Oil leak from water pump?

manatee · 04-19-2007, 08:44 PM

Hi all,

I bought a used 2000 GSXR 600 about a year ago. It has dripped oil very slowly since then. After an hour of riding, there would be a drop of oil on the bottom of the drain plug. If I let the bike sit overnight, there might be a single drop on the ground. This would continue whether I rode the bike or not.

Over the last couple weeks, I've let the bike sit in my garage to see if I could pinpoint the drip. I checked everything I could see once I took off the plastics, lifted the tank, and removed the coolant reservoir. The engine block is dry, and so is the casing / joint around the generator cover. The drain plug isn't leaking either.

After a day or so, the only place I can see oil beginning to pool up is on the bottom of the water pump. Everything else I can see, except the clutch assembly area, is still dry.

Is it possible for a water pump to leak oil? Or is something above it more likely leaking and then the oil is running down and collecting on the bottom of the water pump?

I've included a couple pics that show the view as I'm lying under the bike. The red arrow shows the point where the drop of oil forms on the bottom of the water pump. The yellow arrows mark the seam in the pump where oil is also collecting (over the course of a day or so).

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I'll probably have to take the bike in to the shop to get it fixed since this is out of my skill and available tool range.

Thanks for your help!

Justin726 · 04-19-2007, 08:54 PM

Since there is no oil in your water pump, it can't be coming from the pump housing itself. It's probably not the gasket your arrows are pointing to. The water pump slides into the side of the engine where it mates up with the "driving unit" that spins the water pump. Well the shaft part of the water pump (that slides into the engine) has an O-ring on it to seal against the hole in the side of the engine (to keep the oil from leaking out). I'm guessing it's probably that O-ring is bad and that is causing the leak and running down the back side of the water pump where you are seeing it. I actually just replaced my exact O-ring on my Busa 2 days ago. I had the same type of very slow leak. I haven't had time to test it to see if it completely fixed the problem, but from what I could find out on the Hayabusa boards, the O-ring was my problem. Your water pump looks identical to mine, so I'm assuming the setup is very similar. Hopefully somebody can verify this or tell me I'm full of shit.\

This is the best picture I could find of a 600 water pump. It is from an older version but it shows the O-ring on the shaft very well. Talk to your techs at the dealer and see if they think that might be the problem. Good luck.

Veefer97 · 04-20-2007, 11:37 AM

Could the leak be from the transmition shaft seal (behind the front sprocket)?

manatee · 04-20-2007, 04:16 PM

Thanks for the pic of the water pump shaft! It sounds like that could very well be the problem. I'll definitely ask them if that's the likely problem. I'll also ask them about the transmission shaft seal.

manatee · 05-23-2007, 02:33 PM

It's all fixed now. It was the O-ring!

Justin726 · 05-23-2007, 02:40 PM

Same as mine. Good to hear you're back up and running.

Choco · 05-23-2007, 02:48 PM

had the same problem on my 6 as well.....think theres an old thread here somewhere.

dpthdiver · 06-20-2007, 12:23 PM

I used this thread and fixed my 94 ZX-11. Thanks!

Justin726 · 06-20-2007, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpthdiver

I used this thread and fixed my 94 ZX-11. Thanks!

Glad we could help. That's what we're here for.

DUX · 07-03-2008, 03:04 PM

Same issue with mine.

Guy sold it to me claimed there were no leaks. When I got it home and pulled the fairings, the oil pan had been wiped clean.

One small drop of oil would seep out every few days and collect on the drain plug. Not enough to worry about, but I still wanted it fixed.

Thanks to you guys and the posts. I took it up to my local speed-shop and we pulled the water pump. Like I said, bottom of the engine was wiped clean but a lot of crud was behind the water pump b/c he couldn't reach it. Sure enough, the o-ring was pinched, probably at the factory.

New o-ring, fresh oil, and labor.....$20. No more leak. Good deal on the bike b/c he was dumping it...priceless.