2002 GL 1800 radiator flush?

[RUMRUNR]

Followed the manual, removed radiator cap & I see coolant, removed the drain plug and nothing comes out????

Thought OK there is some crud blocking the drain, got a piece of stiff wire and ran it up in the drain hole, nothing comes out??

I look at the radiator neck and there is still coolant there, so I cover the neck with a rag and put some air to it, nothing comes out the drain?? all I do is make a mess.

Anybody have an idea what is wrong, thanks for any help.

[tourman]

Sure you found the drain plug? If the radiator cap is off, it must drain if there's coolant in the radiator

[RUMRUNR]

Followed the manual, removed radiator cap & I see coolant, removed the drain plug and nothing comes out????

Thought OK there is some crud blocking the drain, got a piece of stiff wire and ran it up in the drain hole, nothing comes out??

I look at the radiator neck and there is still coolant there, so I cover the neck with a rag and put some air to it, nothing comes out the drain?? all I do is make a mess.

Anybody have an idea what is wrong, thanks for any help.

Fixed:

[rhino 2]

Fixed:

If you found the fix it might help to post what you found it was to help someone else in the future....🤔

[RUMRUNR]

If you found the fix it might help to post what you found it was to help someone else in the future....��

375 views and no response, just figured nobody works on their motorcycle or it has not been a problem.

Here's what I found: The drain plug goes into a cast aluminum fitting that has 2 rubber hoses coming to it from either side of the block.

I removed the hose clamps from 1 rubber hose, took it off and the system drained, undid the other hose and it drained more coolant.

I removed the cast aluminum drain fitting to find it had a steel pipes pressed into each side that the rubber hoses connected to.

Aluminum, steel & coolant don't play well together, where the steel pipes terminated in the cast aluminum fitting there was a serious clog of corrosion.

It was so hard I had to dig it out with with a drill bit in a tap handle. Dug out the crud & soaked it in coolant flush to get it completely clean, rinsed in distilled water then cleaned up the ends of the steel pipes where the rubber hoses attached. There you have the fix.

[rhino 2]

375 views and no response, just figured nobody works on their motorcycle or it has not been a problem.

Here's what I found: The drain plug goes into a cast aluminum fitting that has 2 rubber hoses coming to it from either side of the block.

I removed the hose clamps from 1 rubber hose, took it off and the system drained, undid the other hose and it drained more coolant.

I removed the cast aluminum drain fitting to find it had a steel pipes pressed into each side that the rubber hoses connected to.

Aluminum, steel & coolant don't play well together, where the steel pipes terminated in the cast aluminum fitting there was a serious clog of corrosion.

It was so hard I had to dig it out with with a drill bit in a tap handle. Dug out the crud & soaked it in coolant flush to get it completely clean, rinsed in distilled water then cleaned up the ends of the steel pipes where the rubber hoses attached. There you have the fix.

👍👍👍

[Gorilla]

375 views and no response, just figured nobody works on their motorcycle or it has not been a problem.

Here's what I found: The drain plug goes into a cast aluminum fitting that has 2 rubber hoses coming to it from either side of the block.

I removed the hose clamps from 1 rubber hose, took it off and the system drained, undid the other hose and it drained more coolant.

I removed the cast aluminum drain fitting to find it had a steel pipes pressed into each side that the rubber hoses connected to.

Aluminum, steel & coolant don't play well together, where the steel pipes terminated in the cast aluminum fitting there was a serious clog of corrosion.

It was so hard I had to dig it out with with a drill bit in a tap handle. Dug out the crud & soaked it in coolant flush to get it completely clean, rinsed in distilled water then cleaned up the ends of the steel pipes where the rubber hoses attached. There you have the fix.

Good job but sounds like the coolant had NEVER been changed.

[paul.r]

Good job but sounds like the coolant had NEVER been changed.

When it is changed just remember....to use type 2 Coolant..Silicate Free..............I found an old post on a Goldwing Forum mentioning the use of off the shelf coolant,apparently most coolants contain silicates,this is good for an automotive cooling system as it provides the abrasive properties needed to keep coolant passages clear,but it DESTROYS the water lubricated pump seals in motorcycle engines.................https://www.coxmotorparts.co.uk/hond...EaAnAXEALw_wcB

[RUMRUNR]

Good job but sounds like the coolant had NEVER been changed.

You are correct. I am the second owner and catching up on the maintenance that was neglected by the first owner.

[RUMRUNR]

When it is changed just remember....to use type 2 Coolant..Silicate Free..............I found an old post on a Goldwing Forum mentioning the use of off the shelf coolant,apparently most coolants contain silicates,this is good for an automotive cooling system as it provides the abrasive properties needed to keep coolant passages clear,but it DESTROYS the water lubricated pump seals in motorcycle engines.................https://www.coxmotorparts.co.uk/hond...EaAnAXEALw_wcB

Used the recommended Honda coolant.

[Burnerboy]

Above post is correct. Besure to use only Honda's 50/50 mixture in the blue bottle..........Do not add water..

I change mine every season, just before putting it away for her winter hibernation period.....

Ronnie

[RUMRUNR]

375 views and no response, just figured nobody works on their motorcycle or it has not been a problem.

Here's what I found: The drain plug goes into a cast aluminum fitting that has 2 rubber hoses coming to it from either side of the block.

I removed the hose clamps from 1 rubber hose, took it off and the system drained, undid the other hose and it drained more coolant.

I removed the cast aluminum drain fitting to find it had a steel pipes pressed into each side that the rubber hoses connected to.

Aluminum, steel & coolant don't play well together, where the steel pipes terminated in the cast aluminum fitting there was a serious clog of corrosion.

It was so hard I had to dig it out with with a drill bit in a tap handle. Dug out the crud & soaked it in coolant flush to get it completely clean, rinsed in distilled water then cleaned up the ends of the steel pipes where the rubber hoses attached. There you have the fix.

The rest of the story:

After draining all of the coolant I pulled a vacuum on the system to check for any leaks, no leaks, released the vacuum and drained about a cup more of coolant out.

Put the drain plug back in, filled with coolant flush and brought it up to operating temp and ran it for about 10 minutes.

Drained all of the coolant flush out, pulled a vacuum on the system again and got about a cup of coolant flush out.

Drain plug back in, filled the system with distilled water to get the coolant flush cleaned out, did the same again, pulled a vacuum to get the rest of the distilled water out.

Put a new crush washer on the drain bolt, filled the system with Honda pre-mix coolant, brought it up to temp, blipped the throttle to get the air out, let it cool, filled the system and recovery tank. forgot to mention I took out the recovery tank and cleaned it also.

The fans seem to come on sooner now (fans never came on sitting on the lift in the shop) and the temp is down on the gauge from where it was running before the flush.

Through all of the flushes it must have removed some crud from the temp sensor that controls the fans.

All the flushes may have been over-kill but I am happy with the result.

I'm ready for our annual road trip, going from Kansas to the Great Lakes area on a 2 week trip, counting down until June 12th. launch.

[cavie]

Above post is correct. Besure to use only Honda's 50/50 mixture in the blue bottle..........Do not add water..

I change mine every season, just before putting it away for her winter hibernation period.....

Ronnie

sounds like a little overkill to me. But I'm new to goldwing.

[tourman]

Go by Honda's owners manual, Honda Says flush coolant every two years. Flushing it Every year is a total waste of money