Hey guys , on my 02 sx viper i have been getting the warning light by itself, it will come on and stay on untill i stop then after sittimg for about 30 sec. it will go off .. Started checking it out and relized i am loosing a lot of coolant. checked water pump seal and no leak found some coming out overflow and some bhind carbs .. No apparent leak from carb heaters but havent pulld carbs off yet to get a better look .. any ideas???
Reefhog1
New member
Sounds like a head gasket. I had a similar issue last year and it was blowing coolant out the overflow. Just a thought.
sandmanmike1
New member
Onmine a replacement head was slightly warped. I set it on a piece of glass and could see where it needed some milling so i taped a piece of 220 grit to the glass and did a few circular motions to even it out then finished with some 600 grit paper. Runs great now.
tedgoesfast
New member
pressure test cooling system
Thumper1
New member
head gasket
If the head gasket does not show any sign of leakage, then it most likely the water pump seal gone, sucking in coolant on intake stroke & burning throught the exhaust...does the coolant bottle bubble when running?
goathead77
New member
Mine is doing the same thing and no sgn of any leaks. My resevoir is bubbling when running. Any ieas?
sxr700m
New member
Reading this thread is funny for I have a 2004 Viper700S and mine last weekend started doing the same thing. I had my red warning light come on after half of the weekend and I didn't know what for....then i noticed my coolant was low so I filled it. After riding for awhile the light came on again and would go off when I let off the throttle and slowed down. I noticed coolant on my right running board. Any ideas what it could be? going to look at it tonight
sxr700m
New member
Anyone have any ideas?
bigd1000rr
New member
yamaha621 had a rivet through his heat exchanger
sickric
New member
I have a similar issue, I don't get a warning light but after a ride, (engine good and warm) I notice coolant on my right running board,(I am assuming overflow) and after 100 miles or so my coolant bottle is toward the low level side.I replaced my water pump seal 2 seasons ago.(no leaks in that area anymore) I have noticed no problems in Idle , performance or top end , its all good. If I pop my coolant cap open after a ride and release the pressure , I don't loose any coolant ?!?? What do you think ????
Mac
Member
Rick add a temporary collection bottle to catch overflow. Then see if you can find the small leak on your running board.
sickric
New member
Mac, I am pretty sure the overflow is the leak (coolant ) I am finding on the running board.
I think I might be building a little too much pressure in the cooling system / bottle. Then it overflows and runs down the right side.
Stupid question , but do you think it could be a bad coolant cap ???
I think I might be building a little too much pressure in the cooling system / bottle. Then it overflows and runs down the right side.
Stupid question , but do you think it could be a bad coolant cap ???
Could be a head gasket is allowing pressure into the water jacket, but not to the outside. Throw a pressure gauge on the coolant tank, and watch for significant fluctuations.
sickric
New member
What should average pressure in the system be ?
Really all you are looking for is steady surges. They will be quite pronounced if the head gasket leaks. I don't recall for sure, but it may have been around 12 psi or so when I checked a healthy one. It may be in the manuals omewhere too.
Sucking Coolant and Warning light
I guess I may have the same problem -- last weekend after riding around over some very marginal trails (terrible snow), my warning light came on -- just the warning light -- no other lights. I stopped immediately and let her cool down, then rode again. After a time the one light would return -- this happened 3 times. I soon got to a nice field with some powder and lots of steam was coming off of the front of the engine and as I rode through the powder -- but the machine seemed to cool down after that and I got home -- no more lights. At home when I inspected the machine I noticed the coolant level in the reservoir was way down. I have since filled it. My question is should I be worried about this before I ride again? Is it normal for the Viper to "ingest" coolant? How difficult is it to blow/burn a head gasket on a Viper? How does one check to see if a head gasket has been compromised? What I don't want to do is ride again and burn the machine up. BTW -- I'm getting a good oil mixture (verified with plug inspection) so I'm not running hot for that reason. Thanks in advance!!
I guess I may have the same problem -- last weekend after riding around over some very marginal trails (terrible snow), my warning light came on -- just the warning light -- no other lights. I stopped immediately and let her cool down, then rode again. After a time the one light would return -- this happened 3 times. I soon got to a nice field with some powder and lots of steam was coming off of the front of the engine and as I rode through the powder -- but the machine seemed to cool down after that and I got home -- no more lights. At home when I inspected the machine I noticed the coolant level in the reservoir was way down. I have since filled it. My question is should I be worried about this before I ride again? Is it normal for the Viper to "ingest" coolant? How difficult is it to blow/burn a head gasket on a Viper? How does one check to see if a head gasket has been compromised? What I don't want to do is ride again and burn the machine up. BTW -- I'm getting a good oil mixture (verified with plug inspection) so I'm not running hot for that reason. Thanks in advance!!
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Sucking Coolant and Warning Light
Also -- I cannot find any leaking coolant anywhere on the machine -- not near engine or reservoir, none leaking from any heat exchangers, none on the machine (inside or underneath) -- so the machine must have "ingested" the coolant -- and enough so the reservoir was down 2-3 inches....
Also -- I cannot find any leaking coolant anywhere on the machine -- not near engine or reservoir, none leaking from any heat exchangers, none on the machine (inside or underneath) -- so the machine must have "ingested" the coolant -- and enough so the reservoir was down 2-3 inches....