Blue Stuff

[Sidecar Flip]

Fuel it up at 109

Your sending unit, like so many others, is not adjusted properly. There has been much discussion herein on the subject. There's the do it yourself approach, the dealer approach, and the leave it alone methodology. I go the latter route. At 120-130 mine comes on. It doesn't bother me except at night. The yellow light is **** bright.

Twist and shout like we did last summer..................

 

[nightrocket]

bright!, ill say ha. but comes in seccond to that brights indicator. my comment on the fuel light was just a gripe about fuel millage but i knew that it wouldnt be as good as the other bike when i bought this one. at the fuel light i can put 4.1 gallons in it. so im getting about 26-28 thats mostly in town. so for warranty concerns do you have to put blue back in it cus i was sick for how much they charged me for oil i dont think i want to know how much for the coolant.

 

[Sidecar Flip]

Antifreeze is colorblind. So long as you don't mix extended life with etheylene or propylene glycol, it's generic. You can mix ethylene and propylene glycol but neither is compatible with extended life though they are all compatible with DCA4. Your engine can't tell the difference between green, blue or even red.

It can, however, in the long run tell if the antifreeze has become aged. The Ph gets wacky and the antifreeze becomes acidiic and it starts eating the inside of the engine and destroying the radiator core. Your liners can also tell. They get impingement craters which will eventually bore through the liner and cause your engine to start burning antifreeze.

Basically impingement craters are caused by the coolant forming a bubble on the side of the liner and that bubble insulates that little spot on the wall and causes it to become hotter than the surrounding metal. The the bubble explodes and when it does it literally blows a microscopic spot in the wall of the liner and then the process repeats itself over and over until you have a hole. To eliminate the bubbles, a potassium permagnate solution is added to the coolant which actually puts a microscopic layer of protection on the walls eliminating impingement. Fot the life of me, I can't understand why Triumph just recommends etheylene glycol antifreeze other than planned obsolence. Of course I don't know anyone with 200,000 miles on a bike. It takes that long to perforate a liner.

Impingement craters are the bane of wet linered engines, like the Rocket has.

As far as the fuel light goes, I hear you can take the pump, float assembly and sender out of the tank (it's an assembly) and adjust the float for the light. They all seem to be at a different come on stage. I get 40.55mpg from my Classic but I've never fiddled with it and I don't ride like an ass either.

 

[Silver Bullet]

Test Result

Flip:
I have now tested the coolant. I used a Baldwin Filters test kit #CTK5029 which tests for Freeze Point (my result-60 degrees) Molybdate (my result 0.0 PPM) and Nitrate (my result 0.0 PPM). According to the Baldwin Web site, the SCA units must be a minimum of 1.2 PPM or the coolant must be pre-charged to attain that minimum level or drained/flushed/replaced as you suggested. Flip you are also correct in that DCA4 is specifically noted for use with Ethylene and Propylene type anti freezes.
I found in the manual that Triumph says the coolant is "blue" and is Ethylene Glycol in a 50% solution with H20.
Since the test kit used does indicate usage for this type of coolant one can deduce that the coolant in my bike is not within tolerance and should be treated with a product like DCA4 or changed out completely.
The reason I am so sensitive to this issue is that owners sometimes do not understand what importance coolant and its additive package is to the life expectancy of their ride. I witnessed a wet liner engine (3 cylinder inline diesel JD) fail due to perforated liners (2) with 996 hours of usage (3 year old machine). Failed because we did not maintain our cooling system as recommended by the OEM (shame on us)(thus the inclusion of coolant testing every PM). (Your description of the process inside the engine block is spot on, Thank you!)
As for me, I am taking the test results to heart and fixing the problem even though this R3 only has 4500 miles on it. Thanks to all for your comments, SB.

 

[Sidecar Flip]

SB:

At least I don't have JD's. (I can't afford them) I run orange and they are all parent bore. Even my old MF 1085 that runs the manure spreader is a dry linered Perkins. The 3406 is wet linered and so is my 7.3 Powerstroke so I'm always testing the coolant and I change everything out every 2 years anyway. People tend to forget about the radiator and the coolant until something bad happens like a ruptured hose or a leaky radiator and by then, the radiator looks inside like a bad hair day. I suspect that in the near future I'll change over to extended life but one thing about extended life coolant is that they aren't all compatible with each other whereas ethylene and propylene are across brands which means you could fill with Zerex and top off with Prestone or Sierra. You can't do that with extended life. You have to use one brand and stick with it.

I've never had a perforated liner in any engine I've owned or operated but I've seen plenty of them as well as cooling systems that weren't maintained properly with either a post charge like DCA4 or a need/release water filter.

It's all about insurance and whether you want to 'do it now or pay me later'

If you don't want to change out, at least put a half bottle of DCA4 in the system. That will give you 5 units and a good baseline and you can stick with the ethylene. It is a wet linered engine after all.

 

[Pedro]

Flip,
I was sold some MOTUL Inugel Expert for the R3. Didn't realize the inportance and difference in coolant. Have looked through the information about this, but not sure if this is actually suitable.
What do you think?

 

[Sidecar Flip]

Flip,
I was sold some MOTUL Inugel Expert for the R3. Didn't realize the inportance and difference in coolant. Have looked through the information about this, but not sure if this is actually suitable.
What do you think?

It's compatible. It's compatible with all monoetheyleneglycol based antifreeze's. It' still needs a shot of DCA4 at your descretion though.

We've talked quite a bit about DCA4 and I'm sure 90% of you guys don't know what it is or where to get it. DCA4 is Cummins Engine Company's proprietary coolant additive. It's available at any truck stop or any heavy truck dealer and it comes in a plastic bottle that's equivalent to 10 units. Fleetgard also markets a DCA additive but Cummins is the standard so that's what I use. Half a bottle in the Rock should be plenty and it's cheap too. DCA4 is heat sensitive, that is, it gets depleted with the heat cycles of your heat engine (all internal combustion engines are heat engines) so you need to add half a bottle at least every season. You really can't overcharge a system with DCA4 and with the limited coolant capacity in the Rock, half a bottle should do it.

 

[Pedro]

thats excellent mate, save's me draining it will get some of that and away we go.

 

[Silver Bullet]

Test kits

Are available from Baldwin Filters or Fleetgaurd and like the coolant additive DCA4 or a couple of others that do the same thing, are available from many sources the best being a truck parts supply. It is an inexpensive investment in your favorite play toy and will give you a starting point in evaluating the coolant condition on a regular basis.
I noted while reading about coolant issues this PM that 40% of all engine breakdowns or failures on the road are due to coolant issues. I use the test strips as part of my normal 5K service interval. Coolant degrades just like engine oil does making it a manditory item for normal engine maintenance. Test it before treating or replacing to see for yourself. Good Luck to all and Thanks Flip for tutoring on this issue. SB.

 

[Pig9r]

I needed to top off my coolant after relocating my overflow. My dealer gave me BMW branded - blue colored antifreeze. They said it would be alright to mix with what can from the factory.