The real radiator fix.

[Glengemen]

I started this a while back after an unfortunate event out in the desert north of Las Vegas. Then my thread became a coolant advertisement, so here is the new one. If you would like to look up the old thread it was called RADIATOR REPLACEMENT.

The fore mentioned incident blew out the seal on my left side radiator tank. After seeing how much the replacements were and no source of used parts at the time I decided to make one with welded aluminum side tanks. I took the bike to my local radiator/ machine shop for the creation.

Luckily for me the stock core was still in good shape, it really was just the cheesy plastic tabs that hold the tank on the core that let go. Aluminum side tanks were built. The left is nothing special, pretty much follows the design of the stock side tank. The right however, is a little work of art. First and foremost the thermostat had to leave the radiator. (If they were thinking when they designed the motor they would have put it on the motor.)

There of course the filler neck with the reservoir hose nipple on it, the upper and lower hose connections and internally there is a baffle. Since both hoses are on the same side the baffle makes the coolant actually flow around and through the core as opposed to just looping to the other hose.

The tanks are test fitted to make sure they fit and the upper and lower mounting is fabricated, fastened and grommeted in the stock design. Side tanks are then welded into place.
Now comes the thermostat. Does it need one? I really do feel I could do without as it has a computer controlled electric fan. I do live in Vegas though. No chance of it not getting up to temp here. I did however go back in with one. I used one from Meziere with 1" nipples that uses a small block Chevy thermostat. It's a little on the bulky side, but it does what I need it to do. Temp is 195*F. I think that's right as it seems to run the same temp as before. It was really just a guess though. Coolant exits from the head, goes through the radiator and enters into the water pump.

I used silicone hoses 1" 45* bend and 1" 90* elbow to get me where I needed and the appropriate clamps as to not cut the silicone. More as a function of space with the thermostat housing I reversed the flow in the radiator. It now enters into the top and leaves through the bottom connection.

The thermostat housing needed a bit of massaging with a sanding disk to clean up sharp edges and I did end up using some rubber hose to ensure I don't rub through the radiator where needed.

This has to be about the worst cooling system ever to burp. My theory is it is the angle of the motor that is the issue. If the front of the bike is picked up until the head was level we wouldn't have that issue. I however used my airlift which puts the cooling system under vacuum then sucks the coolant it via that vacuum. Perfect every time. Added plus it can check for leaks, if you loose vacuum you have a hole in the system.
For coolant I use prestone extended life coolant, I don't like coolants I can't get at any parts store. I more than likely will have the coolant out of the bike every year or two anyways as I'm a bit OCD on fluids. I even bleed the brakes every oil change.
I've been riding this set up for about 1500 miles now and it runs perfect. I have actual confidence in the cooling system now. That and I have my radiator guards on now (that were on back order when I popped the radiator.

 

[glitch_oz]

Some pics and detail shots would be awesome.

 

[Glengemen]

Apologize for no pre instal pictures!

Right side left side meziere thermostat housing with 195* thermostat

 

[Glengemen]

Here is the magical mistake of a side tank on the original.
As you can see in the last picture the thermostat comes out and is replaceable. I did not see in the parts manual where you can get it separate.

 

[drzcharlie]

On the bottom picture showing the T stat, does the thermostat assy just unscrew from the bottom of the tank fitting?

 

[Glengemen]

It actually unclips. I'm not sure what I did with the clip. It is just towards the bottom of the right tank. If you look at the bottom of the thermostat there is a land where the clip sits

 

[Glengemen]

 

[glitch_oz]

Thanks for taking the time to take + post those shots...it does make things a bit clearer,

 

[Glengemen]

Thanks for taking the time to take + post those shots...it does make things a bit clearer,

Glad to help.

 

[V8Astro]

Great solution. Should do well for you.

I wonder why the euro-bikes always the t-stat (if at all) in some wierd place? My brother just bought a left-over 2013 Gas Gas 300E and it has the t-stat in the middle of the right side radiator hose

 

[Glengemen]

I would much rather that than in the radiator itself! Mostly due to what was available I ended up putting mine inline with the radiator hose, works like a champ and I can get to it!
If it wouldn't have complicated the radiator even more I would have flanged it to the radiator like an automotive engine would put it to the motor or intake manifold. Radiator would have to be much heavier though to keep from warping.

 

[William42]

Very nice work.

 

[Tinken]

http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/zipty-racing-thermostat-delete.80170/

 

[danketchpel]

I started this a while back after an unfortunate event out in the desert north of Las Vegas. Then my thread became a coolant advertisement, so here is the new one. If you would like to look up the old thread it was called RADIATOR REPLACEMENT.

The fore mentioned incident blew out the seal on my left side radiator tank. After seeing how much the replacements were and no source of used parts at the time I decided to make one with welded aluminum side tanks. I took the bike to my local radiator/ machine shop for the creation.

Luckily for me the stock core was still in good shape, it really was just the cheesy plastic tabs that hold the tank on the core that let go. Aluminum side tanks were built. The left is nothing special, pretty much follows the design of the stock side tank. The right however, is a little work of art. First and foremost the thermostat had to leave the radiator. (If they were thinking when they designed the motor they would have put it on the motor.)

There of course the filler neck with the reservoir hose nipple on it, the upper and lower hose connections and internally there is a baffle. Since both hoses are on the same side the baffle makes the coolant actually flow around and through the core as opposed to just looping to the other hose.

The tanks are test fitted to make sure they fit and the upper and lower mounting is fabricated, fastened and grommeted in the stock design. Side tanks are then welded into place.
Now comes the thermostat. Does it need one? I really do feel I could do without as it has a computer controlled electric fan. I do live in Vegas though. No chance of it not getting up to temp here. I did however go back in with one. I used one from Meziere with 1" nipples that uses a small block Chevy thermostat. It's a little on the bulky side, but it does what I need it to do. Temp is 195*F. I think that's right as it seems to run the same temp as before. It was really just a guess though. Coolant exits from the head, goes through the radiator and enters into the water pump.

I used silicone hoses 1" 45* bend and 1" 90* elbow to get me where I needed and the appropriate clamps as to not cut the silicone. More as a function of space with the thermostat housing I reversed the flow in the radiator. It now enters into the top and leaves through the bottom connection.

The thermostat housing needed a bit of massaging with a sanding disk to clean up sharp edges and I did end up using some rubber hose to ensure I don't rub through the radiator where needed.

This has to be about the worst cooling system ever to burp. My theory is it is the angle of the motor that is the issue. If the front of the bike is picked up until the head was level we wouldn't have that issue. I however used my airlift which puts the cooling system under vacuum then sucks the coolant it via that vacuum. Perfect every time. Added plus it can check for leaks, if you loose vacuum you have a hole in the system.
For coolant I use prestone extended life coolant, I don't like coolants I can't get at any parts store. I more than likely will have the coolant out of the bike every year or two anyways as I'm a bit OCD on fluids. I even bleed the brakes every oil change.
I've been riding this set up for about 1500 miles now and it runs perfect. I have actual confidence in the cooling system now. That and I have my radiator guards on now (that were on back order when I popped the radiator.

Glengemen,

Can you list the shop that did the custom aluminum radiator tanks?

I need to get this done to my bike as for some reason my right side plastic tank appears to have been super heated and bubbled and cracked the header tank. I don't know why, it's never overheated after I went to extents to keep it cool, including a 2nd fan, holes in the fender, and XF2 coolant. I've only seen the overheat warning once when I first got the bike and shut it down right away to cool it off. After that I did the fixes and it's never overheated since. The header tanks looked fine up until very recently.

These plastic rad caps scare the crap out of me, NOT GOOD. I can't trust this. I hadn't noticed this until just recently and I about fell on the floor. Here's a couple shots of it.





I was going to contact Myler's to see if they will build a custom setup like your's. But if you've got another shop that's already done it, I'll start there first.

Did you use the 1.25" size inline thermostat from Mezziere or another size?

Do you any means for the coolant to circulate the engine when the thermostat is closed? Usually there is a bypass of some type for this. The Thermo Bob system I used on my KLR650 had this type of design.

If you did this again would you change or upgrade anything?

 

[Tinken]

Looks like you had a thermostat failure. Did you add the thermostat delete fitting? The external thermostat is 1 inch.

 

[danketchpel]

No, I did not add the t-stat delete fitting. What's weird is there was no indication of an overheat, or even close to it on the dash temp display.

 

[Mark_H]

It does look like a Thermostat failure, but it would most definitely show as high temp on the display and the Red Warning light should illuminate way before this type of physical damage could occur.

I am now concerned for my bike and many others that are operating in the relatively high temperatures here in the Philippines in case this is yet another generic design fault on the Lemon Bike, although my Strada now does not run anywhere near as lean or as hot as it used to.
I also run a Nuda 900R and it has exactly the same mickey mouse radiator set up, although the cooling system is a lot more complicated, so this is of real concern to me.

I did think about doing away with the thermostat completely on the Strada, but try as I might, I simply could not get mine to slide out of the casing as it is a very tight fit.

I reckon it is possible to make your own "thermostat delete" by modification of the existing unit. If you take it to pieces and remove the spring which keeps it open through the right side until it heats up. Then reassemble the thermostat unit without the spring it will be closed all the time so the water always flows across the radiator.

Please keep us posted as to the developments and IMHO there is absolutely no need for a thermostat on this kind of bike, particularly if you do as most and start the engine for a 2-3 minute warm up before riding it.

 

[danketchpel]

My plan is to have aluminum header tanks fabricated and welded to the stock core along the same lines as the OP Glengemen did. I simply don't trust the plastic header tanks, especially on a bike that "might" hit the dirt once and also might be in a situation where it really would be hot, think Death Valley in the summer time etc. This happened in the winter and never showed any sign on the dash of even getting close to overheating.

After doing some net search on plastic radiator tanks I find they are prone to cracking on other vehicles. All my other liquid cooled bikes have aluminum header tanks.

I don't like the OEM thermostat design one bit and will be replacing it with an external design, most likely a Thermo Bob using his #3 design as it's more compact. I like his units as they incorporate a bypass to allow for coolant to flow through the engine when the T-stat is closed. I used one of his units on my KLR650 and it worked very well.

I will certainly post back what I end up doing with details etc.

I'm hoping the OP responds back with what shop did his work. I have 2 shops in mind to contact, Myler's in Utah and Fontana Radiator in SoCal which is a lot closer to me. Mylers did a repair on my DRZ radiator that looked like a banana and it came back looking really good and I'm still running it more than 10 years later with no leaks.

Mark, I'm jealous you have a Nuda 900, sweet bike! They were never offered for sale here in the States. I might have to drop by your place the next time I'm in PI and check it out. I think we're planing to be there next year sometime, probably in the March/April time frame. I'll PM you when the trip plans are more solid.

 

[Mark_H]

My plan is to have aluminum header tanks fabricated and welded to the stock core along the same lines as the OP Glengemen did. I simply don't trust the plastic header tanks, especially on a bike that "might" hit the dirt once and also might be in a situation where it really would be hot, think Death Valley in the summer time etc. This happened in the winter and never showed any sign on the dash of even getting close to overheating.

After doing some net search on plastic radiator tanks I find they are prone to cracking on other vehicles. All my other liquid cooled bikes have aluminum header tanks.

I don't like the OEM thermostat design one bit and will be replacing it with an external design, most likely a Thermo Bob using his #3 design as it's more compact. I like his units as they incorporate a bypass to allow for coolant to flow through the engine when the T-stat is closed. I used one of his units on my KLR650 and it worked very well.

I will certainly post back what I end up doing with details etc.

I'm hoping the OP responds back with what shop did his work. I have 2 shops in mind to contact, Myler's in Utah and Fontana Radiator in SoCal which is a lot closer to me. Mylers did a repair on my DRZ radiator that looked like a banana and it came back looking really good and I'm still running it more than 10 years later with no leaks.

Mark, I'm jealous you have a Nuda 900, sweet bike! They were never offered for sale here in the States. I might have to drop by your place the next time I'm in PI and check it out. I think we're planing to be there next year sometime, probably in the March/April time frame. I'll PM you when the trip plans are more solid.

Good luck with the repair and it is a good idea to do on any plastic radiator bike.

I am toying with the idea of having aluminium side casings made the same as you, before mine fails. I do have the option of having one bike done at a time as the Nuda has the same radiator.
Nudas cannot be sold in US because they were not designed to meet the strict emissions regulations that IMHO has messed up the TR650. I was told that if Husqvarna made it meet the US regs it would not be so powerful and crazy to ride, which makes it the awesome bike it really is.

You are always welcome here in Lapu Lapu, I have many TR650 visitors who all want the same mods as I now have which make my bike run so well.
Next job - Radiator work, particularly getting rid of the thermostat and I will not be fitting another one !
Seriously - do you need it and the extra work involved - I think not.

 

[Tinken]

No, I did not add the t-stat delete fitting. What's weird is there was no indication of an overheat, or even close to it on the dash temp display.

When the thermostat fails or is in it's closed position, there is no coolant flow.