Tunnel cooler leak.

[rlester]

Hey guys,

Took the 81 SRX for a ride yesterday. Had a small bit of green on the snow before we left. Topped off rad, warmed up machine and could not see any leaks. Went for the ride and stopped for a break about ten minutes later. A fair bit of dripping so we headed back home. Once we got home, my son said the guage had just got to 80 when he pulled into the yard so it didn't overheat thankfully. Quite a leak under there though.

I haven't pulled the cooler out yet, but what are the chances of repairing this thing if its leaking? I hope its one of the hoses and not the cooler. I also noticed that its riveted into place. Are the top of the rivets accessible and able to be ground off once I remove the seat?

[Vmax540]

"Are the top of the rivets accessible and able to be ground off once I remove the seat?" Yes

[rlester]

Just took the seat off and looked for the leak. Its leaking at the front of the cooler, on the bottom near one of the screws. Appears to be the gasket leaking. I'm thinking of fixing it right on the sled without removing the original rivets. I might as well reseal the other side too.

Thoughts on doing it this way? I don't have any gaskets so I'll be using my favourite sealer "The Right Stuff".

[chrisrider63]

Just find a different exchanger you have all spring to find one... Hey does the SRX 440 give the wildcat a go??

[rlester]

I had a race between the SRX and the Wildcat earlier this year with the original track on the SRX, and it was almost no contest. The Wildcat was a fair bit quicker. It would be curious to see now with the better track how it performs. It seems to pull much better, and doesn't spin as much. Now that the snow is gone, have to wait until next year for another test race.

My friend was on the SRX and he would come up beside me at full throttle around 70km/h and then I would nail it. The Wildcat would pull ahead, then I would back off on the throttle and let him catch up, and nail it again and pull away. That Wildcat is a wild ride alright!

That being said, the SRX is still my favorite machine as its so light and nimble. Has a beautiful distinct sound. It does circles around our 96 SLE Touring 500 though. The 500 can only do 80km/h in the powder, my son passed me and he said he hit 100km/h on his SRX.

[rlester]

I ended up taking the ends off the exchanger and making my own gaskets. It seems to be holding quite nicely. I had a roll of gasket material from my car fixing supplies and it only took about ten minutes to carve out some new gaskets.

Next I have to pull the motor and change the water pump seal, there is antifreeze in the gearbox. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks.