Kawasaki Vulcan Forum banner

radiator filling procedure

9K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  CRUISERDON 
#1 ·
I had to empty my 88 radiator to replace the fan switch, now I want to refill it. I can see a bleeder valve on the filler neck, do I need the motor to be running to bleed the cooling system? Its hard as I had to remove the tank to get to the radiator cap. Any advice appreciated.
 
#4 ·
Thanks Redhawke, I did check out Gadget's page before I posted originally, however he doesn't go into the fine details (like whether you had to have the motor running to bleed the cooling system using the bleed nipple. I figured you had to but the master designers at Kawasaki did not want to make this easy as I needed the fuel tank to run the motor but the cap and bleed nipple were positioned under the tank. Anyhow in true three stooges fashion I employed my kids to feed fuel into a small funnel attached to the fuel line while I ran the motor and bled the system (quite funny to watch) A motorcycle wrecker in Victoria found a GSX cooling fan switch that matched my broken one and I replaced it but I think the previous owner that wired up the switch has altered the wiring so it still doesnt work. To top it off I keep forgetting to turn the manual switch on to cool while I back it in to my driveway.....and it boiled :eek: Previous owner has also modded the pipes by removing all but the outers....loud and hot I suspect.
 
#5 ·
I haven't did this on mine yet but whenever I changed coolant on any motor I didn't run the engine.
If it is like a outboard the little vane pump would burn out with no coolant in 5 seconds.
If you run it for long the block could develop hot spots which could cause the cylinders or heads to warp.

Leave the cap of and watch for when the coolant starts to run as the thermostat opens and the coolant starts to run you could also put a thermometer in to see when the thermo is opening.

The level might actually drop as well when the thermostat opens and allows the coolant to pass through the rad.

Let us know how it goes.
 
#6 ·
The radiator is easy to fill, the valve is not really a bleeder and not used, it is more for a pressure test nipple. With the filler at the top most of the coolant system, just fill it and put on the cap, might give it a min or two to bubble up or burp and top off, but I've found that it fills up nicely and no problems. Make sure you use a coolant without ANY silicates at all ! or you will destroy your water pump seal. I use PEAK long life 50/50 premix because it has no silicates and is mixed with deionized water. Be sure to dump and clean the resovoir and fill it to top line as well. It would not hurt to make sure the cap is still in good shape and thermostat is working before filling it up.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top