Gurus,
Over my past several outings with my '02 Gixxer motored Radical, I've experienced some odd behavior that I can't seem to solve.
After my most recent engine remove/install, I filled and bled the cooling system as normal, and took the car to Mosport to run a test day, regional and National. The car ran fine on the test day, and during Saturday (practice and qualifying) of the race weekend, and fine during the first two races (regional, national) on Sunday, only to start to get hot during the final race (second regional) on Sunday. I noticed the coolant was down a little, and some had puked into the catch tank (as one would expect when the motor runs a little hot). The two earlier races on Sunday had been in the rain, and were run with low revs and in very cool conditions. I thought perhaps I had left some air in the system, and running hard during the dry race had finally caused a hot spot. So I refilled and bled the system again.
My next outing (test day), the car ran fine for the first 25 minute session, but began to run warm again in the second session. Again some water had puked out so I refilled, and it ran fine again for a 25 minute session, and then get hot in the ensuring 25 minute session. I began to take careful note of the level of the puke tank, and noticed that after the session during which the car runs "normal", about 1 cup of coolant is puked out (I filled the header tank to the top each time). Then after the second session, when the motor runs hot, an addition cup or so is puked out.
What I'm wondering is, what conditions will cause the car to run fine for a 30ish minute session, then hot in the ensuing session. I've tried running with and without a thermostat. I've also gone to great lengths to bleed the system. The 'cool one session, hot the next' behavior is repeatable. I've checked extensively for leaks and can't seem to find any.
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
-Matt
PS - I tried searching and didn't come up with much.
Over my past several outings with my '02 Gixxer motored Radical, I've experienced some odd behavior that I can't seem to solve.
After my most recent engine remove/install, I filled and bled the cooling system as normal, and took the car to Mosport to run a test day, regional and National. The car ran fine on the test day, and during Saturday (practice and qualifying) of the race weekend, and fine during the first two races (regional, national) on Sunday, only to start to get hot during the final race (second regional) on Sunday. I noticed the coolant was down a little, and some had puked into the catch tank (as one would expect when the motor runs a little hot). The two earlier races on Sunday had been in the rain, and were run with low revs and in very cool conditions. I thought perhaps I had left some air in the system, and running hard during the dry race had finally caused a hot spot. So I refilled and bled the system again.
My next outing (test day), the car ran fine for the first 25 minute session, but began to run warm again in the second session. Again some water had puked out so I refilled, and it ran fine again for a 25 minute session, and then get hot in the ensuring 25 minute session. I began to take careful note of the level of the puke tank, and noticed that after the session during which the car runs "normal", about 1 cup of coolant is puked out (I filled the header tank to the top each time). Then after the second session, when the motor runs hot, an addition cup or so is puked out.
What I'm wondering is, what conditions will cause the car to run fine for a 30ish minute session, then hot in the ensuing session. I've tried running with and without a thermostat. I've also gone to great lengths to bleed the system. The 'cool one session, hot the next' behavior is repeatable. I've checked extensively for leaks and can't seem to find any.
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
-Matt
PS - I tried searching and didn't come up with much.
