yesterday i was out riding and when we stopped i noticed a small drip of antifreeze coming off the motor running down the frame and dripping off just behind where they front right a-arm connects to the frame. looked under to see exactly where it was coming from and it looked like it was coming from the water pump. i figured id just keep an eye on the fluid. never had to put much in it because every time we made a pass by the trucks, id fill it up again. at the end of the ride, the hot light came on but the fan wasnt running and i know for a fact that the fan was running earlier in the day. i checked the water didnt take but about half a coke bottle of water to fill it back up and the fan never did come back on. so i have 3 questions.
1. are these water pumps like cars..start going out they leak fluid through a weep hole to let you know?
2. i noticed on the parts diagram, it has an impeller. are the impellers rubber like whats on a boat motor? so maybe it has started falling apart and ate itself up?
3. or am i going in the completely wrong direction

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: eggenz7

yesterday i was out riding and when we stopped i noticed a small drip of antifreeze coming off the motor running down the frame and dripping off just behind where they front right a-arm connects to the frame. looked under to see exactly where it was coming from and it looked like it was coming from the water pump. i figured id just keep an eye on the fluid. never had to put much in it because every time we made a pass by the trucks, id fill it up again. at the end of the ride, the hot light came on but the fan wasnt running and i know for a fact that the fan was running earlier in the day. i checked the water didnt take but about half a coke bottle of water to fill it back up and the fan never did come back on. so i have 3 questions.

1. are these water pumps like cars..start going out they leak fluid through a weep hole to let you know?

2. i noticed on the parts diagram, it has an impeller. are the impellers rubber like whats on a boat motor? so maybe it has started falling apart and ate itself up?

3. or am i going in the completely wrong direction</end quote></div>


1 - They do have a weep hole so if there is coolant coming out of it, you need a water pump seal.

2 - The inpeller is made of plastic

3 - Your probably headed in the right direction.

 

what about the fan not running after the hot light came on? i know it was running earlier in the day but when the light came on, it wasnt running any more.

oh and would the fan not running make the bike get hot? like i said it wasnt really low on water when the light came on. just about half a coke bottle

 

If you are loosing coolant the radiator level drops below the fan switch(mounted at the top off the radiator) It's my opinion that when the coolant level drops below the switch, the switch doesn't get hot enough to turn on the fan. The light is operated by a different switch that is located in the cylinder head so they are independant of each other. Get your water pump repaired and the level in the radiator won't drop and it should work(unless something else is wrong with the fan circuit) Jump across the terminals on the fan switch and if it comes on, you either had the lack of coolant causing it, or the switch is bad. I'll bet it was the lack of coolant. If the fan doesn't come on, there is a problem elsewhere in the fan circuit and that will have to be repaired as well. What year machine is this(to make sure where the fan switch is located, in case different years were located in different places)

 

here is a link to a picture that shows the hole that i think the water is coming from. i looked at the sticker for the year it says 1995. so that should make it a 96 but the owner says its a 97.

 

Can you take another picture a little further back? I think thats it but want to be sure. Also the fan switch is at the top of the radiator, I just checked the 96's.

 

further back pic

 

yeah thats it. I think you need to replace the water pump seal.

 

ok on bikebandit, im showing two different seals that go right beside each other. should both be replaced or just one of them?

 

While you are in there replace them both. Pay attention to how the lip faces on the inner one too. Also don't forget all the gaskets you are going to need.