Normal drip?

[Cincykz]

About a quarter sized drip of coolant under my st, with fairings off.

I took it into the heated shop (50F) from the unheated portion where it lives for the winter (0F) about a week ago to do a valve clearance check, coolant change, and brake bleed.

Just a weep due to the warm-up? Or should I be replacing something somewhere...

Thanks in advance! Pics attached.

 

[cdnemsguy]

IMO, if it hasn't been started and ridden for awhile, I would ride it and see if it gets worse. I would suspect it will stop.

 

[Cincykz]

In the 2500 or so miles I've ridden it, I don't think it's lost more than 1/2" out of the overflow, if anything.

 

[Cincykz]

Won't be riding for a few more weeks, but I tend to agree, I'm not going to make myself crazy.

 

[Igofar]

You have two different issues going on there. Since your bike is the newer style (with the zerks fitting & hose) the slight weeping at the end of the hose is normal from temp changes, however, the steady stream (stain) coming down from the edge of the square opening means you have either loose clamps on the hoses that attach to the t-stat fittings, and/or a water pump gasket (o-ring) behind the cover that is failing, following down the front ledge, and exiting out the square hole.

 

[Cincykz]

Thanks for the input Larry. The water pump O ring I figure I must be close to, having the plastics off. The tstat hoses are up above in the V, and would drain through the little port? I'm wondering if I should replace the pump O ring when I change my coolant this week. My OEM parts have been on the slow plan lately.

 

[SMSW]

You should look at all of the the hose/fitting joints for that drip. A slow ooze can cause corrosion, which makes the drip worse.....

 

[Igofar]

Thanks for the input Larry. The water pump O ring I figure I must be close to, having the plastics off. The tstat hoses are up above in the V, and would drain through the little port? I'm wondering if I should replace the pump O ring when I change my coolant this week. My OEM parts have been on the slow plan lately.

Almost all the hoses will leak down into the V, out the front drain hole, along the front ledge, and out of the square hole.
Even a loose clamp on the left upper radiator main hose, will run down onto the t-stat housing, into the V, etc.
How many miles on your bike?
A lot of folks simply go in and tighten the clamps, however, doing this, without cleaning the pipes that the hose attaches to, can cause the corrosion that SMSW warns about.
If any hose has been leaking, and the coolant gets between the pipe and the hose, it will start pitting the metal, no amount of tightening will stop the leak(s) once that starts.

 

[minhtri2002]

You have two different issues going on there. Since your bike is the newer style (with the zerks fitting & hose) the slight weeping at the end of the hose is normal from temp changes, however, the steady stream (stain) coming down from the edge of the square opening means you have either loose clamps on the hoses that attach to the t-stat fittings, and/or a water pump gasket (o-ring) behind the cover that is failing, following down the front ledge, and exiting out the square hole.

If that hose oil leaking which means the mechanical seal inside the water pump housing failure?

 

[CYYJ]

@Cincykz :

See this post, which explains the significance & origin of leaks from the two different weep holes on the right side of the engine: ST 1300 Weep Holes

Michael

 

[Cincykz]

25k miles on the bike. It looks oily in the picture but the drip is clear/green coolant. I'm not positive, but I also believe that the drip on the hose actually originated from the drip that ran down the side (square hole),which just ran down the back of the drain hose and off of the bottom, giving the appearance of the hose dripping. Hard to be positive on that though. I will dig through the leak threads further. Thanks for all of the input.

 

[SMSW]

Many years ago, mechanics used a black goop on the spigots of radiators before putting on a new hose. It must be one of those abandoned auto chemicals like 'belt dressing'. Anyway, when I changed a couple of my hoses, the new ones were almost impossible to put on the metal pipes at the 'stat housing and radiator - and these were OEM Honda parts. I solved that with a tiny dab of silicone past on the metal - as I slipped the hose on, any excess was pushed to the outside rather than applying it to the lip of the hose, which might have pushed it into the cooling system. Not sure if this will help prevent corrosion or not, but my breeze clamps ended the minor drip at the 'stat housing.