I have a 2000 Banshee with NO mods. We went riding in Utah's Coral Pink Sand dunes over the holiday weekend (~5500feet elevation) and my Banshee seemed to be running very hot. I had to check the coolant in the radiator twice a day and it would still use all the coolant in the overflow container. I ran a 190 main jet (per owners manual for this elevation).

Is this much coolant use normal? We would run for approximately 1.5hours or so at a time stopping for breaks every now and then. I was not drag racing up hills for hours at a time, just running bowls and throwing sand!

Any help appreciated

 

hi
if you go slow for a while , the banshee will get very hot and blow coolant out the overflow.
if it is a bumpy trak you rode,the coolent flows into the overflow pipe and out.the coolent normaly fall on the header pipe.
i normaly keep the fluid level on the minimum mark
in the overflow bottle.

paul

 

You are correct, the coolant did run onto the header. It was obvious that it has been spilling coolant. Now, I am not sure if it was spilling from the overflow bottle or the radiator however, at the end of the day both were very low if not empty. Is this much coolant use normal?

 

sawro
it is not normal to loose that much coolent.
if i fill my overflow bottle to max ,the coolent
spill to just under the min mark and stay there.
to check if the head gasket blew you must fill the radiator and start the motor without the radiator cap.if there's bubbles in the coolent end it smells like gas fumes the gasket is leaking
from the combustion chamber to the waterport.this
will pressurise the coolent sytem causing the coolent to blow back into the overflow and out on the headerpipe.
check your tranny oil for signs of water , foaming ; cream colour. could be a blown seal in the clutch cover.
check for water in the exhaust pipe . headgasket
could be leaking from the water port to the combustion chamber.

hope this will help

paul

 

Every new Banshee I have seen (a total of 4 so far) blows coolant out of the overflow when new. It eventually goes away. I bet if you checked your radiator, it'll be full. Some people think this is caused from overheating, but unless there's something wrong, it's just a normal part of a fresh Banshee motor. If you're concerned, just check your radiator more often.

 

sawro, it is NOT NORMAL for a Banshee to loose this much coolant. Everything paulb said is correct; if going up and down hills you will loose some coolant even though it is not overheating due to coolant trapped in overflow lines. Also, mine is the same way as paulb's; it will spew coolant until it hits right about the MIN level mark. If you are really overheating you will hear the coolant percolating and bubbling in the engine. Good luck.

 

after a few overheats the plastic water pump impeller will get weak and sometimes melt. If it continues to overheat frequently and after running for minimal amount of time. take the cover and look at it make sure it is one piece.