OK to ride with weeping waterpump??

[GPracer2500]

I just noticed my waterpump weep hole is releasing a few drops. I've got the parts on the way to rebuild the pump but I'm 99% sure it won't be fixed before a planned dune trip next weekend.

Is it OK to ride with a weeping pump? What's the risk?

[300exOH]

If your water pump is weeping then it may not be circulating the coolant like it should and you run the risk of overheating your engine. Especially with the higher temps in the dunes.

[draggin-accord]

...

[250r4life]

yah- probably means your waterpump seal has gone... i wouldnt go riding it- especially at the dunes...

you planning on going to gordons well or glamis or what?

[GPracer2500]

Shoot. That's not what I wanted to hear.



Going to Gordens Well. I'm not going with my usual group--I've never been with any of the folks I'll be with. I think most of them are newbies too, not really sure though. YOu?

[250r4life]

i will be at gordons well this weekend... arriving friday around noon, and i have to take off sunday around noon sometime...

let me know what you will be riding...

i will be on my blue 06 yfz, with the stock pipe and sand stars on C series all the way around... at the hills i will likely always be lining up next to another 06 blue yfz with sand stars and C series, but also an HMF pipe...

we both have custom red "g grill crew" flags on our bikes- as does our whole group...

[250r4life]

have you checked around the valley to see if anybody has the waterpump seal?

screwie louie's used to have a lot of R parts that were hard to find... havent been out there in a while though...

[GPracer2500]

Originally posted by 250r4life
have you checked around the valley to see if anybody has the waterpump?

screwie louie's used to have a lot of R parts that were hard to find... havent been out there in a while though...

No I haven't. I'm reluctant to do that cause I've already ordered the parts from SH. They're not real good about canceling stuff.

For this weekend, all I really want to be able to do is some quick testing with my cut Sandsharks. I figure I'll take the ATC to test the tires but pretty much I'll ride my CR most of the weekend.

I'll shoot you a message when/if I figure out some details on when I'm leaving. But, pretty sure I'm leaving Fri (morning?) in my truck/trialer for Gordens Well. I'll come back prolly sun or maybe mon. I'll have the ATC (all red with white frame/swinger and a 350X headlight) and this CR250R:

http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/9792/p1070050winceen8.jpg

I'll be in this Tundra w/ 7x14 trailer:
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/2505/pc150007winceqv8.jpg

Do you usually camp at a certain spot?

[GPracer2500]

So let me get this straight about the telltale hole (weep hole): It's in a space that is between the mechanical seal on the coolant side and the oil seal on the case side? Follow what I'm trying to say?

--So coolant weeping out of the telltale hole indicates that the mechanical seal is failing and letting coolant through?
--As long as the hole stays clear then no coolant should be forced into the tranny oil, right?
--Is it possible for the water pump to suck air through a leaky mech seal and into the coolant system (basically, the reverse of my current weep)?

Has anyone ridden with a bad mech seal and lived to tell the tale? I guess I'm trying to decide if running her for just a little bit represents much of a risk. I don't have a temp gauge but I think it would have to overheat in a hurry for me not to notice. It ran like a champ last weekend!

thanks!

[250r4life]

what is your 1st name?
i'll keep an eye out for your bike and truck...

we usually just cross the canal and head in at an angle... we usually go quite a ways in, and usually park midway between the canal and the sand highway... although for new years we parked pretty close to the canal...

as far as your weep hole and what not, let me talk to my buddy and i'll get back with ya tomorrow (if you havent already received a response)... i remember went out one year, but i dont remember if he had to shut her down or what...

[draggin-accord]

Originally posted by GPracer2500
So let me get this straight about the telltale hole (weep hole): It's in a space that is between the mechanical seal on the coolant side and the oil seal on the case side? Follow what I'm trying to say?

--So coolant weeping out of the telltale hole indicates that the mechanical seal is failing and letting coolant through?
--As long as the hole stays clear then no coolant should be forced into the tranny oil, right?
--Is it possible for the water pump to suck air through a leaky mech seal and into the coolant system (basically, the reverse of my current weep)?

Has anyone ridden with a bad mech seal and lived to tell the tale? I guess I'm trying to decide if running her for just a little bit represents much of a risk. I don't have a temp gauge but I think it would have to overheat in a hurry for me not to notice. It ran like a champ last weekend!

thanks!

i rode twice w/ the weep leaking while waiting on parts. just kept checking my coolant. i have not found any ill effects.

[86 Quad R]

imho i'd leave it at home until you can get it fixed. it may be juss seeping but, why take the chance of it getting worse and causing something to happen to the engine.

on a side note. when you do decide to change the pump seal, be sure to apply a bit of petroleum jelly to the seal and porcelin. this will allow things to seat better and keep ya from having to repeat the process.

[GPracer2500]

Originally posted by 86 Quad R
imho i'd leave it at home until you can get it fixed. it may be juss seeping but, why take the chance of it getting worse and causing something to happen to the engine.

on a side note. when you do decide to change the pump seal, be sure to apply a bit of petroleum jelly to the seal and porcelin. this will allow things to seat better and keep ya from having to repeat the process.

Normally that's probably what I'd do. Especially since I've got something else to ride, not riding the ATC is no biggie. Except in this case I really want to test my paddles. I just changed them and I'm anxious to see how they're working. Even just a few minutes of ride time will probably tell me what I want to know.

Thanks for the seal tip.




250r4life, I sent you an PM.

[honda380]

my truck has been doing that for about a month now, i still drive it!

[250r4life]

i sent you a PM, but your box was full...

there has to be somoebody here in town with a mechanical seal, and they cant be that much... just go pick one up... shoot- paradise or one of the other shops may have one down at the dunes...

in fact- i may have an extra one now that i think about it... let me check and see when i get home today... is it the same as the 89 R?

[GPracer2500]

whoops! sorry, I hate it went that happens. PM box should be empty now...

Same part number on the mech seal 85-89.

[250r4life]

which part number is it that you need?

i have a 91201-965-000

[250r4life]

it looks like i have the oil seal right behind the mechanical seal...

[GPracer2500]

No worries. I'll just keep a close eye on things until my parts arrive.

[250r4life]

so are you still going to go shoot the hill with it? i would like to race ya...

oh yah- at night i usually have red and blue tire lights...

[GPracer2500]

Originally posted by 250r4life
so are you still going to go shoot the hill with it? i would like to race ya...

oh yah- at night i usually have red and blue tire lights...

Yeah, probably. My CR might be a better match against your YFZ though. :devil: I guess we'll see....

I'll look for the lights. I'm usually wearing a camelback w/ a red LED tailight clipped to it at night. Also, there's a good chance I'll be using helemet lights at night--dual HID. They're easy to spot!

[250r4life]

Originally posted by GPracer2500
Yeah, probably. My CR might be a better match against your YFZ though. :devil: I guess we'll see....

I'll look for the lights. I'm usually wearing a camelback w/ a red LED tailight clipped to it at night. Also, there's a good chance I'll be using helemet lights at night--dual HID. They're easy to spot!

your CR should smoke me... they cook...

dont you have some porting and what not done to the R?

i'll keep a look out for your lights as well...

[GPracer2500]

Originally posted by 250r4life
your CR should smoke me... they cook...


Right. Advantage----->GPracer2500. My kind of race, lol. ;)




Originally posted by 250r4life
dont you have some porting and what not done to the R?


Yeah, it's got a little work done. The racing I've done at Olds so far indicates I can run with some YFZ riders--but not all. I think a good rider on a well setup YFZ will get me most times. Really, I haven't raced enough to see for sure where I stand. I've raced my buds Rap700 a bunch of times but all other races have just been random line-ups. My bud on the 700 must weight at least 250lbs. We go back and forth depending on the hill. The longer the hill the more the races go in my favor.

And that's with 6 paddle Haulers. On my "custom" (hehe) Sandsharks it remains to be seen what will happen. Although I'm expecting them to be on par with the Haulers this time around. Last time out they were better at 4lbs lighter each--but the paddles themselves where too tall/aggressive. I've got them down to Glider size now, so hopefuly they'll be just right.

No matter what it should be fun.

[250r4life]

well im around 175 lbs, so i imagine i dont have a huge weight handicapt like he does...

if you want we can PM cell phones in case we dont see eachother, and maybe like saturday afternoon we could head over to comp and race... i dont usually go and watch the drags in teh afternoon- dont know if you do...

[250r4life]

well, that stinks... i looked around for ya and never saw ya... i only saw a few 250r 3 wheelers, and none that had 350x headlights... i ended up not going to the hill on friday, but was there racing for quite a while on saturday night...

friday night we drove into town to eat at a steakhouse, came back, chilled, and ended up having a bags tournament and didnt end up going...

[250r4life]

here are a few pics from the weekend...

this is my bike and my buddy that i race a million times every weekend...

[250r4life]

my buddy amaron's rail... it doesnt look like much, but he drives it like he stole it, has it dialed in perfectly, and that sucker hauls...

[250r4life]

this is a distant shot of some of our camp... we usually have pretty large circles... unfortunately a lot of our regulars couldnt make it this trip, but we did have several new people come circle up with us this weekend...

[250r4life]

another distant one of camp

[250r4life]

daves rail... it has a subaru engine and does well... his diesel pusher motor home in the back..

[250r4life]

G Grill Crew...

the flag makes it easy to find camp when coming back from a ride...

we all have matching ones (smaller obviously) on our bikes...

[250r4life]

my set up... nothing great but not bad for a college student, and sure beats sleeping in the back of a truck

[250r4life]

palmers rail... twin turbo northstar @ like 650 hp

[250r4life]

another

[250r4life]

some of my buddies toys... he has a lot of them...

[250r4life]

my buddy rolled his rail several times... it knocked the tire off the bead and broke his beam and a few other things... well, we used some carb cleaner to get the tire back on the bead, got it back to camp, and after a quick trip into yuma we had him up and running again after not too long...

[250r4life]

my rig...

[GPracer2500]

Originally posted by 250r4life
well, that stinks... i looked around for ya and never saw ya... i only saw a few 250r 3 wheelers, and none that had 350x headlights... i ended up not going to the hill on friday, but was there racing for quite a while on saturday night...

friday night we drove into town to eat at a steakhouse, came back, chilled, and ended up having a bags tournament and didnt end up going...

Yeah, that stinks. I was hoping to at least meet face-to-face, if not actually do some riding/racing. Presidents Day weekend isn't exactly the best time to try and find people out there. Hell, it's hard enough just spotting your own camp. Next time.

Speaking of next time, I'm going back next weekend.

[GPracer2500]

I burned about 5 gallons in the 250r and didn't have any issues with my leaking pump. I stuffed a folded paper towel under the weep hole so I could monitor how much was coming out. It couldn't have lost more than 1 oz.

[250r4life]

Originally posted by GPracer2500
Yeah, that stinks. I was hoping to at least meet face-to-face, if not actually do some riding/racing. Presidents Day weekend isn't exactly the best time to try and find people out there. Hell, it's hard enough just spotting your own camp. Next time.

Speaking of next time, I'm going back next weekend.

youre going back this coming weekend, or the weekend after that?

my group is supposed to be going not this weekend but the next, and it is likely that i will be going...

[GPracer2500]

This upcoming weekend--as in leave in a few days.

[250r4life]

that stinks... no, i wont be going this weekend...