Water Pump leaking. Help!

[MotoManiac]

I have a 01 YZ250 andrecently the water pump started to leak through the gasket. I replaced the gasket and after about 1/2 an hour it started to leak again. Do I need to re-surface the pump cover or something? Can't see why it would leak. Any thoughts??? --Ryan

 

[bclapham]

that doesnt sound good on such a new bike! have you been running coolant? my old cr had these problems, the previous owner had only run tap water causing the cases to corrode, which leaked...no matter what i did (rebuild cases with devcon epoxy, and re-surface) the problem just kept coming back, a complete nightmare but the bike got stolen before i bought new cases though!

have you had the pump apart at any point?, since on such a new bike i would only expect it to be damage (eg prying it off and gouging the surface, or dirt or debris contamination during reassmebly) to the surfaces to be causing the problem.

be careful, if you have a corrosion issue, that old cr once dumped the entire radiator contents into the gearbox-even after i had "fixed" it. it seems like corrosion in them places is like termites....once in its hard to get rid off.

please let me know how you get on, ive got the same bike as you and would hate to come down with the same curse again....ill keep my eye out!

later bruce

 

[cr250john]

Are you sure it's leaking out of the gasket and not a small "weep hole" in the bottom?

If it's leaking out of the weep hole, one of the pump shaft seals has gone bad.
My two sons ride '01 CR80's and one of them recently developed a water pump leak. I replaced the seals and cover gaskets. Problem fixed.

 

[MotoManiac]

It appears that the pump seals have gone bad. It wasnt the gasket after all. I had to remove the entire crankcase cover. The water pump bearing had some rough spots in it as well. That little booger cost 30 bucks. Anyway thanks for the help.