hey all wonder if someone could help... when i come to get on my bike every morning there is a bit of water next to the stand on the floor and every morning i have to fill the resevoir up... i have had the side casing off and it seems to me like it is coming from behind the starter motor cog, any help appreciated... Thanks Callum
Water pump seal has gone. Engine will need splitting and a new pump fitting. Common problem on liquid cooled bikes as they are pretty crap pumps. Best idea would be to take the opportunity to fit an electric pump.
You can fit a new pump and seal with the engine in the frame, not a hard job to do but fiddley, you don't have to strip the engine.
is it actually possible to replace the water pump seal without splitting the casings? i have managed to get into the water pump propellor but when i loosen it from the water pump shaft it just jams and doesnt fully release... or am i just doing something wrong? thanks again
It's probably the easier option from a stress and doing it properly point of view. It's also a good excuse to renew the bearings & seals.
the seal is a one way fit.. you can get it into there wihtout splitting the engine but you face 2 problems... 1, the seal is pressed in in reverse, so the rubber teeth are not biting properly.. this can leave the seal to move about if your using a thermostat and dont wait for the bike to warm up, secondly you cant change the impelar... wich is usually fucked by the time you take it off/put it on... its a soft brass left hand thread. oh, and how do you know how deep the seal is? just ditch it and replace with an electric pump.. in the mean time you may aswell change the bearings and give the crank a good looking at/messure up. bodging in replacment pumps is well, bodgery. do the job properly
cheers minor, i am looking for a leccy pump now... just split the cases and replaced the seal to get to and from work for now untill i can get the job done fully...
and how can you tell the seal is flat? not over to one side slightly? the rubber has sealed/folded the correct way? do one like this then split the engine, garantee the seal will be pressing up on one side of the pump more than the other. its a bodgey way of doing things. lazy method. by the time the pump seal is fucked you need to split the engine to check everything anyway. 2 wheels do this sort of shit. and its why the puymps have a bad reputation of failing.. icve had pumps last 10,000 miles easy yet seen them fail after weeks... can only be down to how well there seated. there is no way in hell you can get it level from the back.... plus, the seal outer is a ONE WAY FITMENT. as the piaggio manual says.. thats why they have teeth on the outside and arnt smooth like the oil seals. fact is, i wouldent trust fitting a seal when you cant actually SEE that its in correctly.. and i deffinatly wouldent advise it as if done wrong its gonna fail time and time again, possibly taking out a 200 quid cylinder.
i dont want it to sound like im attacking your adivce.... im aware it is possible to do it this way trouble free if you really know what your doing. BUT lets run throughh a scenario... waterpump fails.. young kiddy reads that after realising the little drip is a failed waterpump seal. fits it in the above manner, get it SLIGHTLY crooked, starts the bike, no leak as it will last a little while, go's for a nice long ride safe in the knowledge his pump is now reniewed, the seal fails after a few miles, dumps all the water out at high speed.. by the time said kiddy knows its leaking the kit and possibly the crank get cooked.... maybe even warping the cases. if you cant rebuild an engine, you shouldent change a waterpump. again, it is possible, but is seriously not the best advice to give to an audience of what is on the most part a bunch of semi skilled teenagers with bikes they really cant afford to buy new cranks/cylinders for
I can tell you it's in sqaurly by the fact you fit the seal using a drift that is the exact diameter of the seal and fit's the pump shaft hole, it can't be wrong. I'm not having a go at you personally, i'm saying it is possible and that i've done it a few times with no problems. If someone is not confident then split the cases, i made the tools to do the job in situe. The haynes manual tells you how to do it. cheers.
thanks for all the advice, i split the casings in the end to do it properly instead of pissing about, i have been riding the bike a few days now and been on a couple of long rides and so far seems good again cheers for the advice minor, i will hopefully get a leccy pump when i get some time off work... Cheers Callum
