I thought I had my overheating issues solved and I thank anyone who had responded earlier. As it turns out I am having significant coolant loss. I don't see any leaks, and I checked the oil dipstick.. no bubbles. Should I do a pressure test to find the leak, or is there something else anyone can recommend to see if I had a bad head gasket or something else.(water pump seal??) I lost about a half gallon of anti freeze but the overflow was still at the minimum level line. The oil was recently changed and is very clean so is it possible that I just don't see the coolant in the oil??? 2003 600 twin.

 

If the coolant was in the oil you would see it on the stick. If you are burning the coolant in the engine sometimes it smokes some (white) or you can smell that it is sweet. One spot to look for an external leak is the water pump weep hole. My 700 leaks a bit there. Did you change out your coolant lately? Could be air in the system (run it for awhile with the radiator cap off) Make sure coolant is circulating in the radator.

 

I changed the coolant a few months back. I did fill it again and let it run squeezed the hoses etc. to get the air out. Is it really obvious if there is coolant on the dipstick?? Like I said earlier the oil was recently changed so it is very clean?? Also, where exactly is the weep hole located? I looked for leaks everywhere but I did not see any. That's why I'm concerned that it might be something major....I had to add almost half a gallon.

 

well you would notice a 2 qrt increase in your oil being it only holds 2 qrts to start with...so if your oil level is pretty close on the stick then it is not going there. If you sit on the machine the water pump is on the right side under where the exhaust pipe bends comming off the engine...there will be 2 hoses coming out of it...the weeep hole is on the bottom of the water pump...there is a 1/16" hole.. look there for coolant....again look at the exhaust see if it is white or smells sweet....also I still think you may have not gotten all the air out to start with....let it run with the cap off....it may have bled the air out then the level was low to add the part gallon.....ok then..

 

chances are if you have air in the system then it might overheat as well. if you went thru 1/2 gallon of antifreeze(which only holds about less then 4 qts) then you would see it for sure in the oil. most likely leaking or burning it. imo

 

Maybe let it sit and run for a while on some concrete and see if there is a puddle. Then check everything you can get to for wetness.

 

So I don't have coolant in the oil, checked the water pump weep hole and looked for leaks. Still don't see any problems. I did put some stop leak in to see if that would help, but the coolant is still going down. I have a little white exhaust so I am assuming that I'm burning it. Does that mean the head gasket is bad or something else?

 

souns like it could be. maybe have a leak down test done and have it checked to be sure.

 

Remove and inspect the spark plugs see if one is different color. Do you have shop air if you do remove the spark plugs run regulated air 5psi to the radiator cap (might have to buy a cap and install fitting to radiator cap) leave the pressure on and look to see if coolant is dripping into the combustion chamber.I do-not recommend stop leak with pellets because of the plugging of the radiator can happen.If your going to trade it off then yes I have put stop leak in using black pepper.