Forgive my ignorance, but what is the weep hole designed for? And is it normal for it to leak coolant from time to time? Is it possible for the weep hole to leak and the water pump still function properly? My 07 only has 8800 miles...hard to believe wp needs replacing. Thanks Steve R
Waterpump weep hole
- Thread starter SteveR
- Start date
It's designed to let you know that your waterpump is just a couple hundred miles from being shot . . . . kinda like the squeelers on brake pads. It is pretty unusual for a pump to need replacing with less than 10K, but that's what you're looking at
It's never 'normal' for any watercooled engine to leak water from any place. A leak will eventually cause you to overheat your engine and then you have BIG problems. Change it now . . . . it's not going to get any better
Don
Take a close look at the pump. Make sure the coolant you see is coming from the weep hole and not the squareish hole near by. I made that mistake allready. These bike will weep coolant from the pipes up at the themostat and behind under the air box where the air filter sits. The pipe clamps may need to be tightened, the coolant can settle at the top of the engine, run down behind the water pump. And out the square hole, where you can see it. 
Check it out. If thats it the repair is not that hard.
Check it out. If thats it the repair is not that hard.
Silver Bullet
Retired
+1 on what ToyWG is saying .wont hurt to make sure and check before tearing into water pump !
MIKE
AMA LIFE MEMBER
MIKEAMA LIFE MEMBER
Take a close look at the pump. Make sure the coolant you see is coming from the weep hole and not the squareish hole near by. I made that mistake allready. These bike will weep coolant from the pipes up at the themostat and behind under the air box where the air filter sits. The pipe clamps may need to be tightened, the coolant can settle at the top of the engine, run down behind the water pump. And out the square hole, where you can see it.
This is absolutely, positively square and spot-on correct. :yes:
When I looked at the coolant streak dripping out of my motor, it looked like it was coming out of the weep hole, too.
Turns out, it was leaking from the hose below the throttle bodies. The trail ran down the right side of the motor and right past the weep hole.
Not sure which is a bigger pain to fix, but there's no sense replacing a water pump if you don't need to.
Blrfl
Natural Rider Enhancement
+1... maybe someone with a 2008+ manual will chime in. I seem to recall it's a normal 'occasional' issue whereas the 2003-2007 manuals state it is indicative of a mechanical water pump failure.
Starting in 2008 they added a metal outlet and rubber tube coming out of the bottom of the bike.. mine has leaked as there is residue but I've never had enough of a leak to put a spot on the ground.
I had an oil leak at the weep hole last year. The seal for the water pump is a slipper seal. One side of the seal, seals oil...the other coolant. If your leak is coolant....wait and watch. The seal is (to a certain degree) self healing and coolant leaks are often caused by the things Mark described in his questions..a sitting bike, cooler ambient temps, etc. The coolant leak could stop in time. BUT...if it's oil leaking at the weep hole port....I'd move to replace the seal and other water pump components. I did just that under Honda warranty last year...with good result.
Joe....from the 2003-2009 manual...page 6-19
Word for word...
Mechanical Seal Inspection
(after '07)
Check for signs of seal leakage.
If water leaks through the bleed hose, replace the mechanical seal.
A small amount of "weeping" from the bleed hose is normal.
Word for word...
Mechanical Seal Inspection
(after '07)
Check for signs of seal leakage.
If water leaks through the bleed hose, replace the mechanical seal.
A small amount of "weeping" from the bleed hose is normal.
Thank you sir.... "A small amount of "weeping" from the bleed hose is normal."
I'm not sure the impeller install depth spec in the manual is current/accurate....
I do know that Honda has released at least two updates to change this spec. I was told about the updates by someone (Paul....and Rob) and advised my Honda tech. He knew about the changes via factory technical service updates...(but I wouldn't count on all Honda techs knowing). Anyone taking their bike in for this issue....should be sure to advise their tech of the service updates. I was also sure to let the tech know that I expected all new parts, i.e. seals, bearings, o-rings, impeller...etc. I didn't not want them to cheap out and reuse parts. I didn't want to have to do this again any time soon.
I do know that Honda has released at least two updates to change this spec. I was told about the updates by someone (Paul....and Rob) and advised my Honda tech. He knew about the changes via factory technical service updates...(but I wouldn't count on all Honda techs knowing). Anyone taking their bike in for this issue....should be sure to advise their tech of the service updates. I was also sure to let the tech know that I expected all new parts, i.e. seals, bearings, o-rings, impeller...etc. I didn't not want them to cheap out and reuse parts. I didn't want to have to do this again any time soon.
I appreciate you guys responding to the water P issue. This is the first time its ever leaked. The bike had been setting for over a month in an unheated garage. I had smelled AF a couple times between this past summer and now. I rode the bike that day ( I let it idle to maybe 2 bars) Then I rode about 20-30 at least 20 miles---MY ipod ear bud had fallen of--stopped to fix the ear piece--left the bike running (3 bars) Now I live about 3 miles off interstate 65, so I gave her a really good spirited run...beyond 70plus to put it mildly. I'm adjusting the ear piece.....still at 3 bars...I idle for about 10 minutes . Then I see green AF(came with bike never changed} I did not get off to see how much (I said in an earlier post a quart) but now that I have the plastic off and have checked the radiater The overflow bottle is on the low marking and the rad. was totally full. But when Started back (after coolant leak) it was still on 3 bars for about a mile....then it started showing 4 bars--stayed on 4 for 20 miles till it was parked in garage. ambient temp was 45 degrees.SR:
I forgot: during the month it was idle in the garage--the temp was probably in the garage 25-40..SR
Steve....
Besides the weep hole...be sure to check for coolant leaks at the joins between hose and bike. The screw type clamps....are bad about loosening and almost all of us have had to tighten one or more of these clamps. There are many clamps to check...some require removal of plastic to properly attend. Be sure to always check these fastening points when you have the plastic removed!
Forest
Besides the weep hole...be sure to check for coolant leaks at the joins between hose and bike. The screw type clamps....are bad about loosening and almost all of us have had to tighten one or more of these clamps. There are many clamps to check...some require removal of plastic to properly attend. Be sure to always check these fastening points when you have the plastic removed!
Forest
Blrfl
Natural Rider Enhancement
I think there may be two things at work here:
First is the water pump. There's a good chance the seal may just be resettling itself after a long idle period in cold weather. Top off your recovery tank and keep an eye on it. If you're about to see more idle time in cold storage, live with it until you're riding regularly again and then assess whether or not it's a chronic problem.
The fact that your temperature gauge is showing four bars bothers me, especially if it's happening while you're underway and in cold weather. Don could be right; you may have an impending water pump failure. I'm not ready to draw that conclusion just yet.
Second is the thermostat. The typical failure mode for the OEM thermostat is that it gets gooped up and sticks open, causing the bike to run colder than it should. You're not the first person who's seen four bars in recent weeks, and it makes me wonder if maybe there are thermostats failing in some other way.
One other question: When the bike burped up the antifreeze, did you happen to notice where it came from? I'm thinking that if you ran hot at idle because your thermostat is slow to move or sticking, the recovery tank may have overflowed. That would have come off the left side of the bike in the neighborhood of the gearshift.
--Mark
First is the water pump. There's a good chance the seal may just be resettling itself after a long idle period in cold weather. Top off your recovery tank and keep an eye on it. If you're about to see more idle time in cold storage, live with it until you're riding regularly again and then assess whether or not it's a chronic problem.
The fact that your temperature gauge is showing four bars bothers me, especially if it's happening while you're underway and in cold weather. Don could be right; you may have an impending water pump failure. I'm not ready to draw that conclusion just yet.
Second is the thermostat. The typical failure mode for the OEM thermostat is that it gets gooped up and sticks open, causing the bike to run colder than it should. You're not the first person who's seen four bars in recent weeks, and it makes me wonder if maybe there are thermostats failing in some other way.
One other question: When the bike burped up the antifreeze, did you happen to notice where it came from? I'm thinking that if you ran hot at idle because your thermostat is slow to move or sticking, the recovery tank may have overflowed. That would have come off the left side of the bike in the neighborhood of the gearshift.
--Mark
I just replaced the thermostat, new AF---Started her up in Garage..its in the 20's with 7or 8 inches of snow.. Stuck the tail pipes out the open garage door and let it run----5 or so minutes it was three bars. No leaks or anything,,I was thinking the fans should be coming on really soon or the temps going up to 4 and beyond....kept waiting please start running fans, well it took several minutes....no fans--went to 4 bars still no fans...shut her down. Checked the fuse 30 amp....the fuse appears to be okay...was hoping that sucker was blown.....now I don't have a clue. BTW--I saw no leakage around the hoses. I think the coolant came from the overflow bottle as it was low..the rad was full. SteveR
SteveR
I haven't been into the thermostat on my bike yet, so just asking, is it possible to install the thermostat backwards on this bike? It has been done before on cars and will cause overheat situations.
Steve, you might of had a lot of air left in the system, the fans won't come on if the sensor is in air.
Steve, you might of had a lot of air left in the system, the fans won't come on if the sensor is in air.
Blrfl
Natural Rider Enhancement
With no fans you're definitely in for some warm running, especially at idle. I should have asked about that, but it slipped my mind.
If you still have your Tupperware off, check to see that the fan blade units spin freely and that they don't have any play in them. Someone else had a problem where the plastic in the center hub disintegrated and left the motors with nothing to spin.
If that seems okay, disconnect the fans and check the resistance of the fan motors and let me know what it is. The manual doesn't specify a value for it, but I can do some math and see if the load would be reasonable.
Also pull the fan relay and test it per the procedure in the service manual.
I think the coolant came from the overflow bottle as it was low..the rad was full.
It probably did. Since you have no fans, the radiator probably got rid of more coolant than the recovery tank could hold as the system heated up. If there's enough coolant in the overflow hose and the recovery tank, then, as it cools, the radiator will suck in whatever it spat out through the cap during expansion. This is a normal process and is the reason you have a recovery tank, but it gets out of hand if the heat isn't being disposed of properly.
--Mark