Bit of an update, not done much to the 996 recently, far too many other things needed doing Whilst having a change around in the garage, and moving bikes about, I had the 996 sat outside, engine running for a while, it decided that it still wanted to pee its coolant over the floor There were definite bubbles coming from between the filler neck and the expansion tank After doing a bit of research, and a couple of suggestions in this thread, it was mentioned that it could be a split or pin holes in the expansion tank, I decided to bite the bullet, and order a new tank, and the O ring that fits between the tank and filler neck Once fitted, I will advise as to whether this was the issue or not
Time for an update... Eventually got around to fitting the expansion tank, partly due to the fact that I pushed my luck with a local MoT place, asking for an test last Saturday, and he said yes Stripped the tank out on Thursday evening, only way to get the sir pressure sensor mounting studs out was to heat the plastic, and pull the stud out, complete with the captivated nut, then apply heat to the nut, only snapped one stud, so, not too bad, mind you, at nearly £10 per stud, not too good either Started the reassembly on Friday evening, until the light faded, making it difficult to see Whilst the fairings were off, now was a good time to replace the broken intake tube, with a good, unbroken, used part Next on the list, replace the hideous non standard rear indicators, fixing bolts rusted, and spinning in the rubber housing, a decent set of Angry Pliers quickly saw the rubber housing leave the area, giving access to the nut and bolt Much better with the correct indicators, they needed changing for the MoT, as one stalk was broken, once the bike was back together, ran it up to temp on tickover, 20 minutes, no problems 25 minutes, it's wee'd itself again With the issue still there, the MoT was cancelled, more work to do After advice on another thread that I started, relating to this issue, Sunday morning, I lowered the coolant level to the Min mark from the Max, fitted a new hose clamp on a pipe where it wad previously missing, ran it up, same thing again, tried a different expansion tank cap, from my 916, thoroughly cleaned out the original filler neck, still the same Left it to cool for a while, then decided to road test it, rather than let it idle, this was the very first time I rode this bike since i have had it No coolant loss on road test, but, the temp gauge gave some interesting readings More work required But, one thing I will say about this shitter 996, it was easier to ride than my 916
One suggestion was the coolant temp sender that supplies the gauge, not the one for the fan, as this is apparently a common failure part The replacement part has been ordered
The fluctuating temps are described in this post https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/996-coolant-issue.100568/page-2#post-2183854
You guys really need to have a word with your Minister of Transports about the size and color of your motorcycle plates. Seriously, it’s an absolute disgrace, on such a slim and gorgeous Ducati…
Nice project! I would keep it Monoposto and use an aftermarket alu subframe. There’s no mistake that all original factory Monoposto had alu subframes but unless you have a near mint trailer queen imho an aftermarket alu subframe is fine. I use one for my 748R Testastretta project and go for all original on my Strada and SP’s. about your cooling issue….at what temperature does the fan kick in?
Temp gauge shows approx 82°c In the thread in the technical forum, I go in to more detail as to what it is doing, with the massive temp fluctuation whilst riding
Unless the temperature shown by the gauge is wrong? May be it could be worth checking things with a laser temp gun?
I think the temp gauge was wrong, it was fluctuating whilst on a ride, the temps and conditions have been posted on my 996 coolant issue thread in the technical forum I have purchased a new thermistor, upon changing it today, I tested the gauge by grounding the wire to the engine casing, it went slowly to max when grounded, I did notice that the connector end has a bit of corrosion on it, so, I have replaced that too
@Robert Colliver In my experience, when you ground a gauge to test it, it literally « pings » to the max. Actually you want to be careful as you can damage it if you ground it for too long. A gauge that goes slowly to the max is not something I am used to.
After your comment about it 'pinging' across, I thought I would check it on my 916, to see what that does, I can confirm, it goes to max at roughly the same speed as my 996, it is more of a slow sweep, rather than an instant ping
Ok, my experience was based on 60’s US cars, so may be not so relevant. But for these, I can confirm the general use of the term « ping the gauge » and the precautions that come along with testing them. A laser temp gun will allow you to measure the real temp and compare it with what your gauge indicates. Fan triggering at 85 gauge may as well be 105 on the laser temp gun.
Took the pig for MoT this morning, steady 20 minute ride, taking the scenic route, temp gauge sat at around 50°c, until I stopped for a short time, then it rose up to around 65° Bike passed MoT, with 1 advisory for a binding rear brake Mechanic advised changing the thermostat, to sort the running temp out
Done a bit more cosmetic work today, the mirrors and V piece have been badly abused in its previous life Trip to Halfrauds, other car spares shops are available, to get some more wet & dry, as my previous lot seems to have grown a pair of legs, and walked off, and some more paint Before, loads of scuffs, scratches, and chips in the paint After a good rubbing over, to smooth out all the edges of the missing paint, it appears that the mirrors were originally red, then, at some point, painted yellow, and at another later point, black After a coat of primer, gave them another rubbing down, to flatten the bits I originally missed, then more primer Quick flattening off with some fine wet&dry, then on to the colour A few coats of black, then, hung them up in the workshop to dry fully over the coming week, ready for refitting next weekend
