Cannondale Coolant Bottle Help!!!

[HOUSER CDALE]

I have a early model 2002 cannibal that has the overflow bottle without a overflow hose molded into it. I took out the engine and did the stage 8 refilled the coolant to the right level and rode it the next weekend and has coolant all over the place. It looked like it was coming out of the cap area of the coolant bottle. So i took off the cap and retightened it. It was fine. Then a couple of weeks ago I was racing and wreck the tipped over and when i got pack to the pit area i notice that the coolant was high in the bottle and had leaked everywhere. How can I fix this problem? Do I need to purchase a different bottle with the overflow hose? and how do i get it to hook up to my motor ? Thanks for the info in advance guys !!!

[ppogue]

Hey Houser, I had the exact same issue. Try and find a new coolant overflow tank without the runover first. If not, I bought one and actually taped a hole in the top of the impeller housing and ran a hose to the overflow tank. I have to tell you, it is a serious pain in the azz, but worth it. Mine appears to run cooler and no issues since. Make sure you check the impeller if you take the housing off as mine was hanging on by a thin thread and replaced it. Kyle at R&S has new impellers if you need one. Hope that helps. Good luck.

[HOUSER CDALE]

does the motor have to be removed to do this? also what gaskets did you need to do this? Thanks for the info . The new impeller what is it made of ?

[ppogue]

motor does not need to be removed, the fuel tank and plastic does. The impeller i have is a reinforced plastic one. The impeller housing is a pain as mentioned earlier. Make sure you have a 6 and 8 mm opened end wrenches and you should be ok. Use the stock rubber gasket. Check your upper valve cover and pray it is not totally oxidized.

[HOUSER CDALE]

My brothers cannibal has the overflow bottle with the hose should i just tap mine where his is placed? Plus my bottle is o.k. i guess i should just tap it and put a fitting on it also? what size hose did you go with and what size fitting. sorry for all the question i just want to make sure it is right

[ppogue]

I used a 1/8 inch hose. Go as small as you can, it will make routing much easier + drilling the housing is a pain. It is aluminum, so drill easy.

[Derno24]

Do you have any pics of this set-up? I could use the help myself. I think I have the same problem.

[ppogue]

Sorry guys, I should have taken some pics. PM me if you need more detail and I can walk you thru everything I did. I have a really good Mechanic buddy that helped me out, and it worked great. Actually feels like it runs cooler and stronger. If anyone who reads this knows a fix for the valve cover corrosion without replacing the valve cover, let us know.
Thanks,

[Big Winky]

the valve cover corrosion issue is something we're working on, we're looking at it with a .030 lazer cut plate with adhesive on one side to seal to the cover, which will keep the coolant away from cover, we're probably within 2 weeks of having parts in our hands.

[Derno24]

Big Winky: I hope that works let us know how it turns out.