Got a question and I hope that somebody has some suggestions. I just got back from Hatfield McCoy and started having some trouble with my Prairie. It ran great the first 2 days, no problems at all. Then the third day I had 26" tires installed, after about 20 minutes of riding it overheated. I rode back into town on my buddys quad and picked up some antifreeze, after I slowly filled it up, I noticed it running out underneath the quad. I checked the radiator and it was dry. I dropped the skid pan and theres a hose with a plastic pod hanging down that antifreeze runs out. As soon as I start it up antifreeze slowly runs out and continues till its completely empty then overheats. The only thing this plastic pod has written on it is the word UP. It has about a one inch piece of line connected to the bottom of it. Should this line hook to anything? I took the pod off and it doesn't look melted or anything. It looks like it hooks up to what I imagine is the water pump. I can't imagine the larger tires having anything at all to do with it since it antifreeze starts running out the hose as soon as I start it up even when the motor is cold. I'm hoping nothing got hurt when they raised the four wheeler off the floor. I washed out the radiator from both sides before we went riding, so I know its not clogged. I watched and theres no bubbles in the radiator. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it. Thanks DennisC

 

That hose leads to a weep hole in the water pump. There are 2 seals in the water pump, with the pump shaft running thru the center. The weep hole is in between the two: If there's oil leaking, the oil seal is bad. If there's coolant, you guessed it...

Usually, the pump can be rebuilt-- you can buy either the mechanical seal (keeps coolant in), oil seal, or bearing. From what I've been seeing on these newer machines, they do not offer parts for a rebuild-- you have to replace the pump as a unit, and it's not cheap (so be prepared! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img])

Remember, this is a long-distance diagnosis. So make sure that's where the hose leads to before you shell out your hard-earned dough! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Hope this helps.

 

dennisc i had that happen on mine yhe other guy was right it is the pump seal my dealer said that sometimes if it sits to long it will happen and if you ride it for awhile iy might go away but since you were ridint it that wont help i had the dealer do mine befor i started working on my own bike it wasnt really all that bad under $200 and they got their hand dirty to me at that time it was worth it good luck.

 

I just checked nd Kawi sells the water pump parts seperate. But not cheap. Like, the mechanical seal is $19. Well, cheaper than buying the complete pump.