1995 Polaris xplorer 400 losing coolant

[explore]

I have a 1995 xplorer 400 with 650 original miles it runs like a top. but it is going through coolant. it's not over heating or blowing white smoke so I think it's leaking somewhere any ideas on how I could check for leaks would be greatly appreciated.

[davefrombc]

Unless  you see any  drips when  it  is  sitting ,  I'd suspect   possibly  the  pressure  cap  is faulty. It  could be  allowing water  to  escape  out the   overflow when  the  engine  heats  up  .  Can  you  fit  a  small  container  to the  overflow to  see  it  it  catches coolant ?    The only  other   check  I  can  think of if it is  a  leak  elsewhere that  does not  show  up  easily  is to  use  a  dye  check  and fluorescent  light  to  find it. . 

[explore]

I traced the leak back to the over flow line coming out of the the motor. Thinking it could possibly be the head gasket going bad. Witch sucks because   the wheeler has such low miles but it sat a lot the guy only used it for snow plowing and deer hunting. 

[davefrombc]

Check the radiator  cap.   The  system   is supposed to  use  a 13  pound rad cap..  If it  is faulty, it will  let   rad fluid  spill  out  as the  motor  heats up.

[explore]

I replaced the cap but it's still doing it so dose that mean it's the gasket or what else could it be. 

[davefrombc]

Try   running  a  hose  from  the overflow  to  a  small bottle  to  catch   the  water. . If  the  hose in the  bottle  stays  below the  water level  in it ,   it will  draw  back as the engine  cools .  If  it continues  to  push  out it  could  be  a  very  small  leak  on the  head  gasket ..    One  just enough to  allow    combustion  gasses  to   push out ,  but not  large enough   yet to  allow  water  to   get into  the  cylinder.  If it only  does it  for   a  short  while  after  you  fill  the rad  to the top , it  might  just be the  excess  water  being  pushed out  past the pressure cap  as the  motor  heats  up. If that's the case, it will  stop  bubbling  once  the motor  is  fully  up to  temperature..  When  the  motor  cools ,    water  will be  drawn  back  in.  After   it does that  for  a few cycles ,  you  should  not see  any  bubbles in the  overflow bottle,  only  the level  change a  little  as  it heats  and cools .  Continued  bubbles   would  indicate  a  head gasket  going  bad ,  or  less likely , but possible ,   a  small  crack in the  cylinder or  head   if the  rad did not  have  antifreeze in  it  and  froze.

\

[spigmef]

spray soapy water on the head gasket and turn the motor over. If you see it bubbling then you know part of the head gasket is gone. 

[Admin]

Topic moved to Polaris ATV Forum and issue added to topic title.