| Author | Message | ||
     Gaprunr |
Hi everyone, I've got temporary possession of an 1125R and it has sprung a coolant leak from a hole located at the 9:00 position of the water pump housing, facing the rear of the bike. Here's a picture taken from the back facing forward. It appears to be threaded for a small bolt, but I can't imagine what purpose a hole would serve in that location. Does anyone know what size bolt goes in that hole? The bike has a custom exhaust on it so don't let the pipe location in the picture throw you. Thanks for any and all help!  | ||
| Mortbike |
Gaprunr-That is the weep hole designed to allow oil or coolant to weep out when a seal is failing. Putting a bolt in it may force coolant into your oil and damage your engine. If the weeping is minimal, you may be able to live with it for a while but if it is moderate to heavy you will need to install a new water pump coolant seal. Mort | ||
| Gaprunr |
Thanks Mort, I've been doing quite a bit of reading tonight and had just come across the purpose of this hole. It's not exactly weeping. It's spewing a quart or more of coolant. The coolant temp was quite hot. A little more digging led me to a burnt fuse for the radiator fans. If the engine were to overheat, would this be the overflow as well or is the fact that it is streaming coolant still indicative of a bad seal? Thanks for your help Mort. If this was an old Airhead BMW or a dual sport thumper, I'd be all set but this is my first exposure to a Buell. | ||
| Mortbike |
Sounds like the coolant seal in your water pump is shot which will require repair. If you have stock exhaust headers, you will need to rotate the motor to remove the rear header in order to get to the water pump. Overflow should have gone to the overflow tank under your right side radiator pod cover. Mort | ||
| Two_seasons |
I had the left fan fail under warranty. Hal's replaced the fan and the ECM. I too had a puddle under the bike after some aggressive riding. Only then did I note the left fan not working. I'd say replace the fan fuse and monitor closely to ensure fan continues to operate. If it does, monitor the coolant level (pull the right pod off) and check after every ride for awhile until you are satisfied that the problem has been corrected. | ||
| Poppinsexz |
Even with the fan not working the coolant when overheated should have popped the radiator cap and come out into the overflow not through the water pump seal. I have seen several of these fail(mine included) Replacement requires dropping the engine to remove the exhaust pipes in order to get the water pump off. | ||
| Gaprunr |
I've got the fans working now. Turns out there was a wire connector blocking the left fan from turning freely, which popped the fuse. I tried to fill the radiator under the left cover, but any coolant I pour in comes out the weep hole overnight. This sure looks like either a bad water pump seal, or perhaps a bad water pump. Assuming it is just the seal, are there any really special tools needed or can someone pretty handy do this? | ||
| Zac4mac |
Gaprunr - check this thread, just a few down - http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/290 431/717417.html?1375181012 Z | ||
| Gaprunr |
Great news! I had the water pump seal replaced by a local mechanic and all is good with the world now. He hadn't ever worked on an 1125R before but I gave him the shop manual to review, and he came over and looked at the bike several times and said he could do it. He also commented that he couldn't see why the dealer wanted 8 hours minimum to do the job. I stripped all the body work off the bike to speed things up a little, plus some of the pieces on this particular 1125R are one-off custom pieces. 4.5 hours for labor plus the parts and she's back together and running great. I've put about 60 miles on it and so far so good. It's been difficult keeping the throttle out of the higher range, as the power is addictive, but this 1125R has less than 150 miles on it. I've got to let it get broken in a little first. |
