Photos: My date on friday night!!

[ersigh]

Hot and sexy ... the way I like it! (work safe) (http://am.net/troll/picture/Seal/)

[Monte]

Cool pics. Any sign of leakage since then?

[ersigh]

Originally posted by MrPython
Cool pics. Any sign of leakage since then?

I haven't had a chance to ride it since 2am when I put the page up ... so I'm not sure. It looked okay after riding it on Saturday morning ... hopefully I'll get the chance to take it out tomorrow or tuesday. If it still leaks after all that, I'm not sure what the problem would be. After taking it apart, it seems like the only way the coolant could leak would be because of the seal being bad (although the seal looked perfectly fine). But who knows? I am not all too edumicated yet.

I should be picking up my brothers bike tomorrow (hopefully), so I'm gonna be busy with that too. Hope the weather stays decent.

[ersigh]

Originally posted by MrPython
Cool pics. Any sign of leakage since then?

I went riding today ... I've got leakage ... both coolant and oil ... (coming from different areas). I had a feeling I'd get oil. Just have to replace that gasket ... the coolant bugs me because it is as I originally suspected ... not the seal. The guy at the dealership reacted to me like I was an idiot when I said I thought it was waterpump related.

I'm not sure if it's water pump related now. Perhaps thermostat? I'm wondering if the leaking is happening (it's coming from where the vent is) because the bike is running hot ... so it's not actually a leak but just letting stuff out ...?

dunno.

I won't be able to fix it for awhile ... until I figure out what's wrong and have $$ for the gaskets/seals and whatever else.

[Reddog99]

ersigh... a latent gearhead :)

You didn't say that you did, but whenever you disassemble stuff like that, you should clean the parting planes of the parts and reassemble them using new gaskets or O-rings (or risk a leak).

Keep an eye on your oil level. If it appears to be RISING, then you have an internal coolant leak (into the crankcase). If you see this, stop immedietly or risk engine damage. Coolant really screws up oil lubrication charactaristics.

Pat

[ersigh]

Originally posted by Reddog99
ersigh... a latent gearhead :)

You didn't say that you did, but whenever you disassemble stuff like that, you should clean the parting planes of the parts and reassemble them using new gaskets or O-rings (or risk a leak).

Keep an eye on your oil level. If it appears to be RISING, then you have an internal coolant leak (into the crankcase). If you see this, stop immedietly or risk engine damage. Coolant really screws up oil lubrication charactaristics.

Pat

I hadn't even thought about it leaking internally.

I didn't realize when I began the project that I would need to take everything apart as I did, so once I began, I was in a situation where I was not able to replace the gasket. I handled it very carefully and cleaned everything so that there was nothing in the way of each two parts making good contact. I KNEW the gasket needed to be replaced but was unable so I put it back together hoping for the best. The oil leak is minimal and coming from only one small area. I was checking oil levels thru out the day and it never dropped (or raised). So yeah, I dunno. Hopefully the weather holds so I can just ride my bicycle around until I gots the money to get the parts.

[Natedawgg]

Way to go Leigh. Chicks who wrench are rad!

[Reddog99]

I KNEW the gasket needed to be replaced but was unable so I put it back together hoping for the best
If you're forced to re-use the old gasket, then you need to use a gasket sealant on the surfaces before assembly.

Twenty years ago, Permatex #2 was the hot ticket. Better products have come along since then, but I haven't used any lately to know what's on the market. Permatex Silicone (for engines) is a possibility, but you need too be careful not to apply too much. It has a tendency to squeeze out when you tighten up the joint and might then float around inside the engine, possibly plugging up oil passageways.

Pat

[ersigh]

Originally posted by Reddog99
If you're forced to re-use the old gasket, then you need to use a gasket sealant on the surfaces before assembly.

Twenty years ago, Permatex #2 was the hot ticket. Better products have come along since then, but I haven't used any lately to know what's on the market. Permatex Silicone (for engines) is a possibility, but you need too be careful not to apply too much. It has a tendency to squeeze out when you tighten up the joint and might then float around inside the engine, possibly plugging up oil passageways.

Pat

Kick ass!! I will remember to buy the appropriate product and keep it around, just in case. I'll be replacing the gasket next time I take it apart tho'. Due to paranoia, I think I'll replace all three seals i came across and the one gasket.

[ersigh]

Originally posted by Natedawgg
Way to go Leigh. Chicks who wrench are rad!

Yeah ... remind me not to let anyone work on my bike again ... talking with someone else, I've come to suspect that if it is indeed the thermostat, it's probably due to the fact I let someone else fill it (hmmm i'm not always so good when in groups of being abrasive enough to stop people from "helping" me) and they put only coolant, which might be enough to make it gunk up or just wear faster. (kicks self)

Oh well, after I go to MMI, I'll be working on everyone else's bike too ... :cool:

[FLSVRider]

STOP!

I just went through this with my 2000 SV (about 17K on the clock). I had coolant only leaking from the same area but it looks like I had less volume of leakage. I kept a close eye on the radiator and quantity leaking and continued to ride for a couple of hundred more miles.

I was planning on my own little maintenance day (wash, oil, coolant, lube chain) and change what I thought would be the bad o ring. Ordered new o ring from dealer and he kindly printed several exploded views of that area from his parts CD-ROM.

Looked very straight forward until I dug in. Once you undo all of those little bolts the cover moves but does not come off. Its difficult to explain but the o ring is sandwiched in the piece were the hose comes in and requires dissassembly from behind.

A call back to the dealer and a short chat with the head mechanic confirmed that I needed to have the water pump rebuilt. The gasket in that area is not the problem. He indicated that this was somewhat common on SVs with this kind of mileage. Parts and labor ran about $260.

I dont have a shop manual but this didnt seem like a project that I wanted to tackle.

[ersigh]

Originally posted by FLSVRider
STOP!

I just went through this with my 2000 SV (about 17K on the clock). I had coolant only leaking from the same area but it looks like I had less volume of leakage. I kept a close eye on the radiator and quantity leaking and continued to ride for a couple of hundred more miles.

I was planning on my own little maintenance day (wash, oil, coolant, lube chain) and change what I thought would be the bad o ring. Ordered new o ring from dealer and he kindly printed several exploded views of that area from his parts CD-ROM.

Looked very straight forward until I dug in. Once you undo all of those little bolts the cover moves but does not come off. Its difficult to explain but the o ring is sandwiched in the piece were the hose comes in and requires dissassembly from behind.

A call back to the dealer and a short chat with the head mechanic confirmed that I needed to have the water pump rebuilt. The gasket in that area is not the problem. He indicated that this was somewhat common on SVs with this kind of mileage. Parts and labor ran about $260.

I dont have a shop manual but this didnt seem like a project that I wanted to tackle.

I ended up having to redo all the work ... bought the engine cover gasket all the o rings and the inner seal ... it's actually not THAT difficult ... it's a lot of work tho ... and everything has to be done just so.

as it is, when i went in there, i discovered that the gear for the waterpump has a slight crack so that means the work has to be done ALL OVER again someday ... i spent prolly $100 just on parts, all the o rings and what not. it doesn't leak any more tho.