about a month ago i put water wetter in my p650 to try to make it run cooler, well it worked a little but not as much as i was expecting. so i ordered the evans cooling npg+ and the prep fluid. i drained the coolant and run the prep fluid thriogh the engine and then put the npg+ in it like they told me to on the phone. ive heard people say their fan dont run anymore after putting it in. well i went riding and the fan came on before 1 mile of riding and when it went off it would come on every few minutes. so i went to wal mart and bought some anti freeze that is already 50/50 mixed. i flushed the system about 5 times with water, put the 50/50 mix and water wetter in it.

well heres my prob. when i had the factory coolant and water wetter in it, it ran cooler than it does now with the 50/50 mix and water wetter in it. should i buy some type of radiator flush or did i use the wronge type of anti freeze? the dealer told me any type would work. can someone please help me get it running cooler again.

how hard is the spring on the radiator cap supposed to be to compress. mine will compress with about maybe 4lbs of pressure. when i drained the evans out and filled back up with water wetter and 50/50 mix i filled the radiator up to where the service manual says and when i ride it and let it cool i can remove the radiator cap and the coolant level is about 1 inch lower than its supposed to be. well i fill it back up, ride it and when i check the level again its about 1 inch low. i figured out were its going, its been going to the over flow jug. would a weak radiator cap make it do that. sorry about the long post but could someone please help me.

 

yes a weak cap will make the coolant flow to the overflow sooner than it is supposed to. the pressure on the cap is intended not only to relieve pressure in the system before it becomes to high to make hoses and such burst, but also to raise the boiling point of the coolant. water boils at higher temps when it is under pressure. this helps in letting the engine get to its correct operating temp. i dont know alot about the cooling system on a prairie. does it have a thermostat? if it does i would go ahead and replace it along with the cap. everytime i service my vehicles cooling systems, which on my newer van is around 20,000 miles, i always reaplce the cap and thermostat just for good measure. not worth the price of parts to put off doing this unt il you develop a real problem. hope this helps.

 

I got you on one of the other forums, but thought I post this here, for the benifit of the CONNECTION readers...

with a name like MUD DOG, I'm sure you're not new to mudding ??? 99% of the time that the Prairies get hot, the radiator is dirty... I know, you're going to say it's been cleaned really well... But I'm betting it's still dirty ( I made custom snap in, inner fenders, & removable front grill screen, to make cleaning easier, & it is still very difficult, even with the radiator fully exposed, for me to get mine completely clean... the fan, & front frame supports, etc. block major portions of the radiator, making complete cleaning difficult...

I assume you have a temp gauge installed ??? otherwise how do you know if one is running cooler than the other ??? coolant temps can also be misleading... if a coolant is not picking up as much heat out of your engine, the coolant temp will be lower, but your engine temp will be higher... if that makes sense to you... I only mention it, because of the different nature of the coolants you are using... Evans ( waterless ) will pull more heat from your engine than the others you listed... then pure distilled water will pull heat from your engine better than a typical 50 / 50 glycol mix... the water wetter type products help keep the micro bubbles from forming in your coolant, when it come into contact with extremely hot surfaces in your engine... this helps the coolant get hotter ( taking away heat from your engine ), & transfering it to the air, through your radiator... if your radiator is not exchanging heat well, the more efficient coolant may actually record a higher temperature...

once the quad has been hot a few times, it is likely that the radiator cap housing has warped to the point that the system will not hold pressure... ( if this is the case, it will not pull water back from the over flow bottle )... this is outlined on NYROC's web site ( I'll post a link later ), it is more likely that the plastic parts have warped, than that you have a bad cap... the Evans coolant is a low pressure coolant, & should function fine, with the pressure loss, but still requires a clean radiator to exchange the heat through...

the thermostat is likely next on the list of culprits... however, there is a very low incedence of failure

in the rare possibility that it is your water pump, this & or the thermostat, can be checked, by leaving the cap off, & running the engine till the fan kicks on... you should be able to see a rapid flow of coolant through the cap opening...

after all that, it is still most likely that your radiator is still dirty... a good way to check it, is to put a trouble light behind it, & look through the radiator, to inspect for plugging of the fins... if you radiator is in fact clean, then most likely the thermostat or the water pump could be the problem... based on your expirience with the Evans coolant ( I'd put the Evans back in myself, after your problem is resolved )

NYROC's web site...

http://atv.dnsalias.com/tipview.cgi?dir=Prairie