CRF450F Water Pump Leak/Counterbalancer Bearing

[acoblem923]

I have a 2003 450 and I am having the familiar water pump problems. From what I have previously read here I managed to catch it early. When I took the bike apart the needle bearing on the counterbalancer shaft is in decent shape. The ball bearings on the counterbalancer shaft and water pump shaft are all destroyed from the vibration along with the oil and water pump seals. The counterbalancer shaft appears to be where the problem orginated from. There are flat spots on the shaft from the roller bearing, but only through the 120 degrees or so that the counterbalancer weight is on. The opposite side is completely fine, not even scored. There is no sign of insuffecient lubrication. If that was the case, there should be damage to the shaft all the way around. Like I said the needle bearing is in good shape, no flat spots there. I will get some pics up soon to illustrate. I was wondering if any one else has caught the problem at this point, or if someone knew how to stop the situation from occuring. It seems to me that the flaw in the system is the counterbalancer shaft and not the bearing or lubricating system. The wear pattern is understandable as the side that is wearing is the side that is constantly loaded from the spinning weight. Could the shaft be hardened to prevent this wear? It looks like this problem isn't something that can be truly "fixed". I plan on replacing everything, but I am sure it will just be a matter of time before the whole situation occurs again. Does anyone know if Honda has done anything to prevent this from occuring on the newer bikes? I would think this would be something that they should try and remedy in the design. ?PICS FINALLY

[ProRacer]

Hmm, I had an 02 do this to me afteri rebuilt the motor, that included a new counter balance shaft and water pump seals and bearing. It started doing it imediatly. So i have no idea what to say about it being caused be the shaft. I dont know what causes it at all. I did replace everything and it still did it ?

[amberjax]

search the post for "noisy engine?" and read on if you haven't already seen the post. It is strange that the right side bearing was ruined and not the left side needle bearing. On the counter shaft, make sure the surface is completely smooth.Like you, I think Honda is aware (though nobody wants to admit it) of the problem and is doing nothing design wise to correct the problems with the engine.

These water pump/bearing/countershaft problems are the norm, not the exception!!