kings4thecup
New Member
anyone have a step by step for flushing the radiator fluid? I need to put some coolant in and Ive never done it before...I also lost my manual so I have nothing to go off of. Thanks guys
Help---flushing radiator fluid
There's a drain plug at the bottom of the water pump housing, I typically drain everything I can through there in to a bucket/whatever.
Then fill with water, run bike till hot so the thermostat opens, flush again, then repeat as many times as necessary till the coolant is no longer green.
Then fill with coolant, let bike get hot. Bleed air from the system at bleed screw on top of radiator left side.
Make sure resistor tank has coolant in it, done.
Then fill with water, run bike till hot so the thermostat opens, flush again, then repeat as many times as necessary till the coolant is no longer green.
Then fill with coolant, let bike get hot. Bleed air from the system at bleed screw on top of radiator left side.
Make sure resistor tank has coolant in it, done.
reenmachine
Member
Yeah, when I did mine I just did the once cycle and it's still as green as ever -- you don't get anywhere close to a complete drain from the drain location. When I get my new radiator cap I'm going to do flush cycles until it comes out clear.
Go to the grocery store and get distilled water.
Hunterbear
Member
I just followed the steps put up by Hoover on the Duke390 forum and did a flush and put Engine Ice in my bike back at 588 miles. Only advice to add is don't stop flushing (fill distilled,run engine,drain) with distilled water until it does pour out clear. May need to repeat more times than mentioned. I did it with 3 gallons of distilled water. With the Engine Ice, the bike runs at 8 bars. I did remove the black louvered shroud if front of the radiator. Link to the thread: Engine Ice - KTM Duke 390 Forum Step by step by Hoover Right side of the motor, low down, there is an 8mm drain plug and washer. If you have a rear stand, use it, if not, get the bike as level as you can. Remove radiator cap and drain plug and let it pour!!. You will need a long neck, narrow funnel, as the radiator cap is in the most stupid of places. (I actually lifted my tank shroud a few inches to make it easier) Once it's all drained, fire the bike and let it run for about 30 seconds. Now take a gallon of DISTILLED water and pour it in the rad. That should get it running almost clear out of the drain. Now, put the bike on it's side stand and open the breather. Put the drain plug back in and pour more DW in the rad. Now, it will pour out of the breather. Once it starts running clear, close the breather and run the bike for a couple of minutes. Open the drain and let it run out again. Now, just pour in your last gallon of DW and it will soon run crystal clear. This is IMPORTANT. EI is not compatible with anti-freeze, so you must get it all out. Put in the drain plug, put the bike back on its side stand and remove the breather Now pour in the EI until it runs out of the breather, Close the breather, stand the bike up again and fire it up. Add a little to the reservoir, close it all up and let it come to temp. Check your hoses to make sure it is warming evenly and all the air is out and the 'stat opens. Once it comes to temp, check your reservoir level and adjust accordingly. Took me around 30 mins.
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kings4thecup
New Member
do I undo all the fairings?
tecknojoe
Member
At least the rider's right side (if you want to keep things clean). Rider's left you might be able to get away with. Either way, it's not hard to take all the fairings off on this bike.
kings4thecup
New Member
yeah I know its not difficult but, ive never flushed it before and this is the first bike I've owned so I am not familiar with doing it....all help and comments are apprecaited
AirRsq
New Member
Replaced mine with EI. Flushing was not quite a much of a chore as the Duke Forum guy makes it seem. I drained OEM coolant, refilled with distilled water, warmed engine completely (ensured thermostat opened), drained (was still green tinted), filled and drained again, filled with distilled and rode 400miles, drained and it was clear. Refilled with EI...done! Have not checked the temp difference compared to water and/or coolant. Will report back.
Oh, and I replaced my fan with a SPAL. Major difference. Much quieter...almost unnoticeable. My fan failed at less than 50 miles. I was fuggin pissed!! Brand new Katoom...my third one in 3 years and I've always been very impressed with the quality...til now! I called my dealer and they said I can bring it in (200 mile drive) and they will replace with another OEM. If I touch it, it will void the warranty on any issues that can be attributed to the cooling system. Ugh! Then he said "if it were mine, Id do the SPAL" and "I completely understand if decide to do it and hopefully we can work with you if any issues arise." I read between the lines and made the mod, trusting (hopefully correctly) that my dealer wouldn't jack me if an issue arose. Either way, I wasn't going to trust that another OEM fan was not going to leave me stranded at a track day or weekend rip in the mountains.
Oh, and I replaced my fan with a SPAL. Major difference. Much quieter...almost unnoticeable. My fan failed at less than 50 miles. I was fuggin pissed!! Brand new Katoom...my third one in 3 years and I've always been very impressed with the quality...til now! I called my dealer and they said I can bring it in (200 mile drive) and they will replace with another OEM. If I touch it, it will void the warranty on any issues that can be attributed to the cooling system. Ugh! Then he said "if it were mine, Id do the SPAL" and "I completely understand if decide to do it and hopefully we can work with you if any issues arise." I read between the lines and made the mod, trusting (hopefully correctly) that my dealer wouldn't jack me if an issue arose. Either way, I wasn't going to trust that another OEM fan was not going to leave me stranded at a track day or weekend rip in the mountains.
KTMGene390
New Member
Nice! I was going to change the coolant on mine, but after remaping the bike, it runs MUCH cooler now. I'm convinced the bike is just too lean from the factory and that is the reason it runs too hot.
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