Author Topic: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun  (Read 6496 times)

Offline BryanD

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K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« on: July 12, 2018, 04:20:08 PM »
Just thought I'd post up a picture of what I had in store for me today. 

In my introduction a few weeks back, I mentioned I thought I had an oil pan leak.  I was quickly corrected by our wise group that it probably was from the weep hole on the front. 

So here I am in mid-teardown to replace the waterpump/oil seals.  I haven't removed the impeller or gear yet, but man are the tolerances CLOSE, VERY CLOSE.  I was impressed at the fact the person I bought it from (or before him) had taken really, really good care of it.  As you can see, the water pump impeller looks awesome with ZERO corrosion.  I am pleased.

  • Louisville
  • 95 K1100rs

Offline Laitch

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #1 on: July 12, 2018, 05:19:43 PM »
As you can see, the water pump impeller looks awesome with ZERO corrosion.  I am pleased.
That makes me wonder why the seals are faulty. Be certain you have the correct seals, spacers and instructions for installation. This is a task that's often done twice because the first installation fails. Maybe the previous owner only had enough resolve to do it once and when it failed, that was the last straw.
  • Along the Ridley in Vermont.
  • 1995 K75 89,000 miles
I wept because I had no radials until I met a man who had no splines.
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Offline BryanD

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #2 on: July 12, 2018, 05:30:43 PM »
I don't think so, I rode the bike over 250 miles and did an oil change before the weep hole leak started....  I think it was just dumb luck.

I have all of the parts to do it. And I've watched several vids on it.  I know there is a link, also:  http://ibmwr.org/ktech/water-oil-pump-rebuild.shtml
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Offline Laitch

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #3 on: July 12, 2018, 05:38:39 PM »
I don't think so, I rode the bike over 250 miles and did an oil change before the weep hole leak started....
Strange things happen. Leaks are usually associated with worn parts and fouled coolant. Your pump looks pristine.  Good luck with it.
  • Along the Ridley in Vermont.
  • 1995 K75 89,000 miles
I wept because I had no radials until I met a man who had no splines.
https://tinyurl.com/RillRider

Offline BryanD

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #4 on: July 12, 2018, 05:41:18 PM »
Thanks....

If this isn't the issue, I shall let much colorful blurting of expletives erupt from thy lips....   :nono
  • Louisville
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Offline Martin

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #5 on: July 12, 2018, 05:42:22 PM »
You are probably the beneficiary of good maintenance. A correct compatible coolant mixed with distilled water and changed at the correct intervals. Nothing wrecks a cooling system faster than using tap/bore water with incorrect coolant.
Regards Martin
  • North Lakes Queensland Australia
  • 1992 K75s Hybrid, Lefaux, Vespa V twin.

Offline Laitch

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #6 on: July 12, 2018, 05:43:17 PM »
If this isn't the issue, I shall let much colorful blurting of expletives erupt from thy lips....   :nono
I'm not letting my lips get involved with this. :giggles
  • Along the Ridley in Vermont.
  • 1995 K75 89,000 miles
I wept because I had no radials until I met a man who had no splines.
https://tinyurl.com/RillRider

Offline BryanD

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #7 on: July 14, 2018, 08:34:39 PM »
Got everything back together this evening.  Started it up...  Now I have a water leak instead of an oil leak. 

I have absolutely ZERO idea what went wrong.  If I did this procedure again, I'd do it exactly the same as I did it this time.  I took my time, kept everything clean, was careful when seating the new seals.  I was 100% confident this would be fixed.

Anyone know a river I can dump this bike into?  I'm ready to scream.   
  • Louisville
  • 95 K1100rs

Offline stokester

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #8 on: July 14, 2018, 08:56:27 PM »
Got everything back together this evening.  Started it up...  Now I have a water leak instead of an oil leak. 

I have absolutely ZERO idea what went wrong.  If I did this procedure again, I'd do it exactly the same as I did it this time.  I took my time, kept everything clean, was careful when seating the new seals.  I was 100% confident this would be fixed.

Anyone know a river I can dump this bike into?  I'm ready to scream.   
I'm not familiar with the K1100 but if it is the same as my K75 I can empathize with your situation.

My water pump rebuild took a third try to get it right.  After the first try leaked worse than the original leak, I figured I did something wrong and tried again.  After the second attempt failed I found that the new seal required a different size bushing.  This solved it.
  • Yorktown Virginia
  • '94 K75S Dakar Yellow - '93 K75S Seiden Blau - '91 R100RT Bermuda Blue- '78 R100S Smoke Red

Offline BryanD

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #9 on: July 14, 2018, 09:01:55 PM »
Yeah, I had all the right parts. I purchased a new impeller, new spacer, new seals, new o-rings, and lastly, even a new impeller bolt.  Most of this was overkill except for the seals and o-rings. 

I just read that I maybe should have frozen the water pump seal before installing it.  Maybe I wiped the blue ring off the seal when I seated it, I don't know.  Like I said, I would have bet $100 this was fixed for good.  Now I need that $100 bill to buy new seals...  Again.   :deal:

I have done quite a bit of research on this topic and one of the most frequently asked questions is about the weep hole; how does it work and where does it originate?  I took the time to take a picture of mine when I had it apart.  I marked up the diagram below for reference and hopefully to clear up anyone's questions in the future.  This view is looking at the pump housing where the impeller would be.

Click on the photo to enlarge the view....
  • Louisville
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Offline bizzaro

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #10 on: July 14, 2018, 09:46:44 PM »
Is the coolant leaking out of the weep hole, or the housing?
  • Vermont
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Offline BryanD

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #11 on: July 14, 2018, 09:47:39 PM »
Weep hole....

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Offline wally.fisher

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #12 on: July 16, 2018, 12:56:41 PM »
Ha,you're not the first or the last, but a new seal might be your answer.


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Offline Laitch

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #13 on: July 16, 2018, 01:04:11 PM »
You were warned in Reply#1, Bryan. It's just the way things sugar off with these pumps. Embrace it!
  • Along the Ridley in Vermont.
  • 1995 K75 89,000 miles
I wept because I had no radials until I met a man who had no splines.
https://tinyurl.com/RillRider

Offline BryanD

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #14 on: July 16, 2018, 07:34:57 PM »
You were warned in Reply#1, Bryan. It's just the way things sugar off with these pumps. Embrace it!

Yeah Laitch, and I heeded that warning VERY seriously lest I created the failure during installation.  I was extremely careful throughout the entire procedure.  Like I said, it would have gotten a green light from me if I had worked on it for NASA.  Seriously.  I was careful to the point of saying to myself, "Now Bryan, you're just being ridiculous, here...". 

Oh well.  I've collected my senses again, pulled all of the screwdrivers and wrenches out of the drywall ( :eek:) and am ready to start all over again! 
  • Louisville
  • 95 K1100rs

Offline BryanD

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #15 on: July 25, 2018, 08:19:04 PM »
Finally got back to re-doing this seal job.  I did everything again precisely the way I did it the first time.  This time, it seems to have taken OK.  I have no clue to what went wrong the first time. 

 :musicboohoo:  :hehehe
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Offline Laitch

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #16 on: July 25, 2018, 09:19:32 PM »
 :birthday:
  • Along the Ridley in Vermont.
  • 1995 K75 89,000 miles
I wept because I had no radials until I met a man who had no splines.
https://tinyurl.com/RillRider

Offline BryanD

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Re: K1100 Water/Oil Pump Fun
« Reply #17 on: July 26, 2018, 09:10:50 PM »
I wanted to add one more thing, for anyone that finds themselves doing this project.  The first time I performed this task, I drove the water pump seal with a 27mm thin-wall socket.  The second time, I drove it with a 1" CPVC Coupling i picked up at Lowe's.  It worked perfectly.  Below is a part number (50110).  I believe the ID was 1-1/8" (1.125 on my dial caliper).

  • Louisville
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