What goes in here, is it coolant/water? i stand the bike up straight and whatever is in there, there isn't a lot of it because its well below the minimum mark, you cant even see the water level on the tank so it must be like bone dry :/ . Its a kawasaki zxr400. Is there some sort of coolant mix i can buy in a bike store and just fill it up too in between the min/max marks? I'm a real novice when it comes to knowing about bikes & maintenance etc
Yup coolant tank , if you have some coolant mix it with water / distilled if you have it at 50/50 which should be near enough , but you really should look in your manual if you have one, if not get one and read it, a little knowledge can go along way and also pull you out of the shit.
Was it at the correct level when you bought it Josh? Did you check it? If so I'd be wondering where it's gone if the tanks bone dry.
I didn't check mate, i don't know if its bone dry but the water level is definitely below minimum because you can't see it
Well stick some in mate, to the correct level and keep a close eye on it. If it drops/runs dry then investigate/get it looked at. :thumbsup:
Yeah, forgot to mention that , fill it take it for a blast to get it up to temp then pull over somewhere get off bike wait for a few mins and look for any drips from under the bike or water on the floor if its not raining, but it shouldn't have got that low in the first place , might be a split pipe or even a loose clip.
it all depends on how long since the previous owner topped it up! if his bikes not been overheating i doubt theres a problem just needs the expansion bottle topped up..
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId_185166_langId_-1_categoryId_255224#tab1 so i just go and buy that from halfords, and as its ready mixed.. (guessing that means already mixed with water) i just pour that in my bike up to halfway between the min/max marks? is that the right stuff i need to get? also i read something on google about the mixture being suitable for aluminium engines?...
coolant is available as either a concentrate or pre mixed. check on the bottle and proceed accordingly. the rest is as above
Good shout! As someone mentioned when you were looking to buy the bike, the head gasket will be approaching it's best before date! If the head gasket goes, it can lead to overheating, which isn't good as it can warp the cylinder head! Keep an eye on the oil level as well, another usual sign the head gasket is gone is coolant in the oil, which can look like old manky mayonnaise.
I just didn't want to be the one to mention head gasket! Although it was my immediate thought when I saw the picture!
If I was selling a bike I would first make sure all fluid levels are topped up before hand wouldn't you think this would apply to most people selling a bike.
As rob said, have a quick look to see what the oil looks like. May have just been low for a while. Take the cap off and see if there is anything at all in the coolant bottle too.
the oil is fine, going to head down to halfords now, get that mix, top it up and just keep an eye on the level and for any leaks under the bike
if the the bikes not been overheating,which i'm sure he would have noticed,theres no need to worry about the head gasket,as the radiator only takes what it needs best thing to do is take the radiater cap off if its full no problemo..
Load of scare mongers on here! Top it up with the correct mixture of coolant/water and it will be fine
hahahaha i just spent £11.99 on a bottle of mixture, started to pour it in thinking i was gunna use like half the 2 litre bottle... after about 3 seconds and a small amount of mixture the thing was in the middle of the min/max markings... maybe i was a bit over enthusiastic with how empty it was lol all sorted now anyway, thanks for ya advice people!
