antifreeze and gear oil

[hagedorn45]

Two things if that is allowed changing the antifreeze on a honda reflex and is there anyway to change gear oil with out taking the transmission cover off

[bnc]

There is a drain bolt for the coolant under the belt case air cleaner plastic cover on the left side. The bolt is slightly to the left of the center line for the cover and just to the right of the carburetor hose that attaches to the front of the cover.

Over at the Yahoo Reflex group there was a way to replace the gear oil without taking the left crankcase cover off. I only recall it had to do with forcing the oil back up the drain opening. The oil from Honda comes in a squeeze tube and I used the whole tube so I suppose it could be done that way. I was replacing the belt so I just did it the way the service manual describes.

You have a Reflex now?

[hagedorn45]

Thanks yes i have a 2005 and what a great machine it is you gave me some advice on my jcl 250cc on the electrical problem it turned out to be the stator some of the coils got fried when i tried to jump it with a car that was a expensive lesson.

[bnc]

Sorry to hear that the other bike. There are a lot of Honda Reflex factory service manuals on eBay. I have one. It is much better than most aftermarket manuals.

[bandito2]

Yes, you >could< drain it by removing the final drive drain bolt on the underside and the oil check bolt at the rearward end of the drive below the shock. (and just a little bit forward)

The thing I used to fill it by forcing oil up the drain hole was a big syringe. You might be able to use something like a turkey baster. Service manual calls for 0.17 US quart = 5.44 ounces = 160.88cc, of #90 Hypoid gear oil but I think just saying 5 1/2 oz. or 160cc is going to be close enough. If it starts coming out of the check hole, then you've put too much in and should just let it run out til it stops dripping. That could take a while since the oil is fairly thick and takes a long time to flow. But that is also what makes it easy to change the gear oil without taking it apart. I injected a measured amount with the syringe and quickly covered the hole with a finger while I drew up a couple more measures of oil with my other hand then injected that from underneath as well and it was full with just a dribble coming out the check hole. Then I quickly replaced the drain plug bolt before too much oil oozed back out of the drain. I took a break for a couple hours while I waited for the check hole to stop dripping, after that replaced the check plug bolt and it was done.

That's the quick and easy way, but if you are ever in there to change the belt or some other drive line work and it's close to final drive oil change time, then it would only make sense to "Git R' Done" while the gettin's good. It's less of a mess that way. And it should be done with the clutch out of the way. You don't want any oil on that. And clean any drips in the case. Don't just wipe it with a towel.... use something like a bit of brake cleaner on a rag. Service manual calls for final drive oil changes every 2 years (no mileage is stated, just the time interval)

AND of absolute importance is to use SILICATE FREE coolant. Make sure of that. Coolant with silicates WILL RUIN!!! the water pump seal which is a bitch to change. It's a bit more expensive, like about 2X the average price of typical coolant , but I use the blue Honda TYPE 2 silicate free pre-mix coolant that I get from the Honda car dealership. There are other brands of automotive silicate free coolant for about half that price, but I am absolutely certain of the blue stuff being safe to use. Again, make sure any coolant you use is silicate free.

[hagedorn45]

Thanks guys man what a great forum to apart of

[bnc]

One of the first things I did with the Reflex was to replace the incandescent trunk light with an LED from eBay. Now I can leave the trunk open overnight without a problem.

I have been using Peak coolant which is silicate free.

[hagedorn45]

thanks bnc and if i could ask you one more question on the jcl 250 i installed a new stator and that finally took care of my hot ground wire and of course hot wires coming out of the stator but now the new variator wires are getting warm to hot that is the yellow wires and the white wire coming out of the variator connection is warm and the variator it self is warm to hot i guess what i mean i can hold on to them with out really getting burnt also what i noticed is the farther the wires go away from the variator the hotter they get and the plastic connection is hotter then the wires. The variator is new

[bnc]

I assume you mean voltage regulator not variator. If you have a thermometer, I would hold it against the parts and see what the actual temperature is.

If the temperature is somewhere between 40-50 degrees C. that would not be excessive. 80 C would be excessive. There are electronic parts like electrolytic capacitors what have maximum operating temperature ratings of around 85 C. to 100 C. so you would want some design margin if it is a lower end part.

[hagedorn45]

thanks a bunch yes i wanted to say regulator been talking about changing variator got in the way.