Beck Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I had the side fairings off my 4th gen to search for any battery connection problems that might be causing my hard to start problems lately and was surprised to see the left side radiator end tank looks like it's all slightly mishapened and bumpy. Touched the tank and found out that it's actually the radiator's black paint that is pulling away and bubbling.bulging all over like it's turning into the hulk.... I first suspected that it might be a leak on the tank causing the paint separation and bubbling, but I do not see any signs of a leak/moisture going on anywhere around the tank and radior fins, and the bike continues to cool itself properly. Now I'm not sure if I should just leave things as is and let the paint just eventually flake off, or go ahead and scrape of the bubbling paint from the tank and maybe hit it with some VHT black paint, but I'm not sure if I want the new to just bubble and pull away again from the tank in short time. Has anyone here seen this condition. on their bike, I did notice that the lower hose that connects to the tank was just a bit loose and I cinched it up. There seems to have been just a little bit of coolant sediment that was seeping from the edges of the hose. Could that have attacked the paint and cause it to bubble and separate from the tank? Should I just go ahead and repaint the tank? BTW, the right side radiator tank seems to be all OK with no signs of paint separation on it. I'm considering taking off the whole radiator and maybe having it pressure tested and refinished too if this might be signs of bigger impending problems with the radiator.. The old girl must be starting to show her age now with these problems..... Beck 95 VFR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted June 27, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted June 27, 2013 I'm considering taking off the whole radiator and maybe having it pressure tested and refinished too if this might be signs of bigger impending problems with the radiator.. That sounds like a really good idea, particularly if you have high mileage. There can be both chemical and stray voltage electrolysis which corrodes the metal (especially aluminum) from the inside out. Sounds crazy, but it happens. That kind of thing drives boaters bananas. Since it sounds like you're chasing an electrical issue, that could be contributing - bad electrical system grounds are often a culprit causing current flow through the coolant. There are numerous topics on the web - I just picked one and linked it below. Getting it checked won't be that expensive or difficult to do and once complete you'll have peace of mind that you're good to go for a long trip. http://www.ve-labs.net/electrolysis-101 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted June 28, 2013 Author Share Posted June 28, 2013 Hmmm..... I should look at the radiator more closely and just go ahead and take of the bubbling paint off to see if there's any corrosion going on under it. Thing is, it's only happening on the left radiator tank. The right one under the radiator fill cap and all other areas of the radiator looks very good. I guess a collant flush and fill is in the owrks for this wummer and that will give me a chance to take th radiaor off and look at it very closely. Thing is, I only uses Honda's re-mixed coolant, every time I did a flush and replacement on the bike, so I cannot see any contamination causing any corrosion problems. As for electrolysis from stray voltage, that an entirely new one for me. I guess I'll have to do the tests called out on the article..... Beck 95 VFR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted June 29, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted June 29, 2013 Probably surface corrosion (under the paint). I've seen it on my older bikes' rads. I have never been very worried about it, but I would be if the radiators had started leaking coolant all over the floor... Ciao, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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