY bolt I can figure is the coolant drain plug is the flush hex screw on the front of the block - but it's blocked by the pipes.  So, then I'm thinking that this is right in the crankcase and must be (another??) oil plug??

Where oh where is the drain bolt that I am missing?  I have Googled for days and my g/f is getting ticked that my bike is taking up the whole garage. :O

Thank you in advance!!

[Gam]

DOH!

Okay, scratch that.  I've come across a PDF of the service manual...

It's the more than obvious 10mm bolt (with a divot on the head) about the water pump...

It's much higher than I had supposed and just a bit more (clean) fluid came out.

With the brakes, chain, rear tire, oil, fuel sender, plugs and several seals replaced I am going to drop her off the lift and see what else drains out.

The real kicker to all of this is that almost all of the tools needed are in the toolkit under the seat!!!  The spark plug socket was the real kicker after trying to figure out how to get a 12mm socket down in the chambers....

Cheers and and if you have any questions please do email me!