I just had my clutch replaced ony my 04 raptor recently and road for the first time today and it seems like it maybe burning coolant, it is possible that the mechanic forgot to put a seal somewhere or something, and what would be some of the signs that it was burning coolant, besides the fact that the coolant level goes down

 

If its burning coolant by leaking into the engine than that means water in the engine and its toast. It would be running like crap too. Better chance its leaking somewhere. If you smell it or something it may be leaking on the exhaust producing the smell.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Koopa

If its burning coolant by leaking into the engine than that means water in the engine and its toast. It would be running like crap too. Better chance its leaking somewhere. If you smell it or something it may be leaking on the exhaust producing the smell.</end quote></div>

Not necessarily so. If you have a blown head gasket or a cracked head, coolant can get sucked into the cylinder during the intake stroke and be vaporized during the combustion stroke. No damage occurs and there's no noticable change in performance if the leak is small enough.

An indicator of this: Pull your spark plug. If it looks absolutely brand new, even though its been in there for a while, you've got a sign of a coolant leak into the cylinder. It's being steam cleaned everytime you run the engine.

If you suspect it's getting into the oil system somewhere, run it hard a bit, then check your oil. If it looks milky and or foamy, there's likely coolant in the oil. This is your more likely scenario, since the side case and the water pump were just removed and replaced. If this IS the case, change your oil immediately to get rid of the majority of the coolant in it, and get the leak fixed before any more riding. You know it's going to be in the water pump/side case area.


Good Luck!

 

well i looked at the plug and its got a grayish color which i believe is good.... and i road it hard for about 5 mins down the street and back at about top speed, the oil seemed to be good... i plan on riding this weekend so if the coolant level drops again i think ill be looking for a leak somewhere... which at the moment i cant seem to find

 

It is possible that when refilling the coolant after the clutch job, there were pockets of air which have worked their way out, dropping the level in your overflow tank. You probably have no problem at all. Keep an eye on the coolant tank and hopefully it will have stabilized.