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Water Pump Seals?

By TheMotoPros,
in DRZ400/E/S/SM

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TheMotoPros

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Thought I had a pump housing seal leak but on closer obs it looks as if the coolant is leaking from behind the housing & has been leaking for awhile by the very bright aluminum (see pic) leak area below the pump housing. I found a "mechanical seal" in my shop manual on the back side of the case cover that is most likely the culprit. I pulled the rad cap to find no coolant to be seen in that radiator. Had not checked it since last year. Last ride was three weeks ago & I just noticed the coolant on the skid-plate yesterday. I have a few questions for those who have removed this right side casing:

1. Can coolant reach my oil from this area as well as leaking out the bottom? If not I'd prefer to tolerate some leaking from the pump & deal with this when the snow flies. 

2. What's the best way to determine for sure if there is coolant in the oil? Seems that if I'd lost a pint of coolant into the crankcase I for sure would have cooked something internally on my last 3+ hour ride in the hills three weeks ago.

3. It took the bike sitting for three weeks to finally show about three teaspoons of fluid that seeped out on the skid-plate. It's just seeping out in small amounts (see today's amount on pics). Is this just my Dizzer yelling "RIDE ME ALREADY!!!"? Is this a common area for seal failure?

4. Could there be coolant leaking out the bottom of the side case as well? The gaskets are wet (see pic) but could just be leaked coolant from above.

Any help & input would be appreciated. Thanks TT'ers

 

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TheMotoPros

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are you running a high pressure radiator cap?   put's more more pressure on seal.    Drz also have a reputation of seal failure online,  but never seen it one the bikes I ride with

I bought my bike after sitting in the previous owners garage for 4 years. More damage to the bike from sitting than riding but we cleaned up & rejetted the carb & purred. This could be a bad seal from just sitting too long in the past. The cap is original & I've had no overheating issues for two seasons now. Was surprised to see the rad fluid so low & just hoping the coolant loss isn't sitting in the crankcase somehow. My locktite fixes are planned for both sides this winter. I've got 3 hours on new stem bearings & tires & don't want to tear-down unless I have to. However, crankcase bearings & BB was NOT on the winter agenda  :naughty:

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Grand Master

highmarker

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By design most pump seals are 2 seals, one holding coolant and one holding oil,  with a vented void in between (usually to a weep hole). Idea is coolant wont blow into oil or visa versa.it'll leak outside the pump.

 

having coolant in the oil of a roller bearing bottom end isn't as bad as a plain bearing motor like an auto engine.  Not good, but if you oil looks fine I wouldn't be too concerned.

Edited by highmarker
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Grand Master

Noble

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Classic water pump seal leak.  The leak is not actually at the rotating interface.  it is most likely where the ceramic part of the seal sits in behind the impeller.  Read FAQ on the RTV fix.  Can usually be fixed with no seal parts replaced, just gaskets to get to it.

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Grand Master

Erik Marquez

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Thought I had a pump housing seal leak but on closer obs it looks as if the coolant is leaking from behind the housing & has been leaking for awhile by the very bright aluminum (see pic) leak area below the pump housing. I found a "mechanical seal" in my shop manual on the back side of the case cover that is most likely the culprit. I pulled the rad cap to find no coolant to be seen in that radiator. Had not checked it since last year. Last ride was three weeks ago & I just noticed the coolant on the skid-plate yesterday. I have a few questions for those who have removed this right side casing:

1. Can coolant reach my oil from this area as well as leaking out the bottom? If not I'd prefer to tolerate some leaking from the pump & deal with this when the snow flies. 

2. What's the best way to determine for sure if there is coolant in the oil? Seems that if I'd lost a pint of coolant into the crankcase I for sure would have cooked something internally on my last 3+ hour ride in the hills three weeks ago.

3. It took the bike sitting for three weeks to finally show about three teaspoons of fluid that seeped out on the skid-plate. It's just seeping out in small amounts (see today's amount on pics). Is this just my Dizzer yelling "RIDE ME ALREADY!!!"? Is this a common area for seal failure?

4. Could there be coolant leaking out the bottom of the side case as well? The gaskets are wet (see pic) but could just be leaked coolant from above.

Any help & input would be appreciated. Thanks TT'ers

 

📎P8240056.JPG

 

📎P8240060.JPG

 

📎P8240061.JPG

That is typical coolant leak from the seal..and it leaves the housing via the weep hole that is there specifically to keep coolant from entering the engine.

 

That said, yes in a chain of failures, it "could" get in the engine.. but no likely.

 

Do the water pump RTV fix, or replace the pump as a unit.

As noted above, coolant and oil mixed has a distinctive visual clue of chocolate milk shake....once it's emulsified.  Look at the dip stick for that clue.. and if still concerned drain the oil from the engine into a clean container that you can see in to (clear plastic tub) to check for coolant at the bottom.

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Experienced

TheMotoPros

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Does your bike smoke at all when you first start it up? Mine does a little and I'm losing a small amount of coolant but I don't know where yet.

Zero on the smoke. My Dizzer rips & without seeing a bit of coolant on the skid-plate would have never known there was a problem. The RTV thread shows this to be a fairly common problem. I topped off the rads last night & have now read the entire "RTV Fix" post recommended by Eric & Noble.....10 pages. My rads were not as empty as I thought. Took very little to top off. RTV fix thread is great resource for anything WP/cooling related. I've ordered the full replacement from the site recommended by Eddie on the other thread. $106.00 & some change. I'm choosing to tolerate my leak for now unless it gets much worse & have determined from all the feedback that I'm not in too much risk for oil contamination at this point. I'm a weekend rider for the most part so figure I'm ok until the end of the season.....snow flies around Thanksgiving here. Plan on doing the WP repair, locktite fixes, & other during my winter down time. Thanks to all for "goldmine" of info here on TT....Priceless!

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TheMotoPros

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When ordering OEM Suzuki parts, it is wise to price check the same part for Kawasaki KLZ400.  They are Suzuki parts sold by Kawasaki cheeper than Suzuki.

 

TT store for Kawasaki.

 

49044

PUMP-WATER 

49044-S004

1

$96.14

Thanks Noble for the heads up on pricing. I'm now ordering from the TT store. Interesting....went riding for about 4 hours yesterday, cleaned the bike up last night & zero leaks from the pump after the ride so far (24 hrs now without any sign of coolant leaking). Oil is still clean & rads still full. I know it's temporary but interesting it only leaked after sitting for three weeks during some repairs & parts ordering. I'm at least riding a bit less paranoid until repaired. Thanks again for all the help.

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