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Post by bjg on Sept 4, 2013 7:33:42 GMT -5
Recently i noticed my scooter running a bit warm...almost hot after about 30 minutes of riding. I took a look at my overflow tank and the level is low which brings me to my questions.
First, I have no idea what coolant is currently in the system. I know it's blue in color but that's about it so topping it off with the same brand would be difficult.
Question #1 - Is it ok to mix brands or should I drain it and refil it with fresh coolant? (I was thinking mixing wouldnt be so good)
Question #2 - What brand of coolant do you recommend?
Question #3 - Got any tips or tricks to draining/refilling the coolant?
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Post by keltex78 on Sept 4, 2013 9:31:16 GMT -5
Completely flush that radiator and add some good coolant. I'm not sure what that blue Kool-Aid is. I went to WalMart and bought a gallon of the plain green anti-freeze. The jug says it's safe for aluminum, and I've heard horror stories about the orange stuff, so I think you will be okay with that. Here's the full PDI link, with directions for flushing. The PDI says to remove the drain plug but that didn't work for me; I had to pull a water hose... x1scooters.com/pdi.htmlPull the lower hose from the fuel pump and then force water into the radiator through the filler cap using a water hose, and flush it out good. When you refill, you may have to 'burp' the system to make sure all air is removed by letting the motor run and heat up until the thermostat opens. Sometimes you have to rock the scooter back/forth/side/side to get the air out. As an alternative, I tried this and had very good results without having to burp after changing fluid: I used a small-diameter aquarium air hose to fill the radiator. I inserted the hose in the filler and was able to feed it all the way through to the radiator. I syphoned the coolant into the radiator, and the slow flow and being filled from the bottom seemed to allow the air to be displaced more easily resulting in no burping. Just make certain there is no air trapped in the system and that everything is topped off before driving after a flush/refill. Idle the scooter until the motor is warm, coolant is circulating, and the temp gauge is showing that normal temperature is being maintained... |
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Post by spandi on Sept 4, 2013 11:52:00 GMT -5
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Post by bjg on Sept 4, 2013 12:22:03 GMT -5
 I just about sh#t myself when i followed the link you listed for the low tox stuff. Must be for a case of it because Amazon's price was nearly what I paid for the scooter. I found it for around $17-18 a gallon elsewhere though. Is anyone running Prestone Dex-Cool or Prestone Prime? I read up a bit and found blue is Korean/European and it contains silicates. There was an article I read that recommended against switching to some of the newer formulations if you had been running a silicate based formula because it shortens the coolant life. I don't have enough experience to know how well scooter coolant systems flush out. Any thoughts?
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2008 Roketa MC54B 257 (10,000 miles and climbing)
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Post by bhinch on Sept 4, 2013 14:25:50 GMT -5
By all means, change your coolant to Prestone 50/50 or any coolant made for aluminum engines. The blue stuff just does not work and can cause problems.
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Post by rockynv on Sept 9, 2013 12:17:36 GMT -5
Flushing with a mild solution of distilled water and vinegar first followed with a final flush with just distilled water is a good idea and will help ensure you get all the corrupt stuff out. It costs a bit more but Engine Ice is non-toxic and can get you running about 10 to 20 degrees cooler than most conventional coolants.
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