Thread: CTSW Antifreeze fills plastic resevoir during last flight

Hello i flew for the first time in about a month and after landing i noticed antifreeze dripping out of the cowling.
The plastic tank wasfull to the top and the black thing with the radiator cap isnow very low.
All temps were fine on the 2 hour flight.........any ideas?

thanks
mack

If you suddenly "gained" coolant, that is NOT a good thing. That would mean a water pump seal or head gasket or such leaking oil into the coolant.

I would not fly the plane again until things get sorted out.

But I'm not sure I get what's going on.

The coolant tank is FULL while the radiator is LOW? I'd think the coolant in the tank would flow back into the radiator - I believe its a simple hose in the neck of the radiator that lets overflow go into the coolant reservoir instead of just venting overboard.

Pictures might help here.

Hi Mack,

It's been a while, hope you are staying warm? Hope things are going well? For the Rotax you may only need to replace the radiator cap. No head gaskets in the Rotax 912. The cylinders have an "O" ring at the base and the heads are are metal to metal and lapped in place with a lapping compound when assembled. The coolant only goes through the heads and not any where else. If you had any kind of a high pressure leak it would have done worse to the coolant level and would be very low in both tanks.

No head gaskets in the Rotax 912.

Thanks, Roger.

I really need to know more about my ROTAX engine - a large part of why I'm here.

Hi Fast Eddie,
You could take the "service" portion of the rotax class in Sebring next month. The class is only $450.00 for 16 hrs of training. I'm going to take the class the 22nd, and 23rd of Feb on my way back from Jamaica with the CT. Call Lockwood, love to see you there. I'm taking a friend from Afton to Mesquite, El Paso, Brownsville, Merida to Cozemul, Grand Cayman, Montego Bay, Echo Rios, Cayman Brac, Cancoun, Key West, Sebring...then back home.
In '08 took the CT into West Palm then to the Bahamas for 2 weeks......AMAZING flying......anyway you should take the class.

Thanks, Mike!

I'm signed up to take a Light Sport Inspection course in Lawrenceville, GA towards the end of next month.

Do you know if ROTAX-specific classes are offered as part of Sun 'n' Fun?

And I was under the impression that Light-Sport planes were limited to U.S. operation only - has that changed? Or are there ways around it?

Originally Posted by Fast Eddie B.

And I was under the impression that Light-Sport planes were limited to U.S. operation only - has that changed? Or are there ways around it?

Eddie,

LSA are legal outside the country. We have members here that have flown them into Mexico, the Bahamas, and Canada. You need to have a Private Pilot Cert or better, and a valid medical, and prior approval of the country you are going to. The Sport Pilot certificate is a US only limitation, as it is not an ICAO recognized cert.

LSA are legal outside the country.

Good to know...thanks!

Hi Roger F,

I know what the rule says, but Mexico has been letting LSA in just as if they were GA aircraft, same paperwork. We have a member here that goes down to Mexico. You can go into Mexico with your Sport Pilot license so long as you go get a 3rd. class medical and take it with you. Baja Bush Pilots advised to this little tid bit.

You might want to check the cap like Roger said. The cap has a two way valve and is designed to open at 1.2Bar or aprox. 14 PSI. As the engine heats up pressure is built up inside of the system as the temperature increases. Once the pressure gets to high (14+psi) the system will vent itself into the coolant bottle. This venting basically keeps the pressure right at 14 when warm and maintains the proper boiling point by regulating the pressure. Once the engine cools down there should be a negative pressure in the system relative to atmosphere this will cause the valve to open and coolant from the recovery will flow back into the expansion tank. If you expansion tank is low and your recovery is high then this is almost certianly a positive indication of a faulty cap. The PN is 922-070 and can be purchased from any of the three Certified Service Centres for about $70..... MAKE SURE that they give you the 1.2 bar cap and not the older 0.9 Bar cap, Rotax had changed this a few years back since they were having problems with not enough boil over protection.