Coolant leak

[Ollieclarkx64]

Hi, I bought a fzs600 for cheap planning on repairing it and have only recently actually been driving it on the road after having it for a year. I’ve attached some photos but sometimes after a long drive I notice coolant leaking from where the top end mates with the rest of the engine. There’s no white smoke coming from the exhaust and really no other symptoms but I’ve been thinking the headgasket could be failing? I would love to hear some of your opinions and advice hoping this could be an easy fix.        

[Gnasher]

It does look like a head gasket issue. Check the oil filler cap for mayonnaise and do a sniff test on the coolant expansion tank.

[unfazed]

Hi, I bought a fzs600 for cheap planning on repairing it and have only recently actually been driving it on the road after having it for a year. I’ve attached some photos but sometimes after a long drive I notice coolant leaking from where the top end mates with the rest of the engine. There’s no white smoke coming from the exhaust and really no other symptoms but I’ve been thinking the headgasket could be failing? I would love to hear some of your opinions and advice hoping this could be an easy fix.

It would be unusual to have a head gasket coolant leak on the 600, it is most likely from the pipes at the back of the cylinder head. Corrosion can damaged the O ring seat and deform the seal and coolant will like down like you show in the picture. The pipes are just the base of the cylinder head one left and one right.

[Ollieclarkx64]

Hi, I bought a fzs600 for cheap planning on repairing it and have only recently actually been driving it on the road after having it for a year. I’ve attached some photos but sometimes after a long drive I notice coolant leaking from where the top end mates with the rest of the engine. There’s no white smoke coming from the exhaust and really no other symptoms but I’ve been thinking the headgasket could be failing? I would love to hear some of your opinions and advice hoping this could be an easy fix.

It would be unusual to have a head gasket coolant leak on the 600, it is most likely from the pipes at the back of the cylinder head. Corrosion can damaged the O ring seat and deform the seal and coolant will like down like you show in the picture. The pipes are just the base of the cylinder head one left and one right.

I can’t always see coolant leaking but I had another look last night after a ride and it does look like it’s trailing down from somewhere higher up and I’ve never been so happy to see a leak before but I’ll inspect those pipes as soon as I get some free time. Looking at some diagrams it looks like there’s a single bolt holding the pipe in place is it as simple as taking the bolt out and sliding out the pipe after draining the coolant or is there something else I’m missing?

[Gnasher]

Hopefully it is just a weeping pipe or union. But check what I've mentioned above takes minutes. I've seen 2 this year with failed head gaskets, these weren't OE but crap pattern ones used by previous owners who'd done other engine work.

[Ollieclarkx64]

Hi, I bought a fzs600 for cheap planning on repairing it and have only recently actually been driving it on the road after having it for a year. I’ve attached some photos but sometimes after a long drive I notice coolant leaking from where the top end mates with the rest of the engine. There’s no white smoke coming from the exhaust and really no other symptoms but I’ve been thinking the headgasket could be failing? I would love to hear some of your opinions and advice hoping this could be an easy fix.

It would be unusual to have a head gasket coolant leak on the 600, it is most likely from the pipes at the back of the cylinder head. Corrosion can damaged the O ring seat and deform the seal and coolant will like down like you show in the picture. The pipes are just the base of the cylinder head one left and one right.

I can’t always see coolant leaking but I had another look last night after a ride and it does look like it’s trailing down from somewhere higher up and I’ve never been so happy to see a leak before but I’ll inspect those pipes as soon as I get some free time. Looking at some diagrams it looks like there’s a single bolt holding the pipe in place is it as simple as taking the bolt out and sliding out the pipe after draining the coolant or is there something else I’m missing?

Yeah will definitely have a look at that too, I originally thought the same but I’m hoping it’s not the head-gasket for my own sanity.

[unfazed]

Yes, one bolt and do not forget the O-ring as it can be hard to find in the corosion.
Pipe can be a pain to remove due to corrosion.
Clean it up well but don't overdo it and take away material.
Make sure the area in the head where the O-ring goes is clean and smooth

[darrsi]

I've found the best way to check for coolant leaks, if it's puzzling you, is at night time in the dark with a torch, or a garage with no lights on will do too.
Coolant leaves a shiny sticky residue when it dries on the engine and torch light makes it clearly visible so you can really see what's going on and exactly where it's originating from.

[Faze2]

I've found the best way to check for coolant leaks, if it's puzzling you, is at night time in the dark with a torch, or a garage with no lights on will do too.
Coolant leaves a shiny sticky residue when it dries on the engine and torch light makes it clearly visible so you can really see what's going on and exactly where it's originating from.

Out of interest does a UV light work with this ?

[Gnasher]

It will to some degree depending on what coolant is in the system.

[Ollieclarkx64]

Hi again everyone sorry it’s been a while since I updated the thread. Thanks for all your help I did the checks on the expansion tank and the oil filler cap and everything seemed okay. The coolant did seem to leave a trail from those pipes so I checked the o rings which were in a state ?. I cleaned off all the rust and replaced the rings but I noticed a pipe coming off from the thermostat was also leaking so will be doing some work to this area too.

[darrsi]

Hi again everyone sorry it’s been a while since I updated the thread. Thanks for all your help I did the checks on the expansion tank and the oil filler cap and everything seemed okay. The coolant did seem to leave a trail from those pipes so I checked the o rings which were in a state ?. I cleaned off all the rust and replaced the rings but I noticed a pipe coming off from the thermostat was also leaking so will be doing some work to this area too.

Have you ever used Radflush on the cooling system?
If you have clogged up waterways it certainly won't help matters. Once you properly clean and flush the system the fluid has enough proper space to travel happily around and the coolant won't be trying to find places to escape through. Once the bike cools down the fluid in the expansion tank should pretty much settle down at roughly the same level each time, unless you're  in particularly hot weather conditions. So it actually works as a good sign if things are in good shape, just by giving the bike a nudge up and down on the centre stand to see where the coolant level in the tank has settled. If it lowers or even shows as empty then it's a sign that something's misbehaving, so I would start by using Radflush first then replacing with new coolant.