coolant in gearbox

[Glenn RE5]

help ! just started my re5 after light restore, the bike has only done 118 miles from new, every thing was checked inc rad recore, no leaks on oil or coolant,now started for the first time ran ok then water/oil started coming out from behind the starter motor, killed motor asap, now when i put water in rad it goes in to oil at a very fast rate, do i put the thing in sea or can it be fixed! is it the o rings in the roter ?

[timpa136]

water/oil started coming out from behind the starter motor
That area should be from the trans.
Was the clutch cover removed? Maybe just a slipped clutch cover gasket.

[Glenn RE5]

thats a good point, i took the starter motor off and water from the rad comes out of the opening,

[wayne]

Take out your transmission drain plug. Sounds like it could be full of water. Best get it out before anything else.

Just on the face of it, doesn't sound like engine water seals are your problem. Engine oil and the tranny oil are quite separate. Any engine leak should be filling up your engine sump, not the tranny sump. I'd go with something amiss in the clutch cover area.

Is there any coolant leaking from the telltale hole under the water pump ?

[goandy]

What Wayne said. My first suspect would be the water pump seals. When you say water from the rad comes out of the hole where the starter was, is that the level of water in the motor??? That would suggest you poured about 10L of coolant in and as said it's filled the motor up. It could also be a core plug has come out/corroded in the rotor unit. I'd suspect the rotor housing o rings last.

The only other place water can leak into the clutch area is the top of the clutch cover, either the gasket could go bad or there is a corrosion hole there.

Whichever way it is, sounds like the only way to go is to remove the clutch cover and go from there... Good luck!

[Glenn RE5]

Yes your right the gearbox was full of water, was ok till i started it water and gearbox level were ok, its not a slow leak water pours out of of top of gearbox as fast as i put it in!taken drain plug out now anyway, when i took the water pump cover of before there was sludge in there and signs of a water stain on the outer cover near where that hole is ,

[wayne]

Well if water hasn't been pouring out of the telltale, then it is unlikely that the pump waterseal is shot enough to allow that much water into your gearbox. Also, the w/pump oil seal would have to be totally shot as well to allow that. Unlikely.

Sounds like the clutch cover must come off. Not as intimidating as it looks.

While its off, replace all seals and buy one of Jess's waterpump shaft tip bearings to replace the piece of cheese that Suzuki used.

[Glenn RE5]

Thanks for all your advice.taken clutch cover off and it as as you said a core plug has like split open i can feel the sharp ends when i put my finger on it. Any advise on replacing it and maybe the other 3 would be helpfull !

[goandy]

Why has it split- frozen at some point or rusted through? If that's the case I would replace all the core plugs which you should be able to do ok without removing the rotor unit from the frame.

I tap one side of the core plug with a centre punch then lever/pull it out- some people use a large flat blade screwdriver sharpened up and punched through the centre on the core plug then lever out the remains.... Whatever way tickles your fancy really, there is not much finesse to core plug removal.

Replacement- I usually hammer them home with a socket just the right size as the drift, I usually lubricate the outer edge of the core plug with gasket sealant.

I assume you're ok to get the flywheel assembly off- you'll need the 40/41mm socket for that one. Good luck! Have a look at my rotor unit rebuild thread for some info on getting that side of the engine apart if you need to...

[Glenn RE5]

Will post more info when i remove the old plug thanks for all the help !