04 RX1 Mtn Overheating - Any Solutions

[shakes2829]

I have an 04 RX1 Mtn, stock, 2800kms which overheats constantly. The dealer installed a rear heat exchanger (Yamaha kit), a coolant shut-off for the carb heaters and a new thermostat. The thing still overheats!!! Any solutions available? Awesome sled but the constant overheating is frustrating.

 

[doo_man]

My 03 Mtn overheated constantly for the first 300 miles. Then I bled system (properly) and haven't had a problem since. I was going to install a rear exchanger, but haven't had to.

 

[ViperTurboPete]

Try re-bleeding the system (jack rear end in the air, run the engine, crack open the bleeder screw at the rear end). Check concentration of anti-freeze. Too much pure antifreeze will lead to overheating. 60/40 anti-freeze/water is preferred. If that doesn't work, switch anti-freeze to engine ice. Apparently it is some kind of coolant that drops operating temp significantly.

 

[Sled Dog]

My 04 only heated once in a while before I put the heat exchanger on. Now with it on it has not overheated once. You have trapped air in your system. Lift the back end of your sled up or stop on a very steep hill with the rear end up high and the engine running and warm so there is circ pressure (otherwise you may let air in and that is not good). With a 10 mil wrench bleed the air out by loosening the bleeder off the back of the heat exchanger (do not take it all the way out just loosen it) you should hear some air escape and then some coolant dont be scared to lose some coolant as it is better to get all the air out. Once done tighten the bleeder and check antifreeze. If it is reading high like -60 suck some out of the resevoir with your tester and add water until you got a -40 to -35 mix. You should be good to go at this point. Remember once you bleed some air out the resevoir level will drop to make up for it. You can also add some water wetter to your coolant it just increases the heat transfer properties which in will drop your running temp by a few degrees. Good luck let us know how you make out.

 

[smokeless1]

Check the coolant. Lots of guys including me had nearly 100% antifreeze in the sled, straight from the factory. Get a checker from the autoparts store and if you have more than -30 protection you should drain some off and add distilled water.

Had I know the first year I owned my RX-1M, I probably didn't need the rear heat exchanger. But I didn't and figured that the added exchanger was the best thing to do. I was just lookin at the fluid and it looked too green and thick. That was when I grabbed my checker and found it to be off the chart for cold temps. In otherwords it was all antifreeze and no water. Once I corrected that, I looked at the sister sled and it too had too much. I have since told yamaha national, (who laughed at me) and lots of other guys with overheating problems clear up and including 2006 sleds and some also were 100%.

So if your sled is over heating, do this simple test and see if you need to simply add more water to the mix. Unless you play in Syberia, you don't need much over 50/50 mix.

 

[BigUglyMan]

Time to find me an antifreeze tester. I may play near Siberia, but should still know what I'm running for sure.

 

[Thatspec]

Thankfully this is one problem my 'o3 has never had (I deserve one). Correct me if I'm wrong here but isn't a lean air/fuel mixture the first thing to look for if you're overheating? Maybe larger main jets are the answer. I have no rear exchanger, and it rarely gets below 29 degrees F here. I get about 7 mpg to give you an idea of how the sled is run, don't think that has anything to do with my jetting. My plugs look near perfect, running 4-6K completely stock intake/exhaust.

It would be interesting to see if your overheating went away by going up about 4000'. Might be easier than changing jetting. Hope this helps.

Mark