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Coolant change
#1
I decided to change the coolant on my R1200RS. Three years seems like a good interval for that, although the service schedule does not make any recommendation. My original intention was to follow the procedure in the Haynes manual, which is that you just drain the old stuff out, and then pour new coolant into the radiator, joggle the bike a bit, and then top it up. I was all set to start when I stumbled across a post on the Adventure Rider's forum from some guy who also tried the Haynes procedure on his R1200GS. He drained 1.5 liters out, but found he could only get 1 liter back in. It was about this time that my new BMW factory service manual DVD arrived. According to the BMW shop manual, you use the BMW special tool set to refill the coolant.
   
The BMW special tools for the coolant change costs a mere $550.00. I read the instructions about five times before I understood how this thing works. I then found YouTube videos of people using equivalent tools, such as something called Airlift, which I ordered for about $130.00 from Amazon. There are equivalent tools for less, some as low as $55.00, but the reviews indicate that about 20% of them are dead on arrival, whereas the Airlift is 100% five stars.

The gist of using this thing is you drain all the coolant, replace the drain plugs, and clamp the reservoir overflow tube (has to be airtight). You insert the Airlift into the radiator neck and tighten it. It fits in the R1200RS radiator neck without using any of the supplied adapters. You then connect it to (counter-intuitively) a compressor, which blows air past a venturi nozzle to create a vacuum in the cooling system.
Amazingly, it only takes about 3 seconds to get up to full vacuum. You then close a valve and disconnect the compressor, connect a supplied hose, primed with coolant, to a jug of coolant suspended above the radiator, and open the valve. The coolant is sucked into the cooling system, filling it almost completely, with no substantial airlocks. Pretty cool!

So with my new Airlift in hand, I was eager to complete this procedure. However, when I removed the drain plugs I found the right-side drain plug had been cross-threaded by whoever last installed it. Given that no-one has changed the coolant since this bike was new, it had to be the factory. The left-side plug is steel and costs $1.43, but the damaged right-side plug incorporates a "check-valve", is aluminum, and costs $26.00. Only the first couple of threads were damaged, both on the plug and in the cylinder. The plug is very lightweight and soft aluminum, so I was able to straighten up the threads pretty well with my thumbnail. However, try as I might, I could not get the plug to go back in. The start of the thread in the cylinder was too messed up. My friend Harry from the Chicago Region BMW club knows about these things, and recommended using a tapered thread tap to repair the threads. I ordered an M10 x 1.0 mm tapered tap from Grainger.

The cylinders of the 2014+ water-cooled boxers are part of the crankcases; unbelievably, they are not separate pieces. To replace the cylinder, you have to replace the crankcases with it. The minimum is the "base engine", which is US$5,800.00. I did not sleep well for a couple of nights while waiting for for the tap to arrive. I was worrying about what would happen if I completely destroyed the thread in the cylinder. I could insert a helicoil, but that would probably not work as it does not provide a good sealing surface for the plug. Then I discovered TIME-SERT, which is a helicoil competitor. Rather than a wire coil, TIME-SERT is a solid-walled hollow plug that has a flat-faced flange on the outer end, and would probably do the job perfectly. The stainless steel version of the M10 x 1.0 x 9 mm plug costs about $4.00 each, but the M10 x 1.0 installation kit is $110.00. With that possibility in my back pocket if rescuing the thread with the tapered tap failed, I slept a little better.

When the tapered tap arrived, I followed Harry's advice. Using a T-shaped tap handle with the cross piece removed, I gently worked the tap up into the thread as far as I could without turning it. When I was certain I had the tap's threads mated properly with the cylinder thread, I turned the tap with my fingers. I felt something give, and was then able, with just my fingers, to screw the tap in a couple of turns with little resistance. I unscrewed it from the thread and a small piece of aluminum thread about a millimeter square came out with it.

I put the radiator cap on and blew compressed air in the other plug hole to blow any fragments out of the repaired thread. I put a new aluminum crush washer on the plug and held my breath. It went in with very little fuss, and I torqued it to 4.5 Nm (5 Nm recommended). I was then, over a month after I started, able to complete the rest of what should have been a 1 hour job. The Airlift worked like a charm to fill the radiator.
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#2
(12-14-2019, 09:59 PM)mspratz Wrote: I decided to change the coolant on my R1200RS. According to the BMW shop manual, you use the BMW special tool set to refill the coolant. The BMW special tools for the coolant change costs a mere $550.00. I read the instructions about five times before I understood how this thing works.

However, when I removed the drain plugs I found the right-side drain plug had been cross-threaded by whoever last installed it. Given that no-one has changed the coolant since this bike was new, it had to be the factory. My friend Harry from the Chicago Region BMW club knows about these things, and recommended using a tapered thread tap to repair the threads.

I put a new aluminum crush washer on the plug and held my breath. It went in with very little fuss, and I torqued it to 4.5 Nm (5 Nm recommended).

It was then, over a month after I started, able to complete the rest of what should have been a 1 hour job. The Airlift worked like a charm to fill the radiator.
Good job. Nice writing. I vicariously enjoyed the sweet sensation of victory as your torque wrench clicked. Thank you.

I was out on the bike for a few hours Friday to among other things, drop off a Christmas gift to one of the mechanics at the shop. You make me once again thankful that I have the resources to leave the drama and thrills of maintenance to some pros. I miss the relaxation and satisfaction of regularly turning a wrench..., but the riding always seems to make up the deficit.

(Of course, I still maintain a full shop of specialty tools including taps and dies for bicycles in my basement - in case I start Jonesing too badly.)
"A good man always knows his limitations...."
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#3
(12-14-2019, 09:59 PM)mspratz Wrote: I decided to change the coolant on my R1200RS. Three years seems like a good interval for that, although the service schedule does not make any recommendation. ...

Michael - again a great write-up. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. Certainly puts pause to my thought about doing the same thing! Now I have to get an Airlift first. Rolleyes Good think its is a Canadian-made tool. Smile

Only one problem with your original post - the link to the photo you inserted is to a location on your C Drive, so that does not work. Please consider re-inserting the image in the original post - I put the text in bold-red for easy identification.

Here are some links:
UView Airlift Cooling System Leak Checker and Airlock Purge Tool Kit (Amazon)
YouTube video (car): Bleeding the Cooling System with an Airlift Tool
YouTube video (K bike): Coolant change for BMW motorcycles using vacuum filler

With this I am ready to buy my Airlift - Michael, please confirm that this is the one you got (or similar).
Regards,
Grumpy Goat
2016 BMW R1200RS
2023 Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro
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#4
(12-15-2019, 07:15 AM)Grumpy Goat Wrote: With this I am ready to buy my Airlift - Michael, please confirm that this is the one you got (or similar).

GG: Yes, that looks like the same one I bought. I found a link to another seller for $120 here.

Be warned, when I added mine to the cart the price was $120.00. When I checked out a few minutes later, the price had gone up to $130.00. I didn't notice until it was too late, and I was pretty annoyed.

I will try to post the image again.
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#5
(12-15-2019, 04:05 PM)mspratz Wrote: GG: Yes, that looks like the same one I bought. I found a link to another seller for $120 here.

Be warned, when I added mine to the cart the price was $120.00. When I checked out a few minutes later, the price had gone up to $130.00. I didn't notice until it was too late, and I was pretty annoyed.

I will try to post the image again.

Thanks for the clarification and the link.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Regards,
Grumpy Goat
2016 BMW R1200RS
2023 Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro
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#6
GG: I finally managed to insert the image into the post. I tried just pasting it in while editing the post. No dice. I tried using the Insert Image button, but that doesn't seem to work with an image from the local computer. Finally tried attaching the image file to the post. At that point a button appeared that allowed me to insert the image into the post. Is there an easier way?
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#7
Another thing that might be worth mentioning is the Lisle hose pinchers I bought from O'Reilly's Auto Parts. They are $8.00 for two. The BMW special tool, which looks almost identical, is about $25.00. You need something like this to close off the overflow reservoir tube. You could probably get by with a small C clamp if you're careful to not damage the tube.
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#8
(12-15-2019, 05:23 PM)mspratz Wrote: GG: I finally managed to insert the image into the post. I tried just pasting it in while editing the post. No dice. I tried using the Insert Image button, but that doesn't seem to work with an image from the local computer. Finally tried attaching the image file to the post. At that point a button appeared that allowed me to insert the image into the post. Is there an easier way?

No; but once you get accustomed to it, it becomes natural. This forum UI is a simplified front-end for writing HTML code, and because you can either insert images as thumbnails or as full inline images, I am guessing that the creators of the forum software elextec to use the extant approach as opposed to making it drag and drop with a pop up decision point.
Regards,
Grumpy Goat
2016 BMW R1200RS
2023 Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro
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#9
(12-15-2019, 05:33 PM)mspratz Wrote: Another thing that might be worth mentioning is the Lisle hose pinchers I bought from O'Reilly's Auto Parts. They are $8.00 for two. The BMW special tool, which looks almost identical, is about $25.00. You need something like this to close off the overflow reservoir tube. You could probably get by with a small C clamp if you're careful to not damage the tube.

Brilliant - thanks again Mike. I did note in some of the videos people were using C-clamps and locking pliers and other potentially tube-damaging tools.

I really don't know where BMW gets off charging people obscene prices for tools that are very simplistic. It ius not as through the materials are exotic. I am sure that in some cases thet are no better than Chinese-tool grade. The Airlift vs BMW kit prices are a prime example. You know that Airlift is making profit at $120 - $130. So the rationale behind BMW and its downline resellers charging almost 4x as much is simply greed. This is one reason that, aside from the bike (so far) I refuse to buy anything else from BMW; it is a matter of principle. Not even the oil and filter. I know others have a different opinion - sorry for the rant. Undecided
Regards,
Grumpy Goat
2016 BMW R1200RS
2023 Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro
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#10
And now that I look again, the image is still not showing. WTF?
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#11
(12-20-2019, 08:51 AM)mspratz Wrote: And now that I look again, the image is still not showing. WTF?

I can see two pictures in your first post.
Lee
Iowa, USA
2022 R1250RS White Sport

Past BMWs: 2016 R1200RS x 2,  2011 K1300S x 2,  2003 K1200RS x 2,  1991 K75S x 2,  1987 K75T x 2, 1984 R100RT
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#12
(12-20-2019, 08:51 AM)mspratz Wrote: And now that I look again, the image is still not showing. WTF?

Showing on my computer. Maybe you fixed it since ...?
Regards,
Grumpy Goat
2016 BMW R1200RS
2023 Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro
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