Water pump leak?

Looks to me like it has been running down and joining the run off from the square hole. May try starting it and watching to see if anything leaks out. If nothing happens keep an eye on it after shut down. Some times they don't leak untill after they are shut off.
 
Thanks Scott, last time I watched it, it's not leaking as you describe. But next service I'll give it another "inspection".
:)
 
BakerBoy said:
Good eye Scott. It has a very light oily residue--I've been keeping an eye on it since it was new (I haven't wiped it off that I can recall).
:shrug2:
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My 03 never leaked for over 6 years down in Texas until it came to Colorado. After it's first winter here with the below 0 temps it started to leak from the weep hole. Just coolant not oil. It just got worse and worse untill I replaced the the seals, bearing, and impeller. These far swings in Temps that we have during the Colorado winters are hard on the seals. BB, Does yours drip on the ground at all? The water seal is a slipper seal and will leak a small bit from time to time, then seal up. Mine was just finished slipping and gave up.
 
ChucksKLRST said:
...BB, Does yours drip on the ground at all?...
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Chuck, not from that hole that I've found. All the leaks on mine are mostly in cold months, from the hoses around/behind the T-stat, occasionally enough that there's a couple drips through the square hole below the water pump. I think I've added perhaps a quarter cup of coolant, once.
 
Bakerboy, your bike looks alot cleaner than mine. I've got oil and dirt everywhere: cylinder and head gasket leakage. No appetite to tear down the entire engine though.

I'm using Prestone type antifreeze (the green stuff). I think that's correct per Honda.

Question for all: what's the difference between oily residue and green coolant leakage from the round weephole? You can't tell from the pictures, but the round hole was an oily, dirty mess. I couldn't tell if it was downleakage or from the hole itself. What does each mean?
 
David P said:
Bakerboy, your bike looks alot cleaner than mine. I've got oil and dirt everywhere: cylinder and head gasket leakage. No appetite to tear down the entire engine though.

I'm using Prestone type antifreeze (the green stuff). I think that's correct per Honda.

Question for all: what's the difference between oily residue and green coolant leakage from the round weephole? You can't tell from the pictures, but the round hole was an oily, dirty mess. I couldn't tell if it was downleakage or from the hole itself. What does each mean?
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Your water pump has two seals in it. A Slipper seal for the coolant and an Oil Seal that seperated the chain drive of the impeller from the water pump side. If these seals start to go bad then they will leak from the weep hole. See pictures
 
David P said:
...
I'm using Prestone type antifreeze (the green stuff). I think that's correct per Honda.
...
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Not necessarily David. It must be silicate-free; Prestone comes in multiple versions and was a late-comer to the silicate-free type. I believe "Long Life" is silicate-free, but check the label.
 
BakerBoy said:
Not necessarily David. It must be silicate-free; Prestone comes in multiple versions and was a late-comer to the silicate-free type. I believe "Long Life" is silicate-free, but check the label.
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Best thing is to just go to the Honda Auto Dealer and get a gal on Honda coolant. It is blue. That is what I am running now after my water pump rebuild. I think it was about 8 bucks a gal. and it is already pre mixed 50/50
 
The rest of the story, so far

Finally got the bike fixed, it took the entire weekend but I was able to ride to work today. Accomplished:
  1. Installed five Breeze hose clamps around the thermostat area.
  2. Installed 3 new hoses (two short and one long one) that attach to the thermostat.
  3. Installed new thermostat.
  4. Tightened every hose clamp I could find. The small clamps in the Vee were slightly loose.
  5. Replaced the water pump seals. Evidence in the case pointed to a leaking oil seal.
  6. Fixed two pinholes in the radiator with JB Weld. I'd previously installed a fan incorrectly and it had rubbed up against the radiator fins.

Lessons learned:
  1. Document/photograph, or record the layout of every part as you disassembly it, particularly if there's more than a few hours before reassembly. I labeled and bagged my screws in ziplock bags which helped immensely. However I couldn't remember how some of the hoses and wiring were routed. Section 1 of the service manual has routing diagrams for most of the cable/hose/tube runs. I should have taken my own pictures however.
  2. Read the articles on this forum. There's nothing new under the sun, and several pointers from people who had taken off their throttle bodies or air cleaners.
  3. Speaking of which, I partially removed the throttle body enough to get to the right rear hose clamp. It would have been a bear otherwise.
  4. Prestone lists itself as "silicate-free" That beats a trip to the Honda dealer.
  5. Destructive means were required to remove the water pump seal from the impeller. Actually, I couldn't have done anything with the water pump bearing or seals without a hydraulic press and a bunch of tools.
 
Thanks for all the info...so far no leaks here, that I've detected anyway. My front case looks tarnished but not sure of the cause; last had the plastic off a couple weeks ago for brakes/clutch and general cleaning but will try to locate the weep holes and keep a better check on it in the future. Nice to have someone's 'been there, done that' as a reference when the need arises.
 
Smallville said:
BakerBoy it looks like yours is also leaking from the waterpump weep hole.
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The photo you were referring too (weep hole leaking) is exactly where I found mine leaking today. Does this mean a water pump seal is leaking ? I had a thermostat changed ...mmmm
about a year back. I discovered the ugly spot running down from what I thought was a leak in the lower hose-to water pump. I replaced the narrow stock clamp, cleaned the engine till it
sparked, dried it all off and did a garage test run. Getting up to running temp that weep hole ran a small rivulet of coolant down to the pan.. Now what? Is it the "slipper seal" as Chuck
mentioned....or should I take it in for a warranty fix. I have till next year, and am saving my fuel gauge fix for additional work that may be under warranty.
Thanks much in advance !
 
Fortune 1 said:
The photo you were referring too (weep hole leaking) is exactly where I found mine leaking today. Does this mean a water pump seal is leaking ? I had a thermostat changed ...mmmm
about a year back. I discovered the ugly spot running down from what I thought was a leak in the lower hose-to water pump. I replaced the narrow stock clamp, cleaned the engine till it
sparked, dried it all off and did a garage test run. Getting up to running temp that weep hole ran a small rivulet of coolant down to the pan.. Now what? Is it the "slipper seal" as Chuck
mentioned....or should I take it in for a warranty fix. I have till next year, and am saving my fuel gauge fix for additional work that may be under warranty.
Thanks much in advance !
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Did the bike set up for any length of time?
If it is leaking coolant from the Round weep hole then the slipper seal is leaking. If it is just a small amount, Go Ride and just keep an eye on it. It might reseal. If you get a good size puddle under the bike it is time to change it. If oil is leaking out of the Round weep hole then the oil seal is leaking, Time to rebuild the pump. If the leak is coming from the Square hole then you most likely have a upper hose clamp issue, in the Vee under the airbox.
 
Fortunet 1 said:
The photo you were referring too (weep hole leaking) is exactly where I found mine leaking today. Does this mean a water pump seal is leaking ? I had a thermostat changed ...mmmm
about a year back. I discovered the ugly spot running down from what I thought was a leak in the lower hose-to water pump. I replaced the narrow stock clamp, cleaned the engine till it
sparked, dried it all off and did a garage test run. Getting up to running temp that weep hole ran a small rivulet of coolant down to the pan.. Now what? Is it the "slipper seal" as Chuck
mentioned....or should I take it in for a warranty fix. I have till next year, and am saving my fuel gauge fix for additional work that may be under warranty.
Thanks much in advance !
Click to expand...

Sounds like a waterpump seal leak. Mine did the exact same thing. Mine slowly worsened. If its under warranty might as well get it fixed. Don't wait till the last minute to get it fixed under warranty as it took two tries for them to get mine fixed, and I'm still not sure its fixed for good.
 
ChucksKLRST said:
Did the bike set up for any length of time?
If it is leaking coolant from the Round weep hole then the slipper seal is leaking. If it is just a small amount, Go Ride and just keep an eye on it. It might reseal. If you get a good size puddle under the bike it is time to change it. If oil is leaking out of the Round weep hole then the oil seal is leaking, Time to rebuild the pump. If the leak is coming from the Square hole then you most likely have a upper hose clamp issue, in the Vee under the airbox.
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Actually this is the first time I ever heard of a "slipper seal leak" Hmmm Yes its definately coolant. And its wasnt allot, and no my bike gets ridden fairly often, rarely sits for a week without running somewhere.
No runs from the square hole "tunnel" Great photos to work off of !

Thanks Chuck, I'll keep an eye on that. Might run around with the plastics off for a while. Valve check might be in order.
 
Fortune 1 said:
Actually this is the first time I ever heard of a "slipper seal leak" Hmmm Yes its definitely coolant. And its wasn't allot, and no my bike gets ridden fairly often, rarely sits for a week without running somewhere.
No runs from the square hole "tunnel" Great photos to work off of !

Thanks Chuck, I'll keep an eye on that. Might run around with the plastics off for a while. Valve check might be in order.
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The Slipper seal is a Ceramic seal the slips on its self. In the picture you can see one half of a white seal on the impeller shaft and the other half
fits up against it . You can also see the black rubber seal, That is the oil seal.

Remember the shaft length pressed in to the cover is 24 mm.
 
Folks,

Let me just say thanks. My ST is approaching 51k completely trouble free miles. And then wham, I lose the rear brake last week, and find a couple of green spots under the bike tonight. 2 quick trips here and I find a recall that at least gives me a fighting chance with Honda and a thread that prevents me from tearing apart a waterpump when i likely have a couple of loose clamps within the V (a problem I had when I first bought the bike and solved relatively easily. This board is invaluable to ST owners, and I really appreciate the enthusiasts here. I've been around the block with bikes and boards a bit and this is among the best and most knowledgable groups I've been part of. So....thanks!

Pags
 
Not a problem. This site has been invaluable with my various ST problems. There's a lot of knowledge out here, and luckily the documentation skills to make sure that the knowledge is transferred.
 
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