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Coolant leak and sludge at bottom of engine

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ausfz1

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Hi all, this forum has been so useful to me. Thank you for all of your contributions.
My bike has been sitting for a year and I've just done valve clearances on it. I think I was successful... bike runs okay as far as I can tell.
However, a new problem has emerged after riding the bike for about 15kms - coolant leak at bottom of engine and it's really sludgy down there.
Any ideas? Thank you!!!1000021851.webp1000021852.webp
 
ausfz1 said:
Hi all, this forum has been so useful to me. Thank you for all of your contributions.
My bike has been sitting for a year and I've just done valve clearances on it. I think I was successful... bike runs okay as far as I can tell.
However, a new problem has emerged after riding the bike for about 15kms - coolant leak at bottom of engine and it's really sludgy down there.
Any ideas? Thank you!!!View attachment 34968View attachment 34969
Click to expand...
Btw, bike has 82k kms, 51k miles
 
Bought mine with the same issue, have run it for a few months as the leak rate is not actually that high despite the puddles and steam!
I've just ordered the parts to sort it out
 
Obviously I haven't done it yet, but from what I have read it is a simple, but long-winded process and has the usual mix of parts that will get stuck, jammed, rusted and broken as you try and remove them.
The steps are something like this:
Drain fluids
remove exhaust (header studs can be rusted in and snap)
remove some of the coolant pipes
remove the clutch cover
Remove the chain driving the oil & water pump (can be tricky)
Lie the bike down (I will remove the fuel tank before doing this)
remove the sump
remove some twiddly bits and pipe that are in the way
Remove the oil & Water pump
Inspect both ends of the pump and replace parts as necessary
I have assumed that the oil end will be OK, so have bought for the water end: mechanical seal, oil seal, bearing, pump casing 'O' ring, end casing 'O' ring plus sump gasket and clutch cover gasket (along with oil and air filter and new fluids)
put pump back together
re-assemble in reverse order of disassambly
swear, partially disassemble again because something was missed or inserted incorrectly
re-complete Assembly
Re-fill with fluids
attempt start
warm through with everything crossed that the fluids now stay where they are supposed to.....
 
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I'll take a view on whether to lie it down or not when I get to that point, the Clymer manual has a pretty detailed overview of the whole process, and there's the videos on that other thread, so will immerse myself in the process before I take the brave pill and start!
 
When I did this job I did not lay the bike down nor did I use any lifts. I also did not take off the clutch cover. I took the sprocket off the shaft to take out the chain. Putting it back together was not too difficult.
 
Thanks! I will re-digest the manual before I start - I might take off the clutch cover anyway to see what condition the clutch is in (I have already ordered a new gasket)
I am taking a similar view re: doing it once hence new oil seal and bearing as well as the mechanical seal!
Just ordered a new set of spark plugs as well, might as well make sure everything is right as it hasn't been serviced for 2 years
 
Monster job but my bike is back together and no leaks!
Working on the floor with minimal space was terrible haha. I opted to get a shop to rebuild the pump.
I replaced everything as recommended in the 'dreaded weep hole' thread.
 

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Jeremy Atkins said:
Great stuff!!
Good to hear it went well, any particular tricky bits?
Click to expand...
1. Getting the pump all the way back through the hole.
2. Putting the sprocket bolt back into the pump (through much trial and error I found it was easiest to get it started by hand - there is just enough room). Don't forget the spacer for the bolt... I almost did. Saw it on the floor after I'd put the pump in.
3. Also putting the headers back on - they didn't seem to want to fit easily! A bit of brute force required.
Otherwise, not too bad. I printed the relevant workshop manual pages and parts reference images - they give a more detailed view of each assembly.
 
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