Coolant getting onto the engine somehow

[pmacb]

So this is the year I go from a lurker to a poster...

 

My 2015 FJ09 (45,000 miles) has started misting/dripping/spraying coolant onto the front of the engine.  Eventually, enough builds up to drip onto the exhaust pipes and burn off.  The distinctive smell was my first clue that something was going on.  The first time it happened was about two weeks ago.  I cleaned everything up to see what was going on, and after cleaning nothing else dripped onto the pipes.  Yesterday I took the bike on a day-long but not strenuous ride on a relatively cool day.  Today, the smell and wet engine block happened again.  The area involved is the right front (viewed from the saddle) behind the coolant overflow bottle cap (see photo).  The first time I thought I might have dislodged the bottle cap somehow and that riding splashed the coolant onto the engine.  I've been pretty diligent about checking that and that does not seem to be the issue.  I changed the coolant last summer without any leaks and the bike has not been running hot.  The oil looks fine, and the coolant level in the overflow bottle is also fine. 

 

Any ideas?  Has anybody had a similar experience?

 

Thanks

 

[PhotoAl]

Hummmmm   interesting!

Think the coolant bottle is a false lead.  Notice the hose in the background is wet around and above the clamp.  I'm suspicious of the hose.  Rare but I've had old coolant hoses on cars get a crack on the inside and then coolant would leak thru the threads that are a reenforcement to the hose.  Think of it as a loose weave material that is in the outer layer of the hose.  At 45,000 miles if they haven't been replaced they may need to be.

[roadrash83]

I think PhotoAl answered your question about your leak. You might want to see if someone makes a set in silicon, might be cheaper than buying every hose through the Yamaha.

[bwringer]

Hoses #1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are $44 at my usual Yamaha parts house. That ain't bad at all.

https://www.onlinecycleparts.com/oemparts/a/yam/546a26caf87002164cb28014/water-pump#

As noted, the highest-percentage guess sitting here and not there would be the hoses. I haven't seen it on my FJ-09, but I've seen it on other bikes.

 

Edited September 19, 2022 by bwringer

[pmacb]

Thanks, everybody.  Looking at the photo with an eye towards a "bad" hose, the hose heading down (hose #4 on the parts diagram) is definitely suspect.  I'm going to replace all of the hoses while I'm at it just to be sure. 

Off to buy parts...

 

[2linby]

That's certainly not a factory hose clamp you have there, Replace the fluid, hoses AND the cap as well. 

Edited September 19, 2022 by 2linby

[skipperT]

The 2 clamps visible in the pic are factory clamps. 
If you want to throw parts at the problem, replacing the hoses may solve the issue. I would also check to make sure that a bad radiator cap isn’t causing the system to boil over and flow out of the reservoir bottle. Or that the drain hose that begins at the cap and wraps around the bottle before exiting at the hole of the black plastic cover isn’t linked or blocked in any way. 

If you want to know for sure, de-grease the area with brake clean and a rag. Go to Walmart or another pharmacy type store and pick up a can of generic (or Tinactin) foot powder in a spray can. Spray the suspect area liberally with the can of foot powder spray and then take it for a ride. Get it hot and then park it in the normal way that you have been doing when the leak has been occurring. 

Any leaks will now be visible from the component that they are leaking. The foot powder residue will show the path the fluid is taking. This method works really well with oil leaks as well. 
The remaining foot powder residue can be easily cleaned with compressed air or a hose  

HTH,

Skip

[KrustyKush]

I just had my rad off doing a valve adj check.  I put it all back together and spent a couple of days jetting around town. Then noticed little spots of white splattered behind the rad, on the engine case.  I had tightened my two worm type clamps (factory, of course) but I am a tentative tightener when it comes to radiators, owing to my over tightening one on a car many years ago and pretty much screwing up my rad by crushing the tube.  I just hadn't made one of the clamps quite tight enough and the joint was seeping just a tiny amount.  The white revealed the location of the leak.  Another turn on the clamp, leak gone.

[texscottyd]

14 hours ago, skipperT said:

If you want to know for sure, de-grease the area with brake clean and a rag. Go to Walmart or another pharmacy type store and pick up a can of generic (or Tinactin) foot powder in a spray can. Spray the suspect area liberally with the can of foot powder spray and then take it for a ride. Get it hot and then park it in the normal way that you have been doing when the leak has been occurring.

This is the kind of practical insight that I love finding on this site.   So simple, so obvious... so why hadn't I thought of this before? 

Thanks @skipperT!

[bwringer]

Yep, the foot powder trick works great!

Looking at the first photo again, it also may be that the hose is not correctly seated on the fitting; notice how it's at kind of a sharp angle where it leaves the fitting, which is not normal. Why this might be, I don't know. sometimes people shorten a hose by 1/4" or so sometimes to get a better sealing surface. Or maybe there's some other issue at the other end. But anyway, it kinda looks like a too-short hose from here? Maybe?

I've also had issues before on other bikes with hoses that are simply too crushed in the clamping area to seal again after a few cycles of removing the radiator for valve checks.

 

Here's foot powder highlighting how Vesrah gaskets for vintage bikes suck:

Edited September 20, 2022 by bwringer

[PhotoAl]

What the problem with the gasket?  Looks like a vintage gasket on a vintage bike 🙂

 

[pmacb]

Wow, you look away for a day and suddenly there are twice as many replies as before...

That's certainly not a factory hose clamp you have there, Replace the fluid, hoses AND the cap as well.   Good idea.  I've got the hoses on order, what's a couple of bucks for a cap?  

Or that the drain hose that begins at the cap and wraps around the bottle before exiting at the hole of the black plastic cover isn’t linked or blocked in any way.  I'll check that.

Looking at the first photo again, it also may be that the hose is not correctly seated on the fitting; notice how it's at kind of a sharp angle where it leaves the fitting, which is not normal.   I think that's the angle of the photo.  Everything looks like the parts schematic and nothing seems pinched or stressed.  It's hose #32 coming in from the left, and #29 up from below.

Love the foot powder idea, I'll give that a shot.  Maybe I don't need all 5 hoses after all.

Thanks, everyone!

 

 

[betoney]

59 minutes ago, pmacb said:

That's certainly not a factory hose clamp you have there,

 

Those clamps are the exact same factory clamps I have on my bike, and the same as the ones in the parts diagram you posted.

[skipperT]

10 hours ago, texscottyd said:

This is the kind of practical insight that I love finding on this site.   So simple, so obvious... so why hadn't I thought of this before? 

Thanks @skipperT!

You’re welcome! It’s a great trick to know, glad to share. Much easier than adding dye to fluids and using special lights to detect it, etc. 

-S

[2and3cylinders]

On 9/20/2022 at 11:45 AM, KrustyKush said:

I just had my rad off doing a valve adj check.  I put it all back together and spent a couple of days jetting around town. Then noticed little spots of white splattered behind the rad, on the engine case.  I had tightened my two worm type clamps (factory, of course) but I am a tentative tightener when it comes to radiators, owing to my over tightening one on a car many years ago and pretty much screwing up my rad by crushing the tube.  I just hadn't made one of the clamps quite tight enough and the joint was seeping just a tiny amount.  The white revealed the location of the leak.  Another turn on the clamp, leak gone.

 You do not have to disconnect the hoses to do a valve check or adjust

just undo the 2 upper bolts and remove the bracket at the bottom undo the overflow hose, cap the Nipple,  Disconnect the fan plug and pull down and forward the radiator put a towel on the Fender and access is easy.