Rookie Question

Spartacus

.020 Over
Joined
Jan 31, 2011
Messages
42
Location
Fredericksburg, VA
Due to recovering from throat cancer (just like Stripes), I haven't been able to do much maintenance on my '07 Classic till now. So please bare with me. I noticed a few drops of coolant under the radiator. I removed the side radiator trim pieces to see if I could locate the leak source with no luck. I then began to remove the bolts for the bottom trim piece and coolant started pouring out. I quickly replaced the 2 bottom bolts to stop the deluge.
I have a couple of questions. Are these 2 bottom bolts the actual drains for the radiator? About a pint drained out. What coolant should I use to top off with? Will Prestone's 50/50 mix that I use in my cage work OK? Should there be a gasket (O-ring) on these bolts or some sort of sealant used on the threads? Do I top off thru rad cap or reservoir?
I'm eager to start riding again so I want to make sure I don't screw up coolant system.
 
You can probably use high temp silicone gasket sealant if the bolts have pushed through.
Top up the coolant from the cap and bleed the air through the bleed bolt above the thermostat housing. Then fill the over flow tank to required level.
 
Follow the top hose from the radiator to the head and just above the thermostat housing that the hose connects to is a bolt. When filling with coolant air and water should come out of the hole, when it is just water replace the bolt, the bolt has a copper washer do not lose it, if you do lose it just put some high temp silicone on it. Do not mix different coolants, most types suitable for alloy heads are ok.
 
Hey Sparty, I had just got off the phone with Stripes last night when I saw this. Man, I sure hope that you are doing well with your recovery.

Since I'm local, if there is anything that I can do to help you out with your Rocket, let me know.

One tidbit that might help, if you haven't already downloaded a copy of the Service Manual, you can get it here.

When I changed coolant, I replaced it with Prestone 50/50 premix. It's the green stuff.
 
I run 100% Engine Ice. I've also had good results with just distilled water and a couple of bottles of Water Wetter added for corrosion protection.
 
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