since last year my DS seems to use coolant and I have never seen any leaks, it does'nt use much just have to top it off every couple of rides. It gets pretty hot on trail rides, the temp light comes on once and a while so I'll have to look for some water to splash on the radiator, I thought it was from mud cloging the fins but I'm starting to wonder. I checked the oil when I got home and I can't tell if it's milky or not, I just changed the oil before the ride and used honda hp4 oil, thats what I had in it before and it looked a little funny when I changed it, the old oil that is. Is this the way this oil looks or do I have big problems.

 

the temp light should not be coming on if everything is OK. the light is both a low oil pressure and a coolant over temp indicator.

you shouldn't have to top off coolant.

probably leaking head gasket since you never see any coolant leaks and the fluid goes down. you might get lucky and be able to simply re-torque the head.

the other possibility is bad water pump seals and shaft, but you'd see coolant leak from the weep hole.

also test the fan and fan switch.

 

just another reason why I run an air cooled engine, don't have to mess with all that crap and still run with the best of 'um.

 

My guess would be water pump shaft seal. Do a search. I posted some info from my recent change-out.

Check out BMW F650 FAQ - Water Pump Shaft Seal Replacement!

Remember, this is the same engine as the BMW F650!

I suggest getting the re-build kit from BMW since the impeller comes mounted to the shaft (pain in the aZZ to mount it up!)

I had mine leaking and didn't notice anything coming out the weep hole. . . like to think I am observant too.

If it does turn out to be the head gasket you are going to have to change your name (stockbomb) [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Doesn't make sense to open her up and not put a high compression piston in her! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I'm still a little worried about the colol of my oil it's not real milky but it does look like there could be something in it, or is this the way this oil looks? I do smell coolant at times when I start up the quad but never see any leaks, and yes I'm already thinking about a new piston and possibly a carb.

 

after reading some of the posts on the water pump seal i'm thinking this might be the problem,I ride in the mud all the time so the possibility of mud and grit getting in there is good. How do I know if it's the water pump seal or a head gasket?

 

the old oil should not have a lighter color to it than near black. coolant in the oil will make it lighter. i have had coolant in the oil from a head gasket leak and not a water pump leak.

it's not a bad idea to have a replacement water pump shaft and the 2 seals handy in your garage, it shouldn't cost more than $40-50(?). you could take the clutch over off, remove the water pump gear and inspect the shaft for groove lines and look for dirt getting inside the weep hole area. if looks perfect re-grease and put back together or replace the shaft and 2 seals. the shaft is known to wear fast.

the head can be checked for proper torque. if the head is fully torqed then it's probably not a bad head gasket, assuming it's a stock DS that has never had the head off or has never overheated and warped the head. if not fully torqued, try breaking each bolt/nut loose 1/4 turn and re-torque. but if this has been an on going problem for some time, you could have worn the head gasket from the leaking and it may need to be replaced.

 

That is a hard one!

Clean your quad real good and then get on a dry surface. Start her up and let her run for a bit to get her warm (oh, fill your coolant first!)

Shur her off. Check under the water pump on the ground to see if anything has dripped down. If it has than you have a bad water pump shaft seal. Go buy a 12 pack and the parts and go to work!

Problem with above is the weep hole could be clogged with dirt / mud so you may not be seeing the leak come out the weep hole. You may have to do a few start / stop cycles to see it.

This may take a little bit but, I think it will help you understand what is going on. . .
The shaft is actually sealed TWICE once on the coolant side and then there is a gap (this is where the weep hole is) then the oil side seal. Kinda looks like this:
--]-[--
Where -- is the shaft and [ are the seals. The weep hole is in the housing where the shaft is between the seals (the single -). Make sense?

You WILL want to replace Both seals! If the seal on the oil side has also started to go, you could get coolant going past the weep hole and into the oil.
You will also want to replace the impeller shaft. The shaft becomes scored where the seal rides on it and this will lead to leaking.

As for the oil, pull the dipstick out and look down the fill tube. If there are clumps of white stuff, you have coolant in your oil. If the oil has a milky look to it then you have coolant in your oil. It may also appear kinda silverish??? I got that silverish stuff out my crank-case breather tube that I have routed up and over my radiator then down to the ground (not to the air box and no filter on it.)

 

sounds like water pump, sounds like you know what oils is suppost to look like, and you have said funny looking twice. the water pump shaft and seals are cheap then you will know those are good and move to the head gasket from there, i had this problem once and started at the head gasket and then to the water pump bad part is i did the head gasket twice, to have it be the water pump

 

I ordered the water pump kit from a BMW dealer after talking to Mr. Horsepower about the haed gasket, he thought it was highly unlikely that a stock motor would have head gasket problems and told me some signs of a failure, which I have seen none. I did check the weep hole and it is full of dirt/sand, so this has got to be the problem. I also checked the oil again and it's now grey, so there's no question there is coolant in the oil, I only hope I didn't do any engine damage, and what is the best procedure for removing all of the coolant from the engine. Should I flush the engine with something, This sucks cause I just changed the filter and oil (HP4) so that was a waste of money.