Overheated Spyder

[Buckeye Chuck 54]

I have returned to to spyderlovers with a question. My 2014 RT has 188,503 miles on it. After resting in my unheated garage all winter, it started right up like it should. But after running for a few minutes the temp gauge spiked way up. The fan came on but it was blowing cold air. It seems there's no coolant in it but after checking under the bike there was no sign of any leaks. I'm going to try to fill the tank and see what happens. This machine had it's water pump and thermostat changed at about 120,000 miles.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Buckeye Chuck

 

[BertRemington]

Check your oil, both level and color.

 

[BertRemington]

I'm the third owner of a 2014 RT-S SE6 77K miles. The first thing I did was to establish a maintenance baseline which included coolant. The previous owner had drained the coolant by removing the hose from the plastic manifold rather than the radiator. Unlike the fuel hoses (which I replaced) the coolant hoses were in good condition. I replaced the PO's worm gear clamp with a constant torque clamp. If you didn't use an Oetiker or constant torque clamp you may want to check hose condition there. And the plastic manifold for hairline cracks.

 

[AZCanAm]

Drain and fill both the radiator and coolant reservoir. Then check back with us. If after refilling everything coolant/water is missing with no obvious leaks then you probably have a blown head gasket. Check the oil at that point.

Hopefully you just had very little or no water in the radiator to begin with.

 

[Buckeye Chuck 54]

When you said head gasket, I shivered. No cheap fix at $90 an hour. But luckily the oil albeit a little low is dark amber color, just like it should be.
Tomorrow I'll try filling it and see. I bought this bike new and never had anything like this happen. One spring I had an air bubble in the system and the temp gauge was all over the place. The dealer flushed the system and all was good.
Thanks very much for the info. I'll write back to let all who replied if it worked.

 

[BertRemington]

Remove sufficient bodywork to be able to easily observe the expansion tank from the side. Fill the tank almost to the top and leave the cap off. Run the engine at least 10 minutes or more so it heats up the fluid in the tank. There likely will be some overflow. Examine the coolant for bubbles. There will be big bubbles as air exits the engine. If there is a steady source of small bubbles that's a concern. What color is your exhaust exit?

But the 1330 Rotax is a tough engine with good oil circulation and cooling. So my suggested next step is to buy a cooling system pressure tester which your local O'Reillys has https://www.paypal.com/invoice/paye...=em&s=ci&mail=sys&appVersion=1.37.0&xt=104038 Some stores have a loaner program.

BTW once you have a resolution I will have questions for you on how RTs age.

 

[Buckeye Chuck 54]

Remove sufficient bodywork to be able to easily observe the expansion tank from the side. Fill the tank almost to the top and leave the cap off. Run the engine at least 10 minutes or more so it heats up the fluid in the tank. There likely will be some overflow. Examine the coolant for bubbles. There will be big bubbles as air exits the engine. If there is a steady source of small bubbles that's a concern. What color is your exhaust exit?

But the 1330 Rotax is a tough engine with good oil circulation and cooling. So my suggested next step is to buy a cooling system pressure tester which your local O'Reillys has https://www.paypal.com/invoice/paye...=em&s=ci&mail=sys&appVersion=1.37.0&xt=104038 Some stores have a loaner program.

BTW once you have a resolution I will have questions for you on how RTs age.

Thanks Bert. You have questions on my Spyders age? I'll tell you all I know. These machines are ahead of their time. Most anything needed on a superior cycle is built in. But sure, everything wears out. I've replaced all 3 rotors because they all had deep scars ground into them. I'll be here a while if I discuss all I've done to it. It's been a great ride.

 

[JayBros]

From my service manual the instructions are to drain the system by removing the lower right radiator hose. Refilling the system should be done the vehicle level and with a completely cold engine, after reinstalling the lower radiator hose of course. Pour coolant into the coolant tank until the level reaches the Cold mark. (My editorial addition: Do not fill above the Cold level.) Do not install the the pressure cap at this time. Start the engine and run it until engine is hot (fan starts). When engine has completely cooled down recheck coolant level and top up if necessary. (My editorial addition: topping up means to the Cold level.) Install the pressure cap.

 

[Buckeye Chuck 54]

This sounds simple, more common sense than anything. But I'm handicapped and this sounds like I have to remove the front end, which I can't do. My thought is to fill the reservoir tank as much as it can hold then start it. Let it run and see if it works normally. If it does then let it cool and fill it again. And if it's still working right take it in to the dealer to flush the system. Replace everything that could be worn. After 188K there should be something. Gas hoses are OEM.
I thank you all for your input!
Chuck

 

[BertRemington]

Chuck -- that's a good approach

JayBros -- concur with your coolant change instructions for a normal situation. But this is not normal so I was proposing diagnostic and fault isolation instructions to assess the possibility of a leak inside the engine. It's also why I suggested checking exhaust exit color although this is more indicative than accurate.

Chuck -- you don't have to remove the frunk, just the same amount of bodywork as needed to change the fuel filter (less bodywork than HCM). But I think your approach is the best one at this time.

WRT fuel hoses, the following needed replacing (some had cord showing through the cracks): pressure tank-to-filter; filter-to-Y-fitting; return tank-to-Y-fitting. I used regular (outside tank) fuel injection hoses and fittings (different size for pressure and return). The Y-fitting-to-throttle body hose was acceptable so didn't replace it.

Thanks for the heads-up on rotors. That was one of the indicators I used to confirm how the first owner rode the Spyder. I was told by the second owner, who only had it for a few months, it was used mostly for long trips to AZ, etc in the SouthWest. Which matches the trailer it came with. The rotors had perimeter ridges of course but nothing severe and the surfaces were acceptable. The front brake pads looked like they had been replaced once (I put in new EBCs) but the rear pads were almost gone so I think they were original. I think the PO tried to retract the piston improperly, damaged the threads, and put the old pads back in. I was able to buy a replacement caliper for $40 on eBay and my new EBC pads are working well. I also discovered Brembo really really doesn't want you to rebuild that rear caliper.

 

[Buckeye Chuck 54]

This morning I was able to fill the tank, it took over half gallon and now all is fine. It started right up and took 25 minutes of idling for the fan to come on, and it was blowing warm air. It ran over an hour and worked just like it should. But I will make an appointment to have the radiator flushed and hav any hoses or clamps replaced if needed.
Again, thank all you for your ideas.
Just so happy it wasn't a head gasket!

 

[JayBros]

Am glad for you, Chuck, as I add mileage to my Spyder and hope that I can keep logging it until I croak and am glad to know there was no head gasket involvement. The thought of having to replace it could cure anyone's constipation.

 

[davev1pa]

Bert -you got a BREMBO rear caliper for a 2014 for 40$? That's an awesome deal...ru a speedbleeder valve kind of guy-just curious.. Dave

 

[BertRemington]

Yep great eBay caliper price and SpeedBleeders are great too

Dave -- the eBay item included the BRP swing arm bracket; Brembo caliper; parking brake arm, bracket, and cable; and flexible brake hose. The parking brake lever was bent inwards about 1/4" but I thought the Brembo caliper shaft bushing was sturdy enough to accept that and I was correct. The caliper is working perfectly, both hydraulic brake and mechanical brake.

I tried SpeedBleeders on the Baer brakes for my track Mustang but went back to the MiniVac.

But everyone on this forum said they worked great so gave them a try on the Spyder and they were correct. I have firm brakes but dang the pedal travels a long way. I like about 1/8" pedal travel at most. Spoiled by my motorcycles and track cars (which I gave to nieces and nephews who love them) but I'll live with it on my Spyder because I'm pretty sure the VSS will deliver the best brake/tire/road traction performance possible so subtlety isn't necessary. I really miss a front brake lever (all my gloves wear out the first two fingertips first) but the price is out of reach for me so I increase my following distance.