how much coolant

[Thunderace]

hi any idea how much coolant needed after draining and flushing the system on a kwak z750. which colour red or blue coolant and does it require bleeding . maybe just run engine and squeeze hoses and watch the level until max level. many thanks

 

[Thunderace]

do I get concentrated or diluted ?

 

[Chris666]

It'll be about 3L, just go for premix 50/50. Shouldn't need bleeding, fill radiator up and run the engine, it should pretty much do the rest. Can give the hoses a tap or two to help it along

 

[Thunderace]

cheers mate. is car coolant suitable . blue or red ?

 

[Chris666]

AFAIK colour isn't a massive deal. I use Rock Oil which happens to be blue

*also refill the expansion tank

 

[Thunderace]

what does afaik mean ? do you think a Suzuki gladius would take about 3 litres as well ? I appreciate your advice . would you definetlyadvise against mixing blue and red as I have some of both

 

[Thunderace]

what about coolant for cars is it same stuff

 

[Chris666]

what does afaik mean ?

As far as I know

do you think a Suzuki gladius would take about 3 litres as well ? I appreciate your advice . would you definetlyadvise against mixing blue and red as I have some of both

The SV which is the same thing took less than 2L, 1.6 or 1.7 from memory Yes, don't mix coolants.

what about coolant for cars is it same stuff

If it's 50/50 and aluminium radiator safe (which the majority are) there's really no difference

 

[Thunderace]

cheers polo. thanks for all your help. bike safe

 

[svensktoppen]

Should be the same these days. Used to be slightly different coolant depending on if it was for an engine with aluminium heads, etc., or not. So not car v bike, but engines with aluminium parts or not.

Don't think there is any difference any more, it's the same coolant for everything. Check the fine print to be on the safe side if you have an aluminium engine.

 

[Thunderace]

yeah pretty sure a bike engine is aluminium. so I will just go to a car parts store as they are probably a few quid cheaper than bike dealers. cheers mate

 

[Apis]

As far as I know, Afaik means, "as far as I know".

Don't mix red (pink?) and blue coolant. The blue one is fine. Either neat and dilute 50/50 or just by ready diluted. Car coolant is the same thing.

And please don't leave coolant lying around if you have a cat.

 

[Thunderace]

thanks apis. so just to be clear if the blue coolant is fully concentrated I just dilute it by 50 % ordinary water. is it bad if I put it in full strength ? thanks

 

[Chris666]

Just get 50/50 premix.

Don't use concentrated coolant 100%.. (ethylene glycol which as above cats love the smell of)

 

[Thunderace]

thanks polo for all the advice. just trying to get the 2 bikes serviced ready for the dry roads if they ever appear. reading about the middle 2 plugs on the kwak and the front one on the gladius are going to be fun to change ..lol

 

[Chris666]

Unbolt the rad from the top two frame mounts and let it drop forward (Gladius) That's all I did on the SV

They're 16mm plugs although you may know that

 

[Thunderace]

is there anything you don.t know ? that sounds handy enough. I will let you know how I get on. THANKS BRO

 

[NotKG]

not just dont mix it, if it was red from new, keep it red, even if you flushed everything.
one colour is ethanol based, the other is glycol baced, to save explaining a load of crap, just replace it with same colour.
if ya dont, the rubbers and seals can react and break down rapidly, hoses get dosed, water seals leak, rubber bits go all gummy or brital inside.

treat it like a battery.
red goes to red.

 

[Thunderace]

thanks ken . starting to get a wee bit complicated now .lol. have,nt drained it yet but have bought blue . I hope its not a waste of money.. by any chance did you go to lisnagarvey school from about 1975 to 1980 ?

 

[NotKG]

no, Saintfield High. left in 82. did do my city &guilds in lisburn tech after that.

 

[svensktoppen]

Not made easier by the fact the "colours" have more to do with marketing than any actual difference, lol.

Short version:
The colours are just that - colours.
If you don't know what is in there, then flush the system and either fill with standard blue (cheap and readily available everywhere) or by whatever the manufacturer sells (might cost a little more but might be safer if you're not sure). Whatever little is left in there from before will do no harm at all as long as you keep topping up with whatever you put in instead going forward.

Then follow the directions on the bottle of whatever you put in for how often it should be replaced.

The long version:
They're all based on glycol ethanol and in that sense all are the same.

The difference is in additives to prevent corrosion. Some have a shorter lifetime and should be changed more frequently (every few years). Some are "longlife" and rarely need to be replaced. Traditionally a "red" is "long life" and a "blue" is standard cheap stuff. But you can also find either type as green, orange, even purple, and some change colour as they age and the pigment wears off.

Some don't mix well, many can be mixed with anything. But colour alone won't tell you which. So it's safest to flush if you're not sure. It's not the end of the world if you flush once and replace. What little is left of the previous one after flushing does no harm at all.

 

[Thunderace]

hi ken. just thought you might have been an old friend of mine. I done my city & guilds in Lisburn tech as well from 1982 to 1986. small world bro. thanks for advice . do you think my Kawasaki coolant should be blue ?

 

[Thunderace]

Not made easier by the fact the "colours" have more to do with marketing than any actual difference, lol.

Short version:
The colours are just that - colours.
If you don't know what is in there, then flush the system and either fill with standard blue (cheap and readily available everywhere) or by whatever the manufacturer sells (might cost a little more but might be safer if you're not sure). Whatever little is left in there from before will do no harm at all as long as you keep topping up with whatever you put in instead going forward.

Then follow the directions on the bottle of whatever you put in for how often it should be replaced.

The long version:
They're all based on glycol ethanol and in that sense all are the same.

The difference is in additives to prevent corrosion. Some have a shorter lifetime and should be changed more frequently (every few years). Some are "longlife" and rarely need to be replaced. Traditionally a "red" is "long life" and a "blue" is standard cheap stuff. But you can also find either type as green, orange, even purple, and some change colour as they age and the pigment wears off.

Some don't mix well, many can be mixed with anything. But colour alone won't tell you which. So it's safest to flush if you're not sure. It's not the end of the world if you flush once and replace. What little is left of the previous one after flushing does no harm at all.

 

[Thunderace]

wow. thank you for all your advice and going into all that detail. I really appreciate it. should the level of coolant settle after running the engine and squeezing the hoses. then let it cool and then check level ?

 

[NotKG]

hi ken. just thought you might have been an old friend of mine. I done my city & guilds in Lisburn tech as well from 1982 to 1986. small world bro. thanks for advice . do you think my Kawasaki coolant should be blue ?

same years for me.