Where do I go from here??

[Condor]

So I finally got around to putting coolant back into the '07 after the overheat in Shasta. Removed the radiator cap and saw a tiny amount of milky oil in the throat. I then filled it with the green stuff and it barely took any to bring it to the top. More milk started to float to the top. It's sitting right now to see just how much I've got in there. I also pulled the tube out of the overflow and the tip was covered with oil. Filled it again to see how much will float up, but it looked like there's at least a 1/2 inch in the bottom. THERE IS NO WATER IN THE CRANK. THE MOTOR RUNS FINE AND IT DOESN"T SMOKE. So My thinking is it could be the Twinkie or a blown head gasket?? I'm open to thoughts and suggestions. Maybe picking up a low mile salve motor might be the cheapest way to go?? The bike has 80,000 on the ODO.

[M61A1MECH]

Classic signs that the seal on the driven shaft for the water pump is shot.

There are only two places here the oil and coolant can mix, unless you have blown a head gasket.

One is the shaft that comes out of the crank case and drives the impeller on the water pump, the other place is in the twinkie.

 

The shaft seals have been known to go out, had it happen on my 98 Tour Classic, my regular mechanic that is a big time V-Max guy, said he had never seen it happen before he saw mine.

 

What is supposed to happen is if one of the seals goes bad, either the one that seal the oil in or the one that seals the coolant in, the fluid should drip into the cavity the shaft passes thru, there is a small drain hose just behind the water pump housing, the fluids should drain out that hose and alert you as to which one is shot. That does not always happen.

 

I am not sure I have ever heard of the heat exchanger (twinkie) going out, so I would lean towards the water pump shaft seals.

[Condor]

Many thanks for the idea Steve. Another option.. I hope.... that's what it might be. Don't want to think about a head gasket, and the water pump seal is a lot easier to deal with than the twinkie. I have seen a few threads on the seal having to be replaced over the years.

[CATPower]

Do you know why it overheated ?

[Condor]

Do you know why it overheated ?

 

I still think overheated when riding in the mountains in 112 deg temps, and it leaking somewhere?? The top of the twinkie was wet with coolant on the kick stand side, and it ran down the stator cover. The high side of the twinkie was dry and dusty. So somewhere up in the valley between the banks there's a leak. I'm going to go ahead and reseal the water pump and flush the cooling system to hopefully take care of the oil in the radiator issue. Once that's done I'll take a look see on the leak and try to spot where it's coming from. It might have started with the pump, which caused the leak, and in turn caused the clutch slave to go bad... Kinda a domino effect... With me it's never simple, but when I'm through wrestling with it, I've learned a ton about one more part of these Ventures....

[djh3]

Hey before you tear it apart. Swing by autozone. They have a cooling system pressure test set. You can presurize the system and see if the leak is up top maybe.

[Condor]

So this morning I went out to start draining the coolant and oil from the system. Pulled the cover off the water pump and found this mess.... Silicon all over the place. Aparently who ever worked on the pump in the past chose not to replace the cover 'O' ring with a new one and slathered on a good portion of silicon sealer instead. Arrrgh!!!

[M61A1MECH]

Jack, Just remind her that "Resistance is futile" the leak gremlins will be assimilated.

[djh3]

Wow. What did he use, tub and tile silicone? I mean I would use either red or blue rtv. And its not that terrible, but use some common sense. Argh. If you have to reuse the O-ring try heating it up in boiling water to make it a bit more pliable. I will normally put a lite coat to hold the o-ring. But that there looked silly. Maybe he fixed the water pump seal the same way.

[Condor]

Jack, Just remind her that "Resistance is futile" the leak gremlins will be assimilated.

 

She did assimilate my gremlin bell somewhere... :-)

 

Wow. What did he use, tub and tile silicone? I mean I would use either red or blue rtv. And its not that terrible, but use some common sense. Argh. If you have to reuse the O-ring try heating it up in boiling water to make it a bit more pliable. I will normally put a lite coat to hold the o-ring. But that there looked silly. Maybe he fixed the water pump seal the same way.

 

I think it was the tub and tile variety. I've use RTV on a few things, but mainly vasoline to hold the "o" in place. A little dab'll do ya.... I just hope that the stuff hasn't sluffed off and blocked some of the passages... The stuff on the inside was pretty slimy and loose....

[RSTDdog]

Any silicone, even RTV, does not belong on a motorcycle. A mechanic that uses it is one you should never return to. O-rings don't require sealants. If you are going to use a sealant on a bike, Yamabond 4 , a grey sealant not silicone based, doesn't ball or break off in pieces like silicone. Its used on sealing crankcase halves for this reason. I would suggest pulling your radiator and back flushing it really well since the tubes in the radiator are probably some of the the smaller passages on the cooling system and it will be tough to get that cleaned out with it still on the bike. Pull the fins and the little plugs at the base of the cylinders and flush everything out of there you can get also. I seem to recall if you pull the fuel tank there are some cooling fittings up high on the heads, hose maybe, don't recall. A flush, fill and drain with distilled water a few times wouldn't hurt before putting coolant back in.

[Condor]

Good advice... That's the plan. Thought I'd also run a mix of purple power and water thought it and drain to get the oil residue out of there as well. Sometimes a mix of white vinegar and water will dissolve silicon. In the Chilton's Manual they actually suggest coating the pump housing side with Yama-Bond against the gasket. I haven't removed the pump body yet... Waiting for parts to come in.

I have found that the impeller is sloppy when turning it. Shouldn't be. There might be damage to the drive gear?? We'll see...

[RSTDdog]

If you are getting the OE gasket, you may find it has sealant pre-apllied. Where required a number of OE Yamaha gaskets will have pre-applied sealant on the surface (thin flat grey bead). I haven't had the water pump apart, but if the impeller is sloppy, there may be other parts suspect requiring replacement.

[BigBear]

Classic signs that the seal on the driven shaft for the water pump is shot.

There are only two places here the oil and coolant can mix, unless you have blown a head gasket.

One is the shaft that comes out of the crank case and drives the impeller on the water pump, the other place is in the twinkie.

 

Steve - what seal are you referring to (seal on the driven shaft)??

 

[M61A1MECH]

Walt,

 

Both #7 and #8 are seals that have to be replaced, I am pretty sure Yamaha sells and overhaul kit for that operation, should include seals, bearing(s), pins and "C" Clip(s). If you have to replace one seal you may as well do both while you are in there. Make sure you get the gasket and the O-ring seal also, I forget if the gear comes as part of the kit, but I recall replacing mine on my 98, maybe just to be safe while I was in there.

[Condor]

Picked up all the seals and 'o' rings needed for the service yesterday. No bearing. I'll address that if needed. They didn't have a kit listed... I think?? The slop in the impellar is rotational not lateral. So I suspect the nylon drive gear or the pin may have been chewed up..

[Condor]

Well, to bad I'm not a Texas Oil Man or the owner of a malt shop. Unfortunately I ain't. Finally got around to taking the drain plug out of the radiator and this is what came out. The first 5 seconds or so it was bright green, but then the oil mix started coming out big time. I'm getting worried that I may have deeper problems then a bad water pump seal....

 

I'm thinking about flushing the radiator with Purple Power??

[BigBear]

Well, to bad I'm not a Texas Oil Man or the owner of a malt shop. Unfortunately I ain't. Finally got around to taking the drain plug out of the radiator and this is what came out. The first 5 seconds or so it was bright green, but then the oil mix started coming out big time. I'm getting worried that I may have deeper problems then a bad water pump seal....

 

I'm thinking about flushing the radiator with Purple Power??

 

When Mama-Yama replaced my water pump under warranty, the Dealership was told to use 1:1 Simple Green and water to flush the cooling system...

[kevin-vic-b.c.]

Purple or green will not matter I think as long as you flush it with something

[Condor]

When Mama-Yama replaced my water pump under warranty, the Dealership was told to use 1:1 Simple Green and water to flush the cooling system...

 

Thanks for the info. Was wondering what kind of a mix would be OK. 1:1 should get it out.... I still haven't drained the cylinder jackets yet. Probably do that in the AM... It's getting hot around here in the afternoons.. Gonna have to price compare the purple to the green..

[djh3]

I think if you look at Autozone the purple stuff is cheaper than the Simple Green. I'm trying to think of the other thing I read to flush your system out on like a regular coolant change. I want to say it was vinegar at 2:1 water/vinegar. Maybe if you are going to do the flush with the degreaser take the thermostat out so it flows a little more. Or drill a bunch of holes in the unit you are taking out so it will by pass water a little faster.

[Condor]

I've heard about vinegar too, but vinegar will only get rid of calcium deposits and scale. Oil residue needs a degreaser... The last Purple Power I bought was at Walmart in the auto section. And since all I have is a spritzer bottle of the stuff I will need to go shopping. Auto Zone is just up the street.. :-) Worked pretty good on cleaning oily micro-fiber towels. Let'm soak overnight and they were clean in the AM...

[djh3]

I meant to flush out the purple power.

[Condor]

I meant to flush out the purple power.

 

LOL) That would work.. But, I usually just stick a hose in the radiator neck and turn the water on to match the flow coming out the pump drain and run the engine for 15-20 minutes. However flushing again with vinegar would de-scale the cooling system??

[YamahaLarry]

Okay, I have got to show my ignorance and ask. What is the twinkie?