Coolant

[whyzee]

Using automotive antifreeze in your bike, I have heard, will destroy your water pump seals and water pump impeller.
This is apparently because “automotive antifreeze has abrasive particles included to scour deposits and keep them in solution.”

I recently did the top end on the yz, used distilled water, and Prestone with Ethylene Glycol just as another thread here had suggested. One of the things I did though was to strain the distilled water and coolant through a paper coffee filter. I know it sounds anal but I do it with the fuel also, after finding c rap in the tank a while back.

My question is this. Are these so called “abrasive particles” of a size that they would be caught in the coffee filter when I strained the coolant, or should I drain the fluid and start over? What coolant, would you guys recommend?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Durt Cycler]

I've been using Maxima Colant on all my bikes with no problem. Basically any coolant labeled for motorcycles is fine to use. The only reason I say not to use automotive antifreeze is because the guy who had my CR125 before me had used automotive antifreeze and after a few weeks of me riding it the water pump seal went. I thought the coolant wasn't automotive when I first got it. So after taking off the water pump cover and draining all the coolant I found my impeller rusted corroded, metel water pump gasket rusted with corrosion, water pump seal destroyed, inside of water pump cover corroded. I spent close near $30 on a new seal and OEM gaskets.:mad:

 

[Rich Rohrich]

As long as you chose an antifreeze that is a non-silicate formula you should be free of seal related issues. There are lots of good non-silicate automotive anti-freeze formulas available. Just look on the the label for verbage like "Meets Japanese car manufacturers silicate-free requirements " and you are good to go.

Spending the upcharge for products like Engine Ice isn't necessary regardless of how much they spend to make you believe otherwise. You are much better off running lower priced automotive anti-freeze or distilled water and changing it regularly to keep it clean.