coolant leak- from bottom of water pump?

[Schneiderman]

My bike has around 60,000 miles now. I replaced all the coolant hoses this past winter. But now I have a coolant leak. I tightened the hose clamps but it still leaks. I looked around for the source and I found that there appears to be a leak from a small hole in the bottom of the water pump. It looks like that hole is supposed to be there? Is this the common waterpump-seal-gone-bad? Picture is taken from below the bike looking nearly straight up toward the bottom of the water pump.

[Mettler1]

 Getting time for a new water pump from Murphs.
  Looks like the seal went bad. 88 thouand before mine went bad on my '94


                     http://www.murphskits.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1_107&products_id=149

[wildwilly]

What he said. 

That small leak from the "weep hole" means its time to replace the water pump before it fails.

[Schneiderman]

Thanks. Just ordered the water pump from murph. Does this come with everything I need, or are the other seals that I need or should get while I'm in there? And, how long do you think I have before the pump fails completely, and how would I know if it does? The bike is my primary transportation and to have it out of service will be a big problem for me.

[Noho Drewster]

Just replaced mine. Kit from Murph comes complete, plus 1 extra 35mm o ring in case you pinch the one going from the metal pipe to the pump .  Plan on changing the oil if it's time,  as you need to drain it.
Good luck.

[Stasch]

I replaced seals and Orings in mine last winter (had oil leak, not your coolant leak WP death knell).  I did not have to drain the oil when removing water pump, which was good since I had less than 1000 miles on the synthetic O/C. 

Bike was right at 60,000 miles. 

See Zorlac's photo below.



Oil sight glass is below the WP impeller shaft hole

I suppose if the oil level was at the top of the site glass you might have to drain off a little bit, but it would be a very small amount - couple tablespoons.

It is a very good time to change out your coolant if you haven't done so in a while, since you're draining it anyway.

[2001concours]

You might need new o-rings for your install. Usually Murph suggests those or encloses them in the "kit" he sells.

[Daytona_Mike]

I am in the middle of changing my water pump.
I made the mistake of not draining the oil. Big mess. Drain the oil first. I was about 1/2 way on the sight glass and I wasted  a lot of oil and made a big mess.

[Summit670]

You can tilt the bike to the right to avoid draining the oil.  I did.  Gotta be careful though and tie a support strap or two to keep it from toppling.

On another note, how many miles will a water pump go once coolant begins coming from the weep hole?

[Daytona_Mike]

You can tilt the bike to the right to avoid draining the oil.  I did.  Gotta be careful though and tie a support strap or two to keep it from toppling.

On another note, how many miles will a water pump go once coolant begins coming from the weep hole?

No thanks, I will drain the oil. It is easy , fast and safer.

As far as the water pump lasting , I would think it should last  until  enough of the  the water to  leaks out or it stops pumping  and it overheats and the engine seizes. I dont mean to be a smart ass but you know it is shot and needs to be replaced.

To be honest I have no idea how it it may last. You may get oil mixed in with the water   or vice verse neither of which would  be good thing.
This one is my 3rd one, my first one was bad/defective at a very low mileage. Good thing my mechanik caught it or I would have be stranded very far from home

It is not a big deal to change,  it took me 4 hours and I had to clean up a large oil puddle, and I cut the 'O' ring in half on the  hard pipe hose that goes into the water pump so the coolant leaked out and made another mess.

It looks like my old pump maybe ok, just needs a new seal.

[SteveJ.]

D*mn, Mike third pump?

I'm still on the original at 146k mi. SiSF said it's maybe time to replace it pretty soon. I'll prolly get it done later in July, gonna ride it up to MN for a week the 3rd week in July.

[Summit670]

The mileage is encouraging Steve.  My 87 has 70000 and I was wondering how long the OEM pump would last and how much warning I would have before it croaks.

[voileauciel]

I'm curious if the type of coolant used might have some bearing (pardon the pun) on how long these pumps last.

Mine failed at 52,504 miles, according to my maintenance log. I had put silicate-free Prestone in at 38k. Best I could tell when I changed it, no one had done it before. It was like a pukish green sludge.

If it's leaking, even oil, I'd say if you're going to pull it out anyway, might as well replace for peace of mind.

One small piece of advice, and excuse the caps, but this is important:

BE CAREFUL WITH THE BLEED BOLT!!! It is very easy to strip the threads in the w/p cover, causing a slow leak that will drive you absolutely bonkers.

My fix for that was to use the cover from the old pump, and for good measure, to put some black RTV around the bolt, just in case. If I need to do another coolant dump, I'll just scrape it off and then replace when done.