Agree with email to Mr Water Wetter. Would be nice if new Ducati mechanic has saved any of what was in your system so you could send to them for testing. I wouldn't be taking this on the chin personally.....
They’ve probably done enough testing and R&D on their product, that they’ll likely be able to diagnose what was done wrong pretty sharpish.
No anti freeze was added for two reasons: 1) Redkine recommends just water wetter plus distilled water for best results. 2) I live in Bombay, which never goes below 15*C, let alone below or even close to freezing. Do you think that caused the problem?
What the mech is telling me is that the water wetter mixture has left a residue throughout its path, which needs to be cleaned up. I’ve been given a quote of about ₹95,000/- or about £1,100/- trying to see if I can somehow wiggle it into an insurance claim...
Maybe he put the additive in first and then topped up with the distilled water, so the two failed to mix properly before the engine started to get hot and fried the unmixed additive. Favourite scenario has to be that he simply put the whole bottle in and then topped up with distilled. If the additive was correctly added to the distilled water
Hi, he prepared the mixture before he poured it in. I posted this same thing on imgur, and one of the comments made sense...
Hi guys, just a thought, wouldn't it be possible to clean out the engine by just flushing it with some kind of solvent, to remove the residue left behind by the coolant. I've put forth this with the ducati mech, not sure if it's a good idea or not..
There are several proprietry flushing products available but not sure if any of them will shift silicone mush. Got to be worth a try though. Andy
I finally called Redline Oils and sent them the pictures of the damage. Over the phone, they said a simple radiator flush should do the job. They're going to get back to me about why this might have happened once they see the pics. And here I was, about to spend 1,100 Quid on an engine rebuild...
Official reply from Redline Oils... Not too helpful about how to resolve the issue, but does mention what the issue might be... Any suggestions?
They seem to be washing there hands of it, I would be sending them a sample in a small bottle and ask them to think again. Steve
I think you need to get the gunge analysed by an independent third-party. Sending a sample back to the original supplier is like asking a thief to admit his guilt.
Don't do it again, but I can understand living close to the equator you're trying your best to cool a machine that in any country runs extremely hot.
I wish I had a sample, but I never asked the SVC to keep some aside for me and I'm sure they dumped it, as it was quiet a while ago. Yeah, I was really just trying to get it to run slightly cooler, ahh well, I definitely won't be doing that again. Thank you
Hi guys, the bike is finally up and running. The cooling system was flushed with distilled water and that got rid of all the residue. I’ll be taking delivery on Saturday and will post my final update to this thread then, along with a a report on the cooling. I offered to provide the mech with a radiator flush to aid with the flush, but he’s confident that distilled water has taken care of things. I would really like to thank you guys for your input and support. You guys are the best
Good news What coolantso you intend to use? Distilled water is a more efficient coolant than the conventional 50/50 mix of water and ethylene glycol. However, the ethylene glycol raises the boiling point of the coolant compared to pure water. The combination of that and the pressurised cooling system raises the boiling point from 100C to something like 130C, so it’s not a simple call, which is why Water Wetter sells. It allegedly allows you to retain the high boiling point, along with more efficient cooling at the same time. Apparently, the ingredient that can leave residue is an anti foaming agent, not the active ingredient. Motul make a similar product - I wonder if it has a different anti foaming agent?
I’ve pretty much left this to the Ducati mech. Once bitten, twice shy, as the saying goes. They are using a MOTUL product, but I’m not sure the exact one. I think it’s the Motul factory line coolant, but I’ll have to confirm.
