[Buzzmoe2]

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I drained the coolant out of my 1800. The manual says that the radiators and engine hold a little over 4 quarts of fluid. Only about 2 quarts came out.:shock: How do you get the rest of it out.:? Yes I removed the drain plug (1)and radiator cap (1)and opened the reservior tank. I tried putting a little air into the radiator. I refilled with water and drained it again, got about 2 quarts out. Any ideas? Or doI just flush it with water, drain what I can and refill with 2 quarts of antifeeze, then top it off with water? Thanks!

 

[AZgl1800]

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Did you use Distilled water? If not, you need to.

 

[samsamtrike]

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have read 2 issues with coolant drain on 1800. first, this bike drains extremely SLOW. after it starts to drain , just walk away for a while...have coffee and lunch..second problem. take a small stiff wire and run up into the drain hole..several have mentioned dislodging a piece of "trash" and it will start to drain again......this is a task I need to do on mine this week along with the initial valve check...sam ps.. also instead of removing the reservoir tank, you can suck it empty with a mighty vac.

 

[BenMilner]

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Took mine over a day to drain fully, and I'm not convinced it all came out either. I think about 3 quarts and some is what ended up in the drainer. The fun part was trying to burp the air out at refill time...

 

[Kit Carson]

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3 quarts is normal I think, I have changed the coolant on quite a few of the bikes and when I replace the coolant, normally it takes only 3 quarts to fill it back up.

Should drain in about five minutes, if not stick a wire or something up inside the drain and unplug the hole.

I do not remove the overflow or tank, I just empty it with a vacuum , same one I use for brake work.

Some of the coolant stays trapped in the heads , and the water pump, that kind of thing.

I think it is important to use the Honda coolant, or an equal, simply because if you flush it with water, you might end up with one quart of water holding, with little coolant and the new coolant would be a bit too much diluted. Not important in the south, might be in the cold climates especially during storage.

So this is one time I listen to the manual, and use OEM coolant. Simply because of the fact one quart is always in the engine. (unless you want to pull the thermostat elbow) and I see no need for that in general routine maintenance. Even if you do this some will still stay in the heads.

 

[Hughes02]

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There will always be at least a small amount left in the nooks and crannies of the cooling system, thats mormal.

 

[Cal-D]

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The problem is that coolant will get trapped in places like the hoses and the rads. The best way to empty the system is by using a UView tool. If you do not have one then the next best way is to remove the drain plug and allow it to drain completely, it should take about 2 minutes. Once it has stopped dripping, start the engine and shut it off after about 5 seconds, you will get another .5 litre out. Repeat that one more time and then put the drain plug back in. Doing that will remove all but about .5 litres from the engine. Also drain the coolant tank and refill with Honda Type II coolant.

Engine capacity is 3.5 litres or 3.7 qts

Coolant tank is .65 litres or .7 qts

Total system is 4.2 litres (4.18 actual) or 4.4 qts (4.42 actual)

 

[Buzzmoe2]

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Thanks for all the info. I did finally get 3+ quarts out of the engine/radiators. Refilled per the manual and everything seems A okay. Thanks Again! :waving:

 

[rayadd]

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I want to thank everone for the coolant advice, pics were great.I hope to be able to send some good stuff your way. I have never used a forum and not a writer.

Iam 55 had junk since i was 15 and 27 years of my own mack trucks in my yard. some things are the same, be careful runing 1800 for last bit of coolant the water pump shaft will know, right at the seal heat of dry rotation will take place in even as little as 15sec.

Lets see if i can attche a jpg.

 

[FitzAl]

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I doubt it's possible to get all the old coolant out of a gl 1800, all you can do is drain what you can.

 

[rayadd]

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thank you Alan

 

[FitzAl]

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rayadd wrote:

thank you Alan

No problem. Nice looking Wing in your picture.