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Temp Light Coming On, and Leaking Coolant - HELP!

2K views 17 replies 5 participants last post by  Fawlty 
#1 ·
So I finally got my 1993 Kawasaki Vulcan 500 running after fixing just about everything on it since I bought it back in August. I took it out for its first ride yesterday, just through my neighborhood so I only got it into third gear, but about the time that I got it into third my engine temp light came on. Once I saw that I quickly turned around and got the bike home. As soon as I parked it and turned the bike off it started leaking coolant out of the bottom of the engine (not sure exactly where it's coming from) and bubbling out of a large black tube that connects the area where the clutch is.

Has anyone else had this happen? Is it a quick fix or a larger issue I need to deal with?
 
#2 ·
Could possibly be the water pump leaking. Any noise from that area when running? Any trace of coolant in the oil, or oil in the coolant, or bubbling in the coolant overflow tank or radiator, could indicate a leaking head gasket.

Unlikely to be the thermostat, as you only travelled a short distance.

May be an air lock in the cooling system.

Could also be a faulty radiator cap, you can get the cap pressure tested at a bike workshop or radiator repair shop.

Another possiblity is a rusted up or blocked radiator.

Try draining the remaining coolant and then flushing the system with a water hose, until clear water comes out. You could then use a flushing agent to clean out the radiator. Refill with distilled water start her up and let the engine idle/run at around 2000rpm. You should then be able to trace exactly where the coolant is leaking. Keep an eye on the temp. light and switch off if it lights up again. If it is ok, drain the distilled water and refill with 50/50 antifreeze.

Good luck.
 
#4 ·
Lots of carb work, tank/petcock work, spark plug work, a bit of messing with the electrical stuff on the bike (short in the braking system), but nothing to do with the engine itself. According to the guys I bought it from it had been sitting/not running for a LONG time. 5-6 years maybe. I have no clue if the radiator fan comes on.
 
#6 ·
1. 6,500 - but the speedo is currently either not working or not hooked up so it could be more.

2.Yes. Put fresh coolant in it about a week ago.

3.Yes. Completely rebuilt.

4.I don't quite know what you mean.

I got the bike with carbs that were cracked and had to replace them. So I bought used ones, rebuilt them, and put them on the bike. Then I had tank and petcock problems but finally got that sorted out. Then I had a short in the bike (previous owner zip tied the rear brake light cable to the muffler), got that sorted out. But then I was having issues with the carbs over flowing with gas; turned out I had the overflow tube and the main gas tube switched, so gas was flowing into the airbox, the manifold, etc. Could that be causing some of my problems?
 
#8 ·
Ok, I'll change the oil tonight. Could the engine be getting so hot that it boils the coolant? I'm new to working on bikes, so please forgive the dumb questions!

And the bike wasn't even running when I changed the coolant so I have no reference point. I had to take the coolant bottle off when I had the short because I was checking the wiring harness underneath of it. When it was off some of the coolant dumped out so I figured I might as well change it.
 
#13 ·
The premix kind is all you need. Some don't like paying for watered down coolant. They prefer to buy the coolant and distilled water and then mix it. So you can buy the regular coolant and mix it with distilled water or buy the premix, either way is good. Just make sure distilled water is mentioned if you buy premixed coolant.
 
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