Water Pump

[Curtiss]

I have found a small oil drip coming from my 2010 NT 700 water pump. It only has 7500 miles, and is new to me. I’m assuming the fix is a new pump. Anyone have experience doing this job or recommendations on where to order one from?
Thanks

 

[ARKNT]

I'm not much help with the leak, how much is it leaking? The seal is likely weeping a bit.

Is that a missing cover screw under the oil drain plug? If so that needs to be replaced also.

Brad

 

[Phil Tarman]

Partzilla is a good source for the parts, but I've never done the job on my NT. My dealer replaced NT#1's water pump about a year and a half ago when I had about 125K on it. It was also replaced under warranty at about 49K miles.

Brad, I'm pretty sure that the empty screw hole under the oil drain plug isn't supposed to have anything in it.

 

[Macka]

It is most likely the "O" ring that seals the pump into the crankcase. It is an easy replacement.
Drain the oil, clamp and remove the hoses, slide the pump out, replace the "O" ring.
If you clamp the hoses you will only lose a very small amount of coolant which will top itself up from the expansion bottle in the normal way.

Macka

 

[rc_heli_nut]

It's hard to tell from the picture if the oil is coming out of the water pump weep hole, or the snout of the pump where it mates with the engine case, there's an o-ring in there. Sometimes water pumps can leak slightly due to vehicle not being used much, seals dry out and stop being pliable. You could try wiping it off and riding some miles, keeping an eye on fluid levels. It may quit leaking on it's own after a few trips.

 

[mikesim]

It's hard to tell from the picture if the oil is coming out of the water pump weep hole, or the snout of the pump where it mates with the engine case, there's an o-ring in there. Sometimes water pumps can leak slightly due to vehicle not being used much, seals dry out and stop being pliable. You could try wiping it off and riding some miles, keeping an eye on fluid levels. It may quit leaking on it's own after a few trips.

That would be my first suggestion too. Inactivity can cause numerous problems. Many times they go away on their own with use. Just monitor it for a while.

Mike

 

[Curtiss]

Thank you all very much. It obviously has low mikes for 11 years old, so gaskets and O rings going bad makes sense. I will put some miles on it and keep an eye on it.
Safe riding.

 

[Phil Tarman]

When I bought my first bike in '98, it was a 19,000 mile '83 GL650i Silverwing. It hadn't been ridden at all in 13 months and it oozed oil nearly everywhere. Forks, water pump, gaskets, cylinder heads. I didn't have any money to fix it and it didn't amount to a lot of oil and the handling was still OK. I rode it everywhere I went, several times a day and by the end of about six weeks, it had quit leaking. Good luck on your bike!

 

[Curtiss]

Hopefully I will have the same thing with my bike. I haven’t found any other leaks in the month I’ve owned, and been riding it.

 

[Nick Wilkinson]

I have been informed but not verified that the water pump contains a ceramic seal. Apparently, ceramic seals are vulnerable to silicate in the coolant.

From the workshop manual
COOLANT REPLACEMENT
PREPARATION
7-6
I NOTICE I
Using coolant with silicate corrosion inhibitors may
cause premature wear of water pump seals or
blockage of radiator passages. Using tap water may
cause engine damage.
NOTE:
The effectiveness of coolant decreases with the
accumulation of rust or if there is a change in the
mixing proportion during usage. Therefore, for best
performance change the coolant regularly as specified
in the maintenance schedule.
Mix only distilled, low mineral water with the recommended
antifreeze.
RECOMMENDED ANTIFREEZE:
High quality ethylene glycol antifreeze containing
corrosion protection inhibitors
RECOMMENDED MIXTURE:
1:1 (distilled water and the recommended
antifreeze)

In the next few weeks, I will flush my cooling system and replace it with a modern coolant, good for five years. It is very important not to mix coolant recipes, even from the same manufacturer. They contain chemicals to prevent corrosion. The chemicals work in different ways and can cancel each other out.