Alta MX coolant leak

[#76]

Ok, so this maybe a first?, as i have never heard about or seen an Alta leak coolant before?, maybe someone has but not me.

So, was getting the bike ready to put the battery back in ( I always take the battery out for Winter lay-ups) and noticed a Red drop of coolant..... i have taken a picture of it, there is a drop to the right side of the picture and you can also see its been running down the casting too. Have a look see below.



Bollocks! was my first thought...then i had to start having a good look to try and see where it was coming from?, another pic below shows I could see it dripping from the bottom of the gasket, again see below...



Shit!, so i had no choice but to start taking it all apart to try and see where it was actually coming from, not easy.... had to remove quite a bit to try and move the whole main box (not too sure what you would call that) away from the casting...then to find out that there is wires going from said box into the casting then in turn into the motor, removed the motor cover but no connections i could un-clip so i managed to move it out the way enough to remove the gasket and have a look to see what's up...



So, after looking at it all i can not see any obvious area's that the leak could be coming from sadly, so i cleaned everything up and dried it all out, cleaned the gasket and put a tiny thin amount of sealant on both sides - then had to put some on the area where the wires go into the casting to re-seal that up (what a job that was!) and bolted it all back together. I have left it for tonight and will re-fill the coolant tomorrow and temporarily connect the battery up so i can run the coolant pump and check for any leaks i guess...man!.



All bolted back and done for now, so has anyone else had this?, or similar thing?, maybe one of the Red coolant pipe joins (the heat shrink maybe) has come loose up near the casting and that's where it was coming from?. I could not see any wet area's up there tho?.

Only thing i can say is - I "think" when i was undoing the bolts in front of the rear shock, that hold the main electric box onto the casting (and they are hidden up in there for sure!) one was loose...top left as your looking at the bike from the rear, i say think as i can't be sure but i did not remember loosening that bolt at all.

Would be good to know if someone else has had this and what the fix was etc. I don't like water and oil leaks at all!.

 

[Rashid510]

@#76 few things:

1. We never used red coolant for the bike. It was green coolant that was used for the inverter. Also weeping could only happen if as you said, one of the hoses finally got loose. In the entire production run we never saw an inverter leaking. Also we torque controlled every bolt, so the likelyhood of us not installing correctly will be tough.

Below is the locations of those screws and those should never be touched: (10nm, blue loctite if possible, if not no worries)



2. If your planning to run the coolant through the bike (specifically the inverter and motor) - key cycle the bike THREE times rapidly and that will trigger the water pump to cavitate without any airbubbles.

3. There are some weep holes (hoses) at the bottom of the rear bulkhead which could have potentially kicked off coolant.

 

[#76]

Morning Rashid. Thank you for the reply.

Yes - i thought that too about the coolant, as my MXR had Green.

Thanks for the image with torque pattern - I did it nearly right!, and as i did not have a torque figure i used my best guess and was near to it as my manual was no where to be found!. Found it now and would have been so much easier if i had it, as in chapter 6 it shows you everything that's needed to remove it all...and the wires to the motor!. At least now when i go and fill it if it's still leaking i can remove that front cover of the controller and all the wires too, will be so much easier, but man i really hope i don't have to.

Now, this is very interesting to me, what you said above " If your planning to run the coolant through the bike (specifically the inverter and motor) " ....IF?, there is an option to not run any coolant at all?... could you please explain this to me in a little more?. But thanks for the tip with the key cycles as that's not in the manual.

"Filling takes about 1 hour with the pump running" wow....ok!.

Is there any chances of a new gasket at all : PN 3500035-01. If not what is the best sealant to use on it please?. Not RTV for sure by maybe a PU18 type?.

Where are the weep holes (hoses) at the bottom of the rear bulkhead please?.

As always, thank you for your time and help @Rashid510

 

[Rashid510]

Now, this is very interesting to me, what you said above " If your planning to run the coolant through the bike (specifically the inverter and motor) " ....IF?, there is an option to not run any coolant at all?... could you please explain this to me in a little more?. But thanks for the tip with the key cycles as that's not in the manual.

"Filling takes about 1 hour with the pump running" wow....ok!.

Is there any chances of a new gasket at all : PN 3500035-01. If not what is the best sealant to use on it please?. Not RTV for sure by maybe a PU18 type?.

Where are the weep holes (hoses) at the bottom of the rear bulkhead please?.

As always, thank you for your time and help @Rashid510

To clarify - you need to run coolant for the inverter or motor. I would not run with out the coolant. Sure there have been a few comments over the years, if its really needed, I would not deviate.

Roughly 45 min to run the coolant process, similar to our production cycle times.

I will check if I have any gaskets, its been a while since ive looked at that gasket. In production we used a paper gasket (not rtv)

There is a hose barb at the bottom of the rear bulkhead. Its in your picture below:



There is also a coolant plug on the rear of the bulkhead:


*Ignore the IR7 - that was for our torque tools.

 

[#76]

Many thanks again Rashid.

Coolant - as i thought, just was the way you worded it i guess!.

Yes, that was about right, when i re-filled it. So many little bubbles and adding just a bit at a time until it stabilizes and keeps a steady level just at the lower neck of the filler.

Gasket - Ok, be good to know just incase.

Yes, i know where that breather is - but again i thought you meant the rear of the RBH - and as i only knew of the drain there i was looking about all over it lol!. No worries and again thanks for your help and time on this forum.

P.S. would you happen to have any of the headstock frame stickers for the MX at all?, i see Liquid has them for the EX.

 

[Judaslefourbe]

Looks like someone dropped their koolaid on the bike...

 

[Rashid510]

P.S. would you happen to have any of the headstock frame stickers for the MX at all?, i see Liquid has them for the EX.

Which sticker are you asking about? The VIN sticker? Also I do have the inverter gasket (its a fiber gasket)

 

[#76]

This one please... Good news for the gasket if needed!. Thanks.