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Exchanger coolant leak fixed - Fuel tank,Battery removal

Just pu up my 17 btx le demo from dealer yesterday, loaded it on trailer.It sat outside overnight and drove the 2 1/2 hrs home today.Puddle of antifreeze on trailer and dripping from top of tunnel down beside right driver.Here I thought that by buying a demo that all the issues would have been fixed on these things so I would not have to deal with them like the new viper I had bought and traded in with only 300 miles on it ( still went unresolved after 1.5 years)Just wanted to ride and not have to keep taking back in for repairs that should never happen to these sleds.
 

Wow, that one deserves an “ATA Boy”, and that is for sure. Great tutorial and those pics !!

You got me wondering about mine whereas I have added anti-freeze quite a few times last year, and again this year during my pre season maintenance. Had my clutches off yesterday after a short 50 mile ride, and saw no evidence of any leaks. Checked all 1 more time while I had the hood and seat off, really hope that leak never appears!!

Thanks again Dan, you Rock !!
 
So, I tore apart the SW to see if this was the cause of my coolant puddles in the trailer..

Nope. :(

They were both quite snug.

Ironically enough though, I did not have any aluminum tape over the hose as yours does Dan. Mine's a 2017.... Yours a 2018?

Of course I partially stripped one of those torx bolts that hold down the cowl over the manifold.
And those torx screws that hold down that centre plastic shell (8 I think?)? 5 of them are almost done and are spinning freely.


I went out after that and it started to shoot up in temp into LIMP mode so I returned home.. I added more coolant yesterday morning (50/50 blend) so that it was up to the cold line in the RES. Went out for a 2 hr ride and it never broached 80 so who knows.....
 
So, I tore apart the SW to see if this was the cause of my coolant puddles in the trailer..

Nope. :(

They were both quite snug.

Ironically enough though, I did not have any aluminum tape over the hose as yours does Dan. Mine's a 2017.... Yours a 2018?

Of course I partially stripped one of those torx bolts that hold down the cowl over the manifold.
And those torx screws that hold down that centre plastic shell (8 I think?)? 5 of them are almost done and are spinning freely.


I went out after that and it started to shoot up in temp into LIMP mode so I returned home.. I added more coolant yesterday morning (50/50 blend) so that it was up to the cold line in the RES. Went out for a 2 hr ride and it never broached 80 so who knows.....

Wow, did you install some heat tape over it? I hate seeing that rubber hose that close to exhaust manifold which glows RED HOT most the time.

Yeah those bolts that hold down the shroud to the tunnel are at tricky angles, I made sure to get the correct length of extension to get on them all perpendicular so not to strip the torx....they strip so easy if not on them straight.

The center console torx into the frame tubes, you really gotta just snug them with torx screwdriver so not to overtighten, they wont loosen as they bite into the plastic, but if you do they strip out quickly in the tube which sucks...Maybe get a larger size I guess to fix it.

You may have had air in your line...Used to raise the nose on a jack or snowbank ect...open the cap and let her idle out all the air to highest point...

Dan
 
I noticed some antifreeze on my garage floor when I took my sled out of the garage this morning. I decided to check my fluid level and my over fill bottle was empty so a filled it with 50/50 mix to the cold level mark. I then took it out on the lake and she started to overheat. I brought the sled back and sure enough it is leaking from the clamp under the gas tank.
 
I noticed some antifreeze on my garage floor when I took my sled out of the garage this morning. I decided to check my fluid level and my over fill bottle was empty so a filled it with 50/50 mix to the cold level mark. I then took it out on the lake and she started to overheat. I brought the sled back and sure enough it is leaking from the clamp under the gas tank.
I think more are seeing it here this year....as opposed to last year. The colder temps will shrink the aluminum enough to have the not properly tightened clamps seep.

Sure sucks the cat factory cannot get hose clamps tight. Mine were so loose I could turn them with fingers.
 
I think more are seeing it here this year....as opposed to last year. The colder temps will shrink the aluminum enough to have the not properly tightened clamps seep.

Sure sucks the cat factory cannot get hose clamps tight. Mine were so loose I could turn them with fingers.

Yes it is very cold here. I was riding yesterday in -30C.
 
Yes it is very cold here. I was riding yesterday in -30C.
Man its been crazy eh?

Even over here in Ontario(only 2 hrs north of Toronto GTA) and we have high temps mid afternoon of minus 24! Lows so far have been minus 36 a few times now!....Muffs are a must for sure, hands cook nicely with BRP muffs on, they are a godsend.

Now I see long range models saying last two weeks of January will all be above normal, with thaw coming...GRRRR...

WTF just give me some normal nice winter for once! :o|:o|:whine::whine:

Dan
 
Never had any coolant leaks on my sidewinder at all last year. Go out into the garage tonight and noticed a little puddle of coolant under the sled, can see coolant on the right driver. Looks like I may have to pull the tank and check out these clamps.
 
Never had any coolant leaks on my sidewinder at all last year. Go out into the garage tonight and noticed a little puddle of coolant under the sled, can see coolant on the right driver. Looks like I may have to pull the tank and check out these clamps.
Yep it seems these temps this season are finding all the vulnerabilities from TRF....these will typically seal up quickly once you start up and things warm/expand....

But the clamps were barely snug on mine, no excuse for that. Poor assembly in TRF.

Dan
 
Never had any coolant leaks on my sidewinder at all last year. Go out into the garage tonight and noticed a little puddle of coolant under the sled, can see coolant on the right driver. Looks like I may have to pull the tank and check out these clamps.

Same problem here except I added coolant to the overflow tank and I must have created a airlock.
 
Same problem here except I added coolant to the overflow tank and I must have created a airlock.

Oh really that sucks. I am going to look into mine tomorrow and see what I can figure out. Can we bleed the coolant system by lifting front of sled up a bit and then open can in tube and let sled run and hopefully push out any air bubbles? Would have to do this when sled is cold because you don't want to remove that cap when engine is hot. Not sure if it would bleed the system at all.
 
Oh really that sucks. I am going to look into mine tomorrow and see what I can figure out. Can we bleed the coolant system by lifting front of sled up a bit and then open can in tube and let sled run and hopefully push out any air bubbles? Would have to do this when sled is cold because you don't want to remove that cap when engine is hot. Not sure if it would bleed the system at all.

I am taking my Sidewinder to the dealer to fix the leak and before I load it onto the trailer I will try that.
I believe if I would have added the coolant at the rad cap I might not have created the airlock but at the time I was getting ready to go for a ride and thought the overflow bottle was just low.
 
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Be careful not to crank them down too much, I've had 2 off these clamps break on my Viper after I snugged them. The adjuster broke loose from the band on them. I tore down my Viper and replaced every one of them with wider/stronger ones. These thin factory ones say Germany on the back.
 
Having a hard time understanding the procedure at the dealership to fix this antifreeze leak issue.Dealer actually pu my sled ( 2.5 hrs away, had someone going this way). I had taken pictures of the antifreeze leaking from top of tunnel and dripping from rh driver, puddle on trailer exactly where sled is sitting and sent him these pics.Pu sled yesterday dealer said they pressure tested system and could not find any leaks.Is this yamaha's warranty procedure before they will take something apart and repair the problem? I even asked how come they would test it after sitting in warm shop and not leave it outside to get cold then test,Only answer I got was tech spent a lot of time on it.
 


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