russell420
Parking Attendant
Posts: 5
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posted March 18, 2009 04:59 PM
 Edited By: russell420 on 19 Mar 2009 01:03
Coolant leak--dealer or not?
I've been noticing the odor of antifreeze occasionally when coming to a stop on my 2008 ZX14. The bike isn't low on coolant and I've never seen any drips. The bike only has 1500 miles, was broke in per the manual, has not been abused, and has been otherwise trouble free. Today I located the source of the odor. There has been a small amount of coolant leaking from what appears to be the head gasket of the bike. Check the pics below. I noticed the white, chalky remains of coolant on the engine case and green coolant on the underside of the metal gasket in the "corner" near the round hole in the gasket. This is readily visible in one of the two pics. I wiped it off, restarted the bike, let it warm up completely, then took it for a short ride tonight to see if more coolant would come out, but none did. Would you take this to the dealer to repair under warranty or not worry about it? My inclination is to take it, but I'm worried about the idiots that might be working on my bike. What would you do? Thanks.
[URL=http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2630423190103841325SxHjwZ] [/URL]
[URL=http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2561165910103841325qNmjTb] [/URL]
Russell420
  
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dcjens
Pro
Wet side of Washington
Posts: 1059
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posted March 18, 2009 05:23 PM
I'd take it in. doing nothing rarely is a good idea.
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Black 06
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Rook
Pro
Posts: 1125
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posted March 18, 2009 05:46 PM
I think you can still take advantge of your warranty if you go to any Kaw certified shop. Unless your dealer has an excellent reputation and you have heard positive customer testimony, I'd stay away from a dealership. If your bike was not perfectly prepped, I think that's a good indication that you should not let them do service/repairs.
Rook
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Bawls
Needs a job
re-learning to ride
Posts: 2701
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posted March 18, 2009 05:55 PM
Take it in so that if nothing else, It gets documented. That way if something else happens, you have this on paper.
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Best 60ft: 1.42
Best 1/8th: 5.97
Best 1/8th MPH: 119
Brockland Police Badge # 001
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russell420
Parking Attendant
Posts: 5
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posted May 15, 2009 05:08 PM
Thanks to all who advised me to take it to a dealer. Turns out the block was improperly machined at the factory, causing it to leak coolant in more than one place. A new head gasket would not have fixed the problem. Kawasaki replaced the cases (block), including all new rings, gaskets, seals, etc. I basically have a newly rebuilt motor at 1600 miles that needs broken in again. The shop I use has done good work in the past and it seems they did OK this time as the bike runs normally, with no perceived differences except now it does not leak so far. I took it on a 150 mile ride last weekend with no problems. Hopefully, this is the last problem I have for awhile.
Russell420
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mike1024
Expert Class
Posts: 172
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posted May 15, 2009 09:46 PM
do it at a dealer. Also, radiator hoses on the 14 need regular tightening ive determined. Mine need to be tightened every 10000 miles or so. Usually a few drips and drops, nothing major...
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bigdtd
Needs a job
Interceptors
Posts: 4209
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posted May 16, 2009 10:43 AM
glad they took care of it
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2006 Black ZX-14,6 inches over,16/42, flies out,BMC Street Filter,Brock's Street Meg,Brock's Radial Mount Strap,PClll with Race map,Dynojet LCD w/Techmount, ZX-14 fender eliminator,Pilot Power2CTs,Speedohealer,Pazzo Levers,Cox Radiator Guard, Garmin Nuvi 265WT
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