Coolant Leak???

[WhiteSnake74]

Hello,

This morning I noticed that my bike has what appears to be a coolant leak. The leak comes from this part:



What is this part anyways? Is it a water pump?

The bottom part was very wet; I wiped it off and checked the coolant level at the reservoir and it was between the max and min mark. So I went for a ride.

When I got back there was a new leak, but this time it was dry, I assume because of the engine heat. Here's a pic:



I really can't find where the leak comes from.

Can someone help me figure out what seems to be the problem?

Thanks!

By the way, the bike is a 07 1000RR with 1,900 miles.

[pdfruth]

Originally Posted by WhiteSnake74

What is this part anyways? Is it a water pump?

Yup, that's the water pump.


Check your hose clamps. Chances are, one (or all) of them is loose. They have a tendency to loosen over time, due to heat cycles. Give em each a little snug anyway.

BTW... This is not a new thing. The issue is always coming up over on the ST owners forum, I hang out on. Every liquid cooled Honda I've ever owned, has done this. (82 Wing, 91 ST1100, 2003 ST1300, 2003 RC51, 2008 CBR1000RR. Just a fact of life. Cold weather climates seem to exacerbate the problem, but it's common across the globe (regardless of climate). One of my season prep tasks, is to check and tighten all hose clamps.

It's also possible your pump seals are going. Not as likely, given the low miles on the bike. Can you see the wheep hole? Is there any evidence of coolant emanating from the hole?

[WhiteSnake74]

Originally Posted by pdfruth

Yup, that's the water pump.


Check your hose clamps. Chances are, one (or all) of them is loose. They have a tendency to loosen over time, due to heat cycles. Give em each a little snug anyway.

BTW... This is not a new thing. The issue is always coming up over on the ST owners forum, I hang out on. Every liquid cooled Honda I've ever owned, has done this. (82 Wing, 91 ST1100, 2003 ST1300, 2003 RC51, 2008 CBR1000RR. Just a fact of life. Cold weather climates seem to exacerbate the problem, but it's common across the globe (regardless of climate). One of my season prep tasks, is to check and tighten all hose clamps.

It's also possible your pump seals are going. Not as likely, given the low miles on the bike. Can you see the wheep hole? Is there any evidence of coolant emanating from the hole?

Thanks for replying.

All hoses are dry. That's the weird thing, I don't find where it comes from.

I will wait a few days without using the bike to see if it gets wet again like this morning that I started the bike after a week of being parked.

Damn.

[pdfruth]

Originally Posted by WhiteSnake74

All hoses are dry. That's the weird thing, I don't find where it comes from.

I hear ya. And that's one of the tell-tale signs of a loose clamp somewhere.
My ST would do the same thing. Leave it sit for a couple days, and sure enough... there would be a little puddle again. Start it up, and nothing... no more leak. It took me many hours to finally find the leak. It wasn't that the clamps were obviously loose. There were a couple that were just not "tight enough". As the bike cooled, a little would sneak by one of the clamps. In my case it turned out to be at the t-stat housing, near the top of the motor.

Looking a little more closely at one of your pictures, I can see tell-tale signs of coolant coming from higher up. Maybe from the hose joint at the top of the water pump. See the red arrow, I added below. Test the clamp on that hose. Is it tight?

[WhiteSnake74]

Originally Posted by pdfruth

I hear ya. And that's one of the tell-tale signs of a loose clamp somewhere.
My ST would do the same thing. Leave it sit for a couple days, and sure enough... there would be a little puddle again. Start it up, and nothing... no more leak. It took me many hours to finally find the leak. It wasn't that the clamps were obviously loose. There were a couple that were just not "tight enough". As the bike cooled, a little would sneak by one of the clamps. In my case it turned out to be at the t-stat housing, near the top of the motor.

Looking a little more closely at one of your pictures, I can see tell-tale signs of coolant coming from higher up. Maybe from the hose joint at the top of the water pump. See the red arrow, I added below. Test the clamp on that hose. Is it tight?

Thanks a lot pdfruth. I will do that tomorrow.. I'll let U know.

[perf0rmance]

Coolant Leak Update

I've got the same problem... water pump seal.
I've put on about 300 miles since I discovered it. I'll get it changed soon.

[PhantomRR]

That pumps on its way out mine was leaking at around that milage an i didn't know it till i tore it apart for the winter an i also had a green spot on the floor in my house (wife was pissed) and the foam on the plastic was soaked, on the last pic if you look up behind that housing you will see the shaft and the weep hole for the pump. Had mine covered under warranty. You can still ride with it like that but it will leak when you shut it off so keep an eye on your coolant level, im not saying dont fix it but needs to be looked into soon. Also good practice to tighten all the hose clamps once a year they come loose on these bikes from time to time.

Performance you still havent changed your pump yet? Sorry to thread jack.

Plus look in the maintance section there are a few threads in there on this.

[WhiteSnake74]

Ok, I finally found where the leak comes from:

THE HOLE!!!!



I raised the bike with the rear stand, removed the under cowl, got behind the bike and it was very easy to find the water pump inspection hole. The coolant leak came from it.

New water pump for me.

[perf0rmance]

Originally Posted by PhantomRR

That pumps on its way out mine was leaking at around that milage an i didn't know it till i tore it apart for the winter an i also had a green spot on the floor in my house (wife was pissed) and the foam on the plastic was soaked, on the last pic if you look up behind that housing you will see the shaft and the weep hole for the pump. Had mine covered under warranty. You can still ride with it like that but it will leak when you shut it off so keep an eye on your coolant level, im not saying dont fix it but needs to be looked into soon. Also good practice to tighten all the hose clamps once a year they come loose on these bikes from time to time.

Performance you still havent changed your pump yet? Sorry to thread jack.

Plus look in the maintance section there are a few threads in there on this.

not yet LOL
I don't think warranty will cover this either (out of date?)LOL D'oh!

[WhiteSnake74]

Update:

I installed the new water pump yesterday. It was a pretty easy job!

Thanks for all your help.

By the way if someone wants the old water pump and wants to open it and fix it with a new seal, I can sell it very cheap. It has less than 1,900 miles.