Coolant issue with 02 sxr 600

[shaggyzr2]

A friend of mine just bought an 02 sxr 600 with less than 2000 miles on it. He got it home and noticed that it was at least a quart low on coolant. He filled it up but never bled the system. Sled runs great, temp light never came on but it blew coolant into the overflow tank filling it up. Would not bleeding the system cause it to flow into the overflow?

 

[j5ferry1]

Sure sounds like a head gasket to me. Not bleeding (leaving air in the system) would typically not let the fluid circulate properly and the exchangers won't heat up. Pressurizing the overflow sounds like a bigger issue to me.

 

[shaggyzr2]

exchangers are heating up good.

 

[shaggyzr2]

Spark plugs were dry, no coolant in the pipe and no smell of burning coolant when it was running.

 

[A couple of bucks]

Even the smallest nick/flaw in a h/g could cause a pressure transfer from the combustion chamber to the cooling jacket. I'd R & R the head gasket 1st. Are the heads discolored?

 

[shaggyzr2]

The heads aren't discolored. We just looked it over good, the center piston has STD stamped on top, the others don't, head gasket looks non OEM yamaha and they had the cyls marked, mag and pto with a marker so were thinking someone had this engine apart. Instead of replacing the head gaskets would it be ok to just use some copper gasket spray on them?

 

[A couple of bucks]

It's certainly worth a shot. Get the gasket hot before you spray it.

 

[shaggyzr2]

Like heat it up with a heat gun? Does it have to sit for a while to dry before you fill it with coolant and run it?

 

[A couple of bucks]

I just sit it on my wood stove but a heat gun works too. Oven or toaster oven works well too. Hang it up with a hangar and give it some coats while it's still hot enough to dry on contact. Installation can be immediate.

 

[shaggyzr2]

Got it done, that seemed to fix the problem. thanks