Oil sipping out of water pump weep hole...help

DiegoRamz

Joined
Sep 12, 2021
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Age
47
Location
Houston
Good day Ya'll from Texas
Took the plastics off my 03 and noticed oil coming out from the water pump weep hole .... the leak is very small and would like to see if Ya'll have a fix for this.

Thanks in advance
 

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DiegoRamz said:
Good day Ya'll from Texas
Took the plastics off my 03 and noticed oil coming out from the water pump weep hole .... the leak is very small and would like to see if Ya'll have a fix for this.

Thanks in advance
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Is this a joke? Where is the oil? I see no oil.
 
IIRC, there are two holes, one from the water pump and another that drains from the top of the V between the cylinders. If the oil is coming from the latter, you might have a leaky valve cover gasket that is leaking into the V area atop the engine.
 

Article [13] - ST1300 - Water Pump Weep Holes | ST1300 Articles

There are two 'weep holes' on a ST 1300 motorcycle. They serve entirely different purposes and have nothing to do with each other. Because the two outlets (the "round hole" and the "square hole") are located very close together, this sometimes causes confusion. I'm not sure which hole you are...
www.st-owners.com www.st-owners.com
 
If you have oil coming out of the round hole, that is an indication that the water pump oil seal is failing. Oil leaking in to the coolant is not good, but it isn't the end of the world. However, coolant leaking in to the engine oil is not good and should be addressed sooner than later. The fix is the water pump needs to be replaced or removed and overhauled to replace the seals.
 
Andrew Shadow said:
If you have oil coming out of the round hole, that is an indication that the water pump oil seal is failing. Oil leaking in to the coolant is not good, but it isn't the end of the world. However, coolant leaking in to the engine oil is not good and should be addressed sooner than later. The fix is the water pump needs to be replaced or removed and overhauled to replace the seals.
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Thanks in advance....the water pump oil seal is all one assembly? If i buy the whole water pump plate will it be part of it?
 
When it looks like this, and there is coolant on the ground, then it is time to change it!

WaterPumpLeak-s.jpg
 
ASPC said:
There are two seals on the water pump shaft and in between them is a gap for drainage. The coolant seal sometimes leaks just a little and is considered normal, according to the service manual. The oil seal is designed the same way and may also leak a small amount but I don’t know if it says that in the service manual about the oil seal. I do know a small amount of oil is required to lubricate the seal.

I cannot see any significant leaks in the photo. If that shadow is clean oil it looks like you have a problem. But I cannot tell from the photo, and I’m using an iPad. But if that is oil it’s not coming from the water pump shaft, it’s coming from higher up. The water pump drainage port is lower down. See the blue arrow. @DiegoRamz

View attachment 309466
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I have just changed the oil on yhe bike and cleaned it and yes....its oil from the small round hole..☹️and bit the square one...just shipping not a full blown leak....not to noticeable because the clean oil...
Thank you for your responses...i do appreciate it
 
DiegoRamz said:
No Coolant...just oil, very little but it is there....
Click to expand...
A couple of suggestions. If you end up replacing the water pump, I suggest you get a Shop Manual for your bike. It is possible to press the water pump into the casting too far. This will create more problems. You need to know what the manual says - and don't assume a dealer will do it right. Their mechanics are more in the dark about these bikes than a lot of the guys here.

Wash the area with solvent - paint thinner, a degreaser, etc. and sprinkle some talcum powder on the area around the two weep holes. Run the bike for a few minutes until it is warm. The powder will show the path of the leak.

Did you remove the valve covers recently? The half moon pieces of the gasket could be loose (they are supposed to be glued in). More than a few guys have caught the rubber heat shield between the valve cover and cylinder head when replacing the cover. This leads to a leak. (The half moon pieces usually leak on the front and back of the cylinder head, and not necessarily into the 'V'.)
 
SMSW said:
A couple of suggestions. If you end up replacing the water pump, I suggest you get a Shop Manual for your bike. It is possible to press the water pump into the casting too far. This will create more problems. You need to know what the manual says - and don't assume a dealer will do it right. Their mechanics are more in the dark about these bikes than a lot of the guys here.

Wash the area with solvent - paint thinner, a degreaser, etc. and sprinkle some talcum powder on the area around the two weep holes. Run the bike for a few minutes until it is warm. The powder will show the path of the leak.

Did you remove the valve covers recently? The half moon pieces of the gasket could be loose (they are supposed to be glued in). More than a few guys have caught the rubber heat shield between the valve cover and cylinder head when replacing the cover. This leads to a leak. (The half moon pieces usually leak on the front and back of the cylinder head, and not necessarily into the 'V'.)
Click to expand...
......omg...!!!! i have just replaced the valve cover gasket ...the prior owner had it off for whatever reason and did not put it on right and it was a MAJOR leak, that was the reason why I took off the plastics ...the valve cover is on the opposite side of the water pump (dont know if this has something to do with it)
just cleaned it and will see if it keeps leaking...thank you for the info...it is very much appreciated
 
ASPC said:
...... But if that is oil it’s not coming from the water pump shaft, it’s coming from higher up. The water pump drainage port is lower down. See the blue arrow.
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No.
The round hole is the water pump weep hole.
The square hole, the lower one with your blue arrow, is the drain from the engine vee.
Have a look at the article linked to in the previous post.
 
Andrew Shadow said:
No.
The round hole is the water pump weep hole.
The square hole, the lower one with your blue arrow, is the drain from the engine vee.
Have a look at the article linked to in the previous post.
Click to expand...

There are two seals on the water pump shaft, one oil and the other coolant, that small round hole drains both of them if they leak. Yes, I put the arrow on the wrong hole. Thanks for the heads up.
 
ASPC said:
There are two seals on the water pump shaft, one oil and the other coolant, that small round hole drains both of them if they leak. Yes, I put the arrow on the wrong hole. Thanks for the heads up.
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thanks..Ya'll have teach me today a lot about my ST....thank you ...thank you very much
 
I was one of the guys who had a leak after I replaced the valve cover after a valve job. The valve cover gasket must have rolled over a little on me when I tried to put it in place because when I started bike, oil was dripping on the ground. With the engine running, I could see oil spraying out of the top of the cover into the V of the engine. There's also a rubber sheet over the throttle bodies that can get caught under the valve cover on top on both sides. That oil takes a week to stop dripping. Good luck....
 
Kevcules said:
I was one of the guys who had a leak after I replaced the valve cover after a valve job. The valve cover gasket must have rolled over a little on me when I tried to put it in place because when I started bike, oil was dripping on the ground. With the engine running, I could see oil spraying out of the top of the cover into the V of the engine. There's also a rubber sheet over the throttle bodies that can get caught under the valve cover on top on both sides. That oil takes a week to stop dripping. Good luck....
Click to expand...
will keep that in mind....thank you sir...
 
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