[paralleltwin]

The weap hole under the water pump of my '81 GL500 is leaking. I pulled the pump cover off and inspected the seal. The seal looks to be in good shape. Is there any other reason that this weap hole would leak? It leaked on my old engine and on my new one.



Thanks,



Ed

 

[Montana Clifford]

The weap hole under the water pump of my '81 GL500 is leaking.

As with cars, the weep hole is there to avoid the build-up of pressure which deforms seals. It is also there to give you advance notice of immenant seal and/or bearing failure. Seal may look good, but the weep hole says otherwise. Don't ignore. If you do, water pump will fail when you are out-and-about. Be proactive, and service or replace your "water pump" prior to actual failure. The water pump seal, part #19217-611-000 is over $50. Yikes. But it is still a currently stocked Honda Part. At least that is for the mechanal shaft fitted cooling fans. Electric cooling fan water pump is very different. Bearing may also need to be replaced. Does fan shaft clunk about when torqued? BTW, Cyclepartsnation.com did not show a Honda GL500 for 81, only a GL1100, so that was odd.

 

[sararose]

You should check ebay first, I think they're cheaper there. You should also search and research the Shep method of replacing.

 

[Blindstitch]

If you set up the bike for some time then the seal will warp or dry. If the leak just happened and the bike has been sitting all winter put it back together and give it a good ride. It might take care of itself. If not replace it using the shep method. And get one from Georgefix on ebay for $20.

 

[paralleltwin]

You should check ebay first, I think they're cheaper there. You should also search and research the Shep method of replacing.

What's the Shep method?

 

[paralleltwin]

If you set up the bike for some time then the seal will warp or dry. If the leak just happened and the bike has been sitting all winter put it back together and give it a good ride. It might take care of itself. If not replace it using the shep method. And get one from Georgefix on ebay for $20.

I don't know how long the engine has sat. I just bought it from a guy in Wisconsin last week cause my original engine either blew a gasket or my bearings went(not sure yet). So I got this one fairly cheap to run while I rebuild my original.

 

[Blindstitch]

This is the shep method.

http://globalcxglvtwins.hostingdelivered.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=355



If you blew a headgasket you would have coolant in your oil.

Bearings would be copper colored. If it's silver then it's just the cam chain gnawing on the block. Which can be fixed easily.

 

[paralleltwin]

Blindstitch, thanks for the link. There doesn't appear to be any sloppy movement in the blade, so I'm going to try giving it a run this afternoon and see how it goes. Does that Davy company still carry the seals?



I haven't messed with the old engine yet. I've got a Triumph to get back together first, then I can concentrate on the GL.

 

[kingston73]

Blindstitch, thanks for the link. There doesn't appear to be any sloppy movement in the blade, so I'm going to try giving it a run this afternoon and see how it goes. Does that Davy company still carry the seals?



I haven't messed with the old engine yet. I've got a Triumph to get back together first, then I can concentrate on the GL.

You can get a Yamaha replacement from any marine or powersports type online sales site, but since it is relatively new to you I'd just run it a little while and see if the leak stops. If' it's just a small leak, a few drops of coolant below the water pump, you can run it for a long while without worrying too much. I had a small leak like that and didn't have time to fix it for over a month and things were fine.

 

[paralleltwin]

Here's an update. I buttoned everything up yesterday and took the bike out for awhile, then watched to see if it still leaked. So far the leak has stopped. Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[Shep]

Cool.Sometimes it can take a few miles for the seals to bed,other times its instant