[hambone]

Can anyone help with my 1999 ZX9R? I just bought it a couple of weeks ago.

Here are the symptoms...

1. Yesterday a buddy noticed that I was blowing water out the overflow. Get this! The engine wasnt overheating according to the temp gauge.

2. Also, I recently noticed that the coolant was unusually dark. I think there is oil in the coolant.


Do you think the head gasket is blown? I guess that would be better than a cracked head.

How hard are they to change? Should I take the head to a machine shop to see if it is warped?

Can anyone help?

 

[Anonymous]

HEAD GASKET?

Just to confirm that it could be a head gasket do a compression check, and don't forget to open the throttle wide open when cranking...AND make sure that the spark plug wires are off!!! Hopefully it's just the gasket...have you pulled the plugs and looked at them? I once burnt a hole in a piston...long story, doesn't belong here...IF you don't have the tools, equipment and friends, you might as well haul it in and have them do it all at once...

 

[joey]

ljangell is on the right track. I would start with a compression test to see if the compression is in the operating range which is anywhere between 155 and 236 psi. Another test to perform if you have the equipment available is a cylinder leakdown test. You can tell a lot about the condition of the motor and where the problem lies by performing this test

 

[hambone]

Update:

It turned out to be a bad radiator cap! I was **** lucky! Turns out that the coolant is dark, but it is clean. No oil in the water! I changed the oil too. There was no coolant in the oil either.

Moral of the story... If you have coolant dumping out of the overflow when the engine is running at normal temps, check the radiator cap!

Thanks for all of the input everyone.

hambone

 

[Anonymous]

COOLANT DARK

Is that common for the coolant to be dark? Is it that color now? Was the overflow because the rubber was cracked, or was it missing? I like to keep these things in my head so that later I can recall them... Like in a car water will boil if it doesn't have enough pressure (it takes a hotter temp to boil at a higher temp) so if you have a hose leaking on your car you can loosten the radiator cap and duct tape the hose to get you to the nearest place to fix the hose...or if it is running cool enough all the way across country...(did it with my truck once.)

 

[hambone]

I believe the previous owner used a product called "Engine Ice." It is darker than the antifreeze that I am used to seeing. It is almost purple. I was expecting a light blue or green, that's why I initially thought there might be oil in the coolant.

 

[hambone]

As far as the cap... The rubber seemed a little worn, but it wasnt cracked. I dont think it was sealing properly. It might have been the spring too. I didnt know where to get the cap pressure tested, so I bought a new one. Everything is working pretty well now.

 

[Anonymous]

ENGINE ICE

I've heard of it, and something called water wetter...I'd have to read the labels REAL good several times and hit their website to make sure it was entirely safe...and I wouldn't use the water wehave here...it's way to hard and has to much junk in it...I'm a little crazy about putting things into my body or even a bike...I'd use distilled water if I had to use water here. (but I'm in Kansas.) Thanks for the return...again. WAs the cap rubber cracked, or was the rubber missing... or just old and worn/smashed sorta'?