Gen 1: Gen 1 coolant going down and engine noisy

[Speed-Freak]

Hey guuys... Put about 80 miles on my new to me ride yesterday and now the coolant level in the reserve tank goes down after the engine cools back down with white smoke for about 30 seconds when you start it fromm cold... also started it up after stopping for gas and putting some seafoam in the tank and about 10n secondas after starting it you can hear like a chain going around as if you had the back tire off the ground and spun the rear wheel.. wasn't there before... Any ideas??? Of course I'm assuming the worse i.e head gasket and timing chain job.... so pissed

[keithk]

Probably smoking because the outside temp is cold in Canada and that seafoam. Sounds like a noisy cam chain. Change the oil and filter see if that helps quite it down. You may have used to much seafoam also.

[Quantum]

Don't stress for now, it's likely to be the cam chain which has a spring loaded stepped adjuster. They get quite noisy before stepping to the next notch. I personally didn't like the noise and fitted a manual adjuster.
Checkout this thread: http://www.zx-10r.net/forum/showthre...in+tensio ner
Loss of coolant

[Brian24]

Loss of coolant and white smoke is a bad sign.. I was thinking the same thing as you (head gasket).

[Somatic Healer]

If you're oil has a creamy look and colour to it and may also be foamy then i would suggest you have a head gasket issue. I hope that's not the case though.

[Speed-Freak]

The oil is normal with nothing in it at all... I drained it to check and it was fine.... I did put about half a bottle of seafoam in 1 1/2 gallons of gas though..Would that cause any issues? The coolant level only went down less than a 1/4 of a cup after the ride but it still went down though... Any of you guys ever try to replace a head gasket? How much trouble is it to replace?? thanks for the input!!

[Speed-Freak]

One last thing it isn't really a thick smoke or anything more like a white steam like you would see out of your car on a cold day.. I did change the coolant so could it be a air bubble coming out somewhere in the system??? The engine only has about 12,000 miles on it so far..

[Cannon Balls]

"The coolant level in the reserve tank goes down after the engine cools".

That is normal. The coolant expands when hot... as the cooling system is totaly full the the "excess" flows into the plastic tank. When the fluid cools it contracts and the fluid is sucked back into the radiator, main hoses, cooling cavities etc.

This is why that plastic tank is called "Expansion Tank". ;)

[Quantum]

Originally Posted by Cannon Balls

"The coolant level in the reserve tank goes down after the engine cools".

That is normal. The coolant expands when hot... as the cooling system is totaly full the the "excess" flows into the plastic tank. When the fluid cools it contracts and the fluid is sucked back into the radiator, main hoses, cooling cavities etc.

This is why that plastic tank is called "Expansion Tank". ;)

Check the water level when cold before a ride (mark it on the expansion tank) and then again when fully cold after a subsequent ride.

[antaren]

I wouldn't worry about the noise or the steam, both are common traits on these bikes.

The noise is most likely the cam chain, and is noisy even when properly adjusted. The noise goes down significantly after the bike heats up.

The steam from the exhaust is normal. If you had a head gasket leak, you would see some very clear signs of problems.

For example:
-tons of steam from the exhaust, not just a little, looks like a steam jet
-lots of coolant loss, coolant needs to be topped off every few days
-running temp is very high, and you hit 250 while sitting at a stop light

These bikes run a little rough, but can take immense amounts of punishment. As long as you keep up on the oil changes and don't hit the rev limiter every time you ride, you should be able to enjoy the bike for years.