hole on side of engine, weep of coolant???

ghost-rider

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hiya lads, ive had a quick search on here and to be fare I couldn't find the answers, but I managed to pull quite a few things up on google about this, happened to just glance at the side of the engine tonight and noticed a single dribble of coolant coming from a hole on the side of the engine block(l/hand side just below where the upper mount for the engine bar is if that makes sense, its dried and not wet, and doing twenty five mile home tonight(spirited ridin aswell) checkin when I got home an nothing, monitoring the temperature on the way home and again no change, the holes obviously meant to be there and im guessing for this reason, but why the dribble?? suggestions on google are that its the waterpump seals failing and its a common problem???, is it an air lock that's cleared itself, but wouldn't that have come out of the bottle??, any suggestions???

thanks in advance
 
It's a telltale, and thats a drain hole for that very reason. Sounds like you need to visit your dealer sharpish.
 
Common WC problem...mine's going in to the dealer next week for a new pump install.

Seems that the factory had a bad run of pumps.

Done nearly 3,000 miles with mine leaking in AZ heat...i think it looks worse than it is unless you go over 210*...either way you will need to schedule a replacement.
 
yep, been out tonight just to see if itll leak again, being as it didn't appear to leak on the way home from work, and yep its leakin:blast, so is this a rarity in the ukgser community, or this a common problem???, google searches suggest that its common, but all the problems seem to be outside of the uk, one bloke was reported to be on his third leakin water pump:eek::blast, I know itll get fixed at the stealer, but its timing cudnt be worse, sposed to be off to Scotland next week:blast:blast
 
mwhite5471 said:
Common WC problem...mine's going in to the dealer next week for a new pump install.

Seems that the factory had a bad run of pumps.

Done nearly 3,000 miles with mine leaking in AZ heat...i think it looks worse than it is unless you go over 210*...either way you will need to schedule a replacement.
Click to expand...

thankyou mate, for confirmin that:thumby:, so what you reckon, still ok to ride in the meantime, just within reason???
 
I've not heard of one leaking at a pace of more than just a dribble...i'd say you are good to go if you fill the coolant up and check it every 3-4 days.

Have you called the dealer to find ETA of replacement pump?
 
No, havnt spoke to the dealer yet, thatll be first thing in the mornin now,only noticed it tonight when I was coming out from work, so it either started this mornin or last night by the looks of it.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
 
I had this on my GS LC, ironically also just before a trip to Scotland. Dealer advised me not to use the bike for distance until the pump was replaced. I cancelled the trip, and they replaced the water pump.
 
The temperature won't increase unless the water level gets low, so a dribble is just the first signs of a leak, keep the display on engine temp & if it suddenly shoots up really high & then back down pull over as it's loosing water rapidly from the hole in the engine.
Hope that makes sense... (It may look normal temp, BUT if bike dumps the water the temperature Sensor can't give accurate engine temp reading as it's not in contact with anything)
 
check coolant level and ride it until the new pump comes in.

some pumps have self-healed.

.
 
jtb said:
I had this on my GS LC, ironically also just before a trip to Scotland. Dealer advised me not to use the bike for distance until the pump was replaced. I cancelled the trip, and they replaced the water pump.
Click to expand...

BMW R1200 GS "Unstoppable"
 
Right, been intouch with the dealer today and its going in tmora, they cant start it till monday, but there pullin out all the stops for me, so thumbs up!

Question tho lads, after havin a good looksy tonight is the waterpump internal or external, anyone know?? As I can see some sort of circulation pump on top of the block piped to both rads??

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
 
As indicated, it's water pump seals, which aren't available individually, so it's a new pump install. Mine started doing it from new 4 weeks ago, but new pump dropped in (takes roughly 1 hour), and it's cured with no more breather hole weep. So far my only fault.
 
How much is a pump ?

Out of interest - I know yours would be covered under warranty obviously
 
JohnnyBoxer said:
How much is a pump ?

Out of interest - I know yours would be covered under warranty obviously
Click to expand...

Don't know if im honest mate, never thought to ask, parts bloke told me this morning the pump as a whole kit and the seals only are both available in the uk, so hopefully no issues with parts supply, they did say, and by there reactions I did actually believe em, that it was the first pump/coolant out of the breather hole issue theyd had as a dealer, and lookin at the stats of how many pumps had been dispatched on the parts computer it roughly only equated to about 240 pumps world wide, so on the grand scale of things, it either aint that big an issue, or theres a shit load of water pumps out there about start leakin at any time :blast
 
heres one for ya lads, dropped me bike off yesterday at the dealer, so all good so far:bounce1, they've lent me there demo 1200 gs, having a look round it today, and especially at the weep hole on the block, now bearing in mind there demo has been registered at the same time as mine or give or take a week or so, the weep hole on the demo looked as if it was plugged up at first glance, on closer inspection it was a piece of foam type material in the hole, which when you looked even closer you could see a "blue tint" to it, so curiosity got the better of me and I gently pulled out the foam, its about 50mm long and guess what?, soaked at the other end in coolant:blast, so the foam is too a certain degree holding it back, but why hasn't mine got it I ask??, but either way if you looked closely at the side of the block on the demo bike you could actually see a few traces of coolant, that obviously once the foam had had enough it would just drip a very tiny amount:blast, so I suggest to you all, check your weep holes:thumby:
 
water leak

What was the final outcome Ghost rider ? as mine has has the same leak from the hole today...............going in next week to the dealers. They are excellent so I have no worries that they will fix it under warranty.

Shinyface :bounce1

ps mine had no bung in the hole either.
 
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After a few days of having my new TE, I noticed a single blob of liquid from the hole, I washed the bike and it has remained dry since - maybe it was a residue left over from manufacturing? I didn't mention it at the 600 mile service a couple of days ago because there was nothing to see. If you have a continuous dribble then obviously take it back to be checked.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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