Antifreeze leak?

[corpssgt]

My wife has a 14 RS-S and while sitting over the winter i noticed that there is a small drip of possibly antifreeze dripping down from the front right of the bike. I have never had much of the bike apart. I am fairly handy with tools. I'm not afraid of doing shim under bucket valve adjustments on my bike. I really haven't looked into this bike much as far as where everything is. Is there any guidance from you all on what might be causing this. Drip is right behind the back side of front tire on right side and its coming off the platic pan or bottom of frunk. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[corpssgt]

After doing about 5 minutes of research looks like it might be coming from the radiator drain plug. That is right over where im seeing the drip. Looks like the side panel and lower black panel are pretty easy to remove. Next question is whether or not this is something common and to look where first. I highly doubt the radiator is bad. Is there a history of loose hoses or anything?

[JerryB]

Hi corpssgt,

Re: Drip is right behind the back side of front tire on right side and its coming off the platic pan or bottom of frunk.

I had the same thing with my '08 last year. It turned out to be a hair-line crack ( not visible to the naked eye ) in the plastic coolant bottle. This hair-line crack was vertical & on the rear face of the coolant bottle. The only option was to replace the coolant bottle.

When we squeezed the coolant bottle we could see liquid coming out of it. It was only in the upper 3rd portion of the coolant bottle so once the coolant level got below the crack, no more coolant would leak out.

Jerry Baumchen

[Chupaca]

The three most common leaks are....the cracked tank (little less common today) the radiator hose clamp (the only adjustable one that needs to be tightened) and the water pump seal. where the drip is forming is seldom the source of the leak. You do need to pull a few panels and give it a good once over to find the spot. I would suspect the hose clamp....

[corpssgt]

Well looks like a weekend project. Thanks for the replies. I also used the search function that I should have used first and found some info. I guess I'll just keep everyone posted if its something new.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

The three most common leaks are....the cracked tank (little less common today) the radiator hose clamp (the only adjustable one that needs to be tightened) and the water pump seal. where the drip is forming is seldom the source of the leak. You do need to pull a few panels and give it a good once over to find the spot. I would suspect the hose clamp....

Chewey ...... CAN an Otecker (?) clamp be ADJUSTED / TIGHTENED ...... I didn't think ...... However there are a few high quality screw clamps that can re-place those ............ Mike

[Chupaca]

The okiter (sp) clamps are one time use and size specific...but for some reason there is one hose clamp on the radiator that is a worm drive and I think assembly folks forget to tighten it and after a spell it leaks. Quick turn and your done...I do like the overlap worm drive clamps myself...

Chewey ...... CAN an Otecker (?) clamp be ADJUSTED / TIGHTENED ...... I didn't think ...... However there are a few high quality screw clamps that can re-place those ............ Mike

[bmccaffrey]

The three most common leaks are....the cracked tank (little less common today) the radiator hose clamp (the only adjustable one that needs to be tightened) and the water pump seal. where the drip is forming is seldom the source of the leak. You do need to pull a few panels and give it a good once over to find the spot. I would suspect the hose clamp....

yep to Gene. Have a 13 rs and had clamp leak

[corpssgt]

How would someone go about getting to this adjustable hose clamp? From what ive seen looking at pictures only im guessing this clamp joins the two radiators near the top were it then heads back toward the engine. Can you get to it from below? Will I need to remove the Frunk? Thanks again.

[garageguy]

Just got my wifes 2015 STL back from the dealer. Had a good sized coolant leak right side. They found FOUR of those crimp on hose clamps leaking including up top where the airbox/manifold needed to be removed. they replaced all the crimp ons with adjustable hose clamps BEST warranty (an oxymoron ) would not cover since they exclude hoses. This is obviously not a wear and tear issue folks.

[2dogs]

A small leak last winter and much larger leak this winter. Took it to the dealer and the tech replaced two of BRP's finest crappy parts. That dam company should be thoroughly ashamed, but they're not. A 30k machine assembled with $30 worth of crappy parts, costing their customers thousands to replace/repair the defects, and all the while not allowing warranty to cover the costs, or even part of the costs. Cheap parts and shoddy assembly. That's BRP for you. No wonder they have the lowest rating for durability/reliability.

[JerryB]

Hi 2dogs,

Re: A small leak last winter and much larger leak this winter. Took it to the dealer and the tech replaced two of BRP's finest crappy parts. That dam company should be thoroughly ashamed, but they're not. A 30k machine assembled with $30 worth of crappy parts, costing their customers thousands to replace/repair the defects, and all the while not allowing warranty to cover the costs, or even part of the costs. Cheap parts and shoddy assembly. That's BRP for you. No wonder they have the lowest rating for durability/reliability.

I could not agree more.

However, in defense of Oetiker, their clamps were never designed for these applications.

Blame BRP only for this: dam company should be thoroughly ashamed

Jerry Baumchen

[Raprider]

How would someone go about getting to this adjustable hose clamp? From what ive seen looking at pictures only im guessing this clamp joins the two radiators near the top were it then heads back toward the engine. Can you get to it from below? Will I need to remove the Frunk? Thanks again.

corpssgt...
I just went thru a similar experience on my ST...and tightening the one worm clamp I was able to get to seems to have fixed the issue...

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...de-panel-on-ST

I did have the dealer check and they replaced one oetiker clamp and ran a pressure test...no issue found...

[roofus7044]

I had this same exact problem last winter on my 2014 RSS. All I had to do was tighten a hose clamp up and it fixed the problem. Check the easy stuff first.