cooling system building up pressure?

Technical stuff specific to the Raptor 1000
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bvdl
On the Road
Posts: 14
Joined: 6 years ago

cooling system building up pressure?

Post by bvdl »

This post I copied from the general chat, hoping the technically inclined riders could maybe recognise some trouble I'm having with my ever leaking radiator.

Re: New to the forum and my Raptor 1000
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Post by bvdl » Sat Sep 16, 2017 11:00 am

Hi Snappy (and others too),

I installed the fixed radiator yesterday and had a trip with it, It had no leaks.
This morning I went to work via the highway and rode a lot faster than yesterday. By the time I was there (24km) the repaired spot was cracked on the same fixed spot for the second time. I find it really strange this happens even after a radiator specialist fixed and tested it at 1.5 bar (22 pounds per square inch)! Also I mounted it underneath with a tiezip, leaving the radiator about a cm of leeway on the underside. This makes me think the pressure in the coolingsystem exceeds normal values leaving the system to break on the weakest spot. I checked the radiator cup and it isn't clogged, I can blow air straight to it. I saw there is an overflow on the expansion tank with a tube to the exterior of the coolingsystem , is this tank actually provided with a pressure regulating valve (I suppose it does...)?

Does anyone had the bad luck of having a small crack in a cilinder head, causing way to many pressure in the cooling system at high rpm's? A large Suzuki dealer near me thinks it shouldn't cause the radiator to leak, given the pressure gets released by the opening cup on the expansiontank. So if you know, which cup is the one that regulates the pressure?

Thank you for your tips and time,

bvdl
bvdl
On the Road
Posts: 14
Joined: 6 years ago

Re: cooling system building up pressure?

Post by bvdl »

I had a conversation with a former Cagiva dealer. He confirmed me the pressure gets regulated by the the radiatorcap. The exceeding pressure gets blown of to the expansion tank under the saddle, coolant remains in the tank and steam or air gets out via the overflow tube on top of the tank.
Given the radiator cap passes air when blowing trough it, that one will be ruled out as the potantial cause of the repair failure of the radiator. He also said they never let them be fixed with a resin (special purpose for radiators by skilled repairmen ), but only by means of TIG welding.
The welding of the tubes is something that is very difficult because the aluminium is very thin and not a 100 % pure aluminium alloy. Along with contaminants as grid from sandblasting and/or paint, it would cause to melt the material in a way that is difficult to control.
The next thing I'm going to do is to unmount the radiator again and send it to another specialised firm in Breda, Holland. They told me they always weld them, and it's the repairshop that used to weld the Cagiva dealer's radiators. Fingers crossed... :|
bvdl
On the Road
Posts: 14
Joined: 6 years ago

Re: cooling system building up pressure?

Post by bvdl »

I have found the cause of a pressure buildup in the system. It's named : "radiator leak stop"!
The narrow tube that connects the radiatorcap with the expansiontank was totally clogged by a large clod of
hardened radiator leak stop. You know, the one some people use intead of a decent fix.
That way it comes with no surprise the pressure got up so high something needed to break after the thermostat got to opening posistion.



Luckily I found this before I reinstal my 345 Euro renovated radiator later on this week. :?
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