03 VFR coolant leak

started the bike up yesterday in the garage and let it run till it warmed up, i noticed a smell of antifreeze, and then notice a couple of drops of coolant on the ground. looks to be coming from the water pump area, i havent really gotten to get a good look at it since the bike is tucked in the back of the garage at the moment. this week ill pull the fairing off and try to locate where its coming from. but is this somewhat of a common problem? i heard sometimes the entire pump needs replaced.

shes got about 38k miles on her now, so the whole pump might need replaced.

 

Coming from a cold climate myself...I see ALOT of that sort of thing with infrequent use in Fall and Spring. Usually tightening the hose clamps on the coolant plumbing is enought to fix it. I think the colder temperatures effect the fit of the rubber in the hoses.

 

Has the bike ever been down? If so, check the left radiator to see if the fan blades have cut into the radiator. Its common for bikes that have been laid down and if you've been riding it could blow back... blah blah blah.

You should also check the inspection hole on the water pump itself. Our pumps are designed to spring a small leak to warn us that there is a problem to deal with.

http://server1.geekstorage.com/~meatloaf/water pump.JPG

 

i guess ill see here in a day or so when i get to take a good look at it. hopefully the pump isnt shot, thats $140 bucks.

 

A water pump is cheaper than a radiator. It is easy to replace as well, just remember to have new coolant, the two o-rings, and new sealing washers on hand if you have to replace it. That way you aren't waiting on more parts even after you get the water pump in.

 

ill order the pump through the service center at work.. I work at ELP the honda auto plant.
hopefully its just a hose or something small.
but if its a pump no biggie. i got all winter to get it swapped out.

 

A screwdriver is cheaper than either a water pump or a radiator. I don't replace many water pumps...they're pretty reliable. I'd say 90 percent of the time it's just a loose clamp. If it's at the pump area itself, sometimes it's hard to tell where exactly the leak is occuring since there's a confluence of hoses as well as the 'weep' hole itself. I usually clean everything up, grab a flashlight and try to 'catch it in the act'.

 

I also found a small coolant leak on my 2004 yesterday. Have only ridden half dozen times this year. It was dripping a few drops in the garage upon warm up. Took off the throttle side, side fairing and found it originating from a 1/4" hole through the side frame. This hole is inside a ~1 1/2" dia inset in the frame (should have snapped a pic). This is around the level of the thermostat, under the throttle bodies. When I started it back up it didn’t leak anymore. My theory is, it is from one of the hoses that may be slightly loose or one which is a bit dry and allows a weep…until the bike ran for a bit, warmed up and magically sealed itself. Question is, has anyone else had dripping from this inconspicuous hole or know what might be going on here?

 

Not sure exactly which hole in the frame you're referring to ... but when I replaced my thermostat I guess I didn't tighten down the clamps all the way and I had coolant pooling between the cylinders under the T-stat and running out a hole in the frame about t-stat level...

 

I have a 2002 VFR and have a slight coolant drip at the bottom of my water pump too, bike always has run cool so the pump is working, can I fix this by replacing all the seals/O-rings or do i need a new water pump period?

 

I ended up replacing the water pump as the individual gasket was on back order. I figured I'd just replace it rather than wait for the gasket to come in. I also took the opportunity to replace the thermostat while I was at it. I believe I was someone in the 55k miles on the odo.