Whats this? or why ya use antifreeze

[FROSTY]

Just finished sorting out a customers car with a nasty overheating issue.
did all the normal checks and it came down to blocked rad or water pump faulty.
Ripped the pump out and er well let the pictures do the talking.
Anyone wondering why you run antifreeze in ya bike--check this out
If you can't see anything wrong--that bit that looks like a 6 tooth sprocketis soposed to have blades attached to pump the water around.
Yer I know its a car pump but the same principle applies to bikes

[fireball]

how old was the car? that looks corroded to hell

[FROSTY]

not too old --just no anti freeze in it

[007XX]

That's why I loooooove my german baby: she tells me when she needs something...:love:

Every blond should have a beemer :p

[FilthyLuka]

This thread is not about bike mechanics! :mellow:

But to be perfectly honest, this is applicable to motorcycles aswell, so its staying. Use proper coolant people, mmkay?

Lucky for me all my motorcycles are air cooled :P No silly "anti-freeze" for me :woohoo:

[ManDownUnder]

Every blond should have a beemer :p

Hey??? I thought Beemer IS a blond...

(ok - back on topic... fair enough!)

[007XX]

Lucky for me all my motorcycles are air cooled :P No silly "anti-freeze" for me :woohoo:

And lucky for me, and more to the point for my bike, I married an engineer...:D

But yes, you got a point.


Hey??? I thought Beemer IS a blond...

(ok - back on topic... fair enough!)

C'mere you...:spanking:

[NZsarge]

Just finished sorting out a customers car with a nasty overheating issue.
did all the normal checks and it came down to blocked rad or water pump faulty.
Ripped the pump out and er well let the pictures do the talking.
Anyone wondering why you run antifreeze in ya bike--check this out
If you can't see anything wrong--those knife blades are soposed to have blades attached to pump the water around.
Yer I know its a car pump but the same principle applies to bikes

Yeesh! Dat kaput!

[Qkchk]

Durrrrrgggghhhhh whats is Glycol?

Probably the same guys who dont wash their hands and eat their lunch after handling cyanide.

[Motu]

Not caused by lack of inhibitor,although in this case I'd say it was certainly a contributing factor.The cause is cavitation,and has been a common problem for at least 15 years.First time I saw it was in the early '90's,and I know a guy who had a motor replaced under warranty on a new L300 van because of no blades on the impeller,less than 25,000km.If an engine has continuing problems with cavitation of impeller blades,you will find the replacement pump has a plastic impeller.Mitsi's,Honda's,Toyota's,Mazda's are all prone to it....see a common denominator?

A similar situation occurred in the early '70's when I was working on trucks.As the motors got up to around 300hp the wet liners started to get holes and leak into the sump.It was thought to be electrolysis,and we were filling them with every brand of inhibitor under the sun,to no effect.It was found to be cavitation,the shock of diesel combustion vibrating the liner at supersonic speeds causing air pockets and sucking the metal right out of the liner.The fix on one brand was to supply liners for a smaller capacity and derate the engine.

[Qkchk]

Not caused by lack of inhibitor,although in this case I'd say it was certainly a contributing factor.


I have also heard that some cd players/dvd players/anything that emits a radio frequency can also cause the water pump to wear out due to RT waves - how true this is I dunno............... maybe we should ask Mythbusters? :lol:

[Motu]

I wear a tinfoil beanie most of the time - this stops the aliens interfering with my thought patterns while flying my sucky blowy.(see avatar)

[FROSTY]

In this case Motu the cause was just plain n simple neglect. I spent an hour cleaning the rest of the cooling system out. Full of rust particles it was.

[Motu]

I've pulled more water pumps with missing impeller blades out of perfectly clean cooling systems full of nice green inhibitor than out of dirty gungy systems.There is cause....and effect Frosty,it's easy to confuse one with the other.Dirty rusty cooling systems are caused by neglect,but not the abuse you are thinking of.Oxygen - that's what causes it.Oxygen gets into a cooling system through a leak....radiator,waterpump,hose,whatever - it's the oxygen that reacts with everything to make rust and other deposits.People don't fix the leak,maybe they can't see it...just top up the water every few weeks.....the coolant goes acid on the PH scale (us mechanics use litmus test strips to check the PH of coolant) So the cooling system becomes a battery....removing metal from here....to there.So yes,the corrosion of the impeller blades could of been caused by neglect - but personally I think it was secondary to the cavitation.

[FROSTY]

Lets start a cavitation/corrossion argument aye motu?
I wonder what woulda happened if Id just twisted the "blades" 30 degrees and bunnged it back in

[Motu]

No argument Frosty - it's cavitation.Here is a quote from a document on water pump cavitation....it's a well know phenomenon.

''Cavitation in a centrifugal pump has a
significant effect on pump performance. Cavitation degrades the
performance of a pump, resulting in a fluctuating flow rate and
discharge pressure. Cavitation can also be destructive to pumps
internal components. When a pump cavitates, vapor bubbles form
in the low pressure region directly behind the rotating
impeller vanes. These vapor bubbles then move toward the
oncoming impeller vane, where they collapse and cause a
physical shock to the leading edge of the impeller vane. This
physical shock creates small pits on the leading edge of the
impeller vane. Each individual pit is microscopic in size, but
the cumulative effect of millions of these pits formed over a
period of hours or days can literally destroy a pump impeller.
Cavitation can also cause excessive pump vibration, which could
damage pump bearings, wearing rings, and seals.''