Water Pump Seals

[jenspebu]

.........it works

[Speedy]

great to find all this info only now

Noticed this leak a couple of weeks ago and went to the shop for new seals (oil , water and paper coverseal) , costed me around € 50 , 10 hours of work and lots of cursing and sweating but it worked , rode about 200Km's with it and it still doesn't leak and sure hope it stays like that especially now that i'm leaving on holidays to Norway tomorrow on the Mille so i hope it holds at least untill i've got back home

Thanks anyway for the info

[Jerry]

Replaced water pump seals nearly 2 years and 8000 miles ago. - No leaks in all that time. Now coolant is leaking from the weep hole again WTF!

Before I strip it again I'm going to try new coolant and a 'wetting' additive. Has anyone got any experience/advice about using such an additive and coolant types?

I looked at the old ceramic face seal when I replaced it and could see no damage and there is no reason to suspect the replacement now. Why should it be fine for 8K miles and then start to leak? If the surface finish is that vital to its performance it's never going to be very reliable.

I don't have much confidence in the ceramic seal, a similar type is used in shower pumps with similar leaky results.

[kzmille]

These ceramic mechanical seals are used in virtually every instance where a rotating shaft exits a housing containing water. The technology is proven and they are usually quite reliable. They are fragile, though, and can be easily damaged during assembly. It really is hard to say why it would work for 8000 miles and then leak. Replacing it is the only option. Coolant additives will not likely help. Although we see all kinds of products marketed as/with water pump lubricants, these seals do not need anything but water to work indefinitely.

[Jerry]

Well I thought after 8k miles the seal must be good and the problem would not return.

I looked at the old seal very carefully before I removed it from the housing 2 years ago and could see no cracked disks. Have you seen visible cracks on leaking seals?

I have no reason to suspect the replacement was damaged on assembly after 8k miles trouble free.

I drained some of the old coolant and topped up with 1.5 litres of fresh. Went for a hard 50mile ride, stopped several times and saw no leakage.

Of possible note is that a few weeks ago the temp gauge suddenly showed 10 degrees C lower than normal during a ride on a cold wet day over a distance of about 12miles. The cooling system had not been disturbed for nearly 2 years. Investigations revealed nothing and the gauge returned to normal the next day. An air lock perhaps? I have read that ceramic seals must not be run dry or they will leak as a result, true?

Will keep you posted.

[kzmille]

I looked at the old seal very carefully before I removed it from the housing 2 years ago and could see no cracked disks. Have you seen visible cracks on leaking seals?

Yes, I have seen cracked rings on seals that leaked immediately after replacing. Since it is impossible to remove the seal without destroying it it is difficult to do any kind of inspection. The best way I have found is to to tap on the back side of the pump shaft with a soft hammer till the shaft and rotating part of the seal come out together. This does no damage to the rings.

I doubt there could be an air lock within the pump as it is the lower than the cylinders and heads.

[FUN DOG]

I have had an oil leak from the water pump weep hole for a while now. My bike is a 2001 Futura. I have something to report. On my honor, this is a true story...

I had to top up my oil about 100ml every 150 miles---that's a lot. I thought about fixing it, but didn't want to spend the money on having it fixed. I also didn't feel comfortable pulling the water pump cover as I'm not a mechanic and I might screw something up, etc., etc. That kind of eliminated sending it to KZ Mille to have it fixed (which I hear is the only way to go with this wierdo problem). So I figured as long as it didn't get worse I could keep an eye on it and just keep topping up as needed.

Well, I'm glad I didn't fix it. When I did my first oil change 4,500 miles ago, I used Mobil 1 V-Twin 20W-50 based on stuff I'd read here. What I didn't realize was that an oil leak had developed almost immediately after I changed my oil. Before long I was putting a paper plate under the bike after each ride because I'd invariably get a few drops to an oz. or so.

Last week I changed the oil again, this time switching to the re-issued Mobil 1 15W-50 based on the number of people here who use it (and the cheaper price). I am happy to say my oil leak is gone. I don't mean it's leaking less. I mean it has stopped completely and I haven't had to top up at all in over 400 miles.

Now, before anybody points out that maybe one of the drain bolts or the filter cover was loose, I can plainly say that these areas were totally free of any oil residue before I removed them for this oil change. I also pulled the right side fairing to see the leak was in fact dripping from the water pump weep hole onto the exhaust collector below.

I'm just stating the facts. I don't know why this worked and don't really care. But I won't be using Mobil 1 V-Twin in my bike ever again. It performed wonderfully otherwise. The bike shifted smoothly and I never had a problem getting it into neutral, even at a stop. Same goes for the 15W-50. But if the V-Twin 20W-50 is going to make the bike leak oil, I'd be crazy to go on using it.

[Jerry]

Well the changing the coolant in my Futura seems to have stopped the seal weeping coolant so may be the same is true for the oil seal!

Make sure you don't over fill with oil though, some say this can cause the wp oil seal to leak.

Lets both hope our leaks are gone!

[FUN DOG]

Well the changing the coolant in my Futura seems to have stopped the seal weeping coolant so may be the same is true for the oil seal!

Make sure you don't over fill with oil though, some say this can cause the wp oil seal to leak.

Lets both hope our leaks are gone!

Cool man! What a releif, huh? Losing oil is just not acceptable on a motor vehicle. Did you use a different coolant when you filled up?

This might be the best accident I ever ran into.

I was always pretty careful about over-filling, so I don't think I ever did. Now I just put exactly 4 quarts in, and it went right up to just under the max line...perfect. But what's really cool now is that it's staying right there.

[Jerry]

I'm not convinced that the water seal is OK yet since I've only managed a hundred or so miles. But before changing the coolant I could see leakage just running the engine in the garage. Seen nothing since the new coolant.

I just used 50/50 normal antifreeze/de ionized water. Castrol antifreeze this time, Bluecol 2 years ago. I have a water wetter additive on the bench to try if I get a leak again - got to be worth a try before changing the seals.

[FUN DOG]

I guess I won't be really convinced it's fixed until 1000 miles. 600 to go!

[kzmille]

Strange things happen. Just be mindful that it could start leaking again so keep an eye on it.

[FUN DOG]

Oh, you know, it'll start again. I'm just so excited about it not leaking right now I think I'm going to explode. And I've gotten so used to checking the oil level since the leak started, I will probably always have the nervous tick habit of bending over to check the level at every traffic light and stop sign from here to eternity.

[FUN DOG]

OK, reality check. It started leaking again. About 1000 miles after oil change. Oh, well. Not as much as it used to though, and this last ride I haven't seen a drop, so maybe it's just gotten better instead of stopping altogether.

Sorry about jacking anybody up on false hope. I'll keep you posted on future "drippings."

[Tireshred]

Until the seals are replaced, it will leak off and on.