so, i noticed a bit of a damp area under my bike this morning. rode it to work with little problem.
i came out of the office today and it looked like someone vomited directly under my bike:
looks like my coolant resevoir is backing up with some nasty stuff. i recently changed my coolant hoses, and i noticed a very small amount of this tan gunk in my lines, but didn't think it was anything other than age buildup/coolant gunk. now i have a pretty good idea of what it might be.
so my first thought is that my seal between the coolant and oil sides of my pump is failed. i'm imagining oil leaking through and getting churned up with the coolant. i don't understand how it increases pressure, but it is obviously pushing back down into my resevoir and spraying outside of the rubber cap. (i defintely saw a lot more come out during/after my ride home. as cool as the steam/smoke trail is, i'm not too happy with all this.)
so, am i right with what i'm thinking? is there any other explanations? could the new coolant (prestone) be reacting with something in the system? baking soda volcano practical joke?
now, if i'm on the right track, is this going to be a terribly hard fix? I'm comfortable with complicated steps, but will i need any specific tools to remove or seat a new seal? are there any known pitfalls i need to watch out for? easy to strip bolts? how about "if you have it open you should replace X" recommendations?I'll try to find and purchase any orings and gasket sealer in advance.i also realize i'm going to need to drain both the coolant and the oil here which is just a general bummer since i've only just put 600 or 700 miles on her since my last change of both.
anyway, any words of wisdom or support would be appreciated.
