...and so it continues

[bigdog]

As most of you saw, down thru the last YEAR, I've fought coolant leaks with the water pump, filler cap and hose clamps, etc; and it's been in the shop 4 or 5 times for all of this.
Well, Sandi and I went to the Bikes, Blues and BBQ rally in Fayetteville, AR the last weekend in Sept. Had a great time. Loaded up the Nomad Sat nite for the trip home on Sun, went up to the room to get my bottle of Jack and a bottle of rum, went back down to BS with some folks we met. Little while later, went to the bike to get some cigars and noticed coolant under the radiator, several ounces this time. At that point I just flat didn't give a damn, it was on the trailer and would just stay there 'till I could drop it off at dealer when we got back. I'm thinking this is about the last straw, maybe somebody will steal the damn thing overnight. I'm gettin' real tired of this.
Fast forward to Friday Oct 7. Dealer calls and tells me the radiator is cracked at one of the mounting bosses and they'll have to order one. So, at the time of this writing, I'm still waiting for word on repairs. Should all be covered under extended warranty, it's just that these coolant problems have been going on for over a year and I'm just damned tired of it.

[BudMan]

Is this on the bottom? I believe that's the same spot that leaked on Jesse's bike coming back from Maggie Valley and on Jim's bike in Antlers.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Man I really hate to hear that. I know you have had a major problem.

[macmac]

Look into getting it rubber mounted. This is the 2nd time I have heard of this. It's rare, but to you it's been a problem.

BTW do you know any of the Bubba's a MC club in Ar.

[desertdog]

I had that problem the first year I owned my 08 1600. Was covered under warranty. My leak was in the lower left radiator mounting bracket. While it took a while to get the new radiator in, I have not had any problems since then.

[ringadingh]

Thats too bad you seem to be having all these leaks on the bike. Its not very common at all to have those type of problems. Your bike may have been one of the ones built on a Friday.

[jesse]

Yep. same problem. The right side lower post where it attaches and "it is mounted in rubber".

[wompus]

Could be worse... could be like this..

Proof, even red bikes bleed green.....

[ringadingh]

It should be easy to find a leak like that.

[Idaho]

Dang, bigdog, this sux canal water. I'm just glad that you found it. I was afraid that you had finally had a belly full and traded on a (choke) harley or something. Whew, that was close.

[Top Cat]

Originally Posted by bigdog

At that point I just flat didn't give a damn, it was on the trailer and would just stay there '

There is the problem. You need to ride the bike places. Trailering creates excessive vibration and jolts the parts and cracks and loosens then.
Now with a Harley, it is OK to trailer them. All the jolting and vibrating doesn't bother them 'cause they think they are just being ridden normally. ;)

[Loafer]

[VulcanE]

Sorry to hear about this, I had the same problem about a year and a half ago with the right lower mounting post. It had rubbed thru the rubber mounting grommet, and gotten against the steel that the rubber mounts in. I removed the radiator and took it to a radiator repair shop, where he brazed it up using an aluminum rod, cost was $20. I replaced the grommet, filed and sanded the repair smooth, and repainted the radiator. All's been well since.

[bigdog]

The wrench didn't tell me which one cracked, just that it was one of the bosses that the plastic frame around the radiator mounts with.
@Macmac, don't really know any of the AR folks, we're in TX and went up there for the rally.

As far as trailering goes, we have found that even tho it's not and all day ride to get there, any trip much more than a few hours away when we've only got a couple of days, trailering the bike saves us both from being too tired to enjoy where we are headed. Not as resiliant as I used to be. If we had lots of time and cash (Sandi's still out of work) to do the trip we might ride the longer ones and just stop a lot more often.

[dogleg]

Mine started seeping on my 08 last year. Had a pin hole right where one of the mounting posts were welded to the radiator. Had a local radiator shop fix it. He put a weld bead all the way around the post and said it looked like a manufacture defect. It did cost me a $100 but at least I had it apart and back together the same day.