I am a new SH owner and just need to take care of a couple things on the bike before she is road worthy. I am leaking coolant from the drain tube that comes from the weep hole in the water pump. I have the new seals and I am just waiting on the right case gasket before I tear it apart. My intentions are to have the bearings and seals pressed in by a shop since the adjustments need to be within spec(according to the manual). My questions are:

Is there anything to be concerned about with removal and installation of the right case?

What type if sealant do you recommend on the gasket?

I live in South Florida and I am wondering what type of coolant to add?

Also, anything else anyone could think of that would be helpful would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Paul

 

Hi Paul-I live in southeast Florida. While I have not had any leaks, I did change my coolant and used Honda's pre-mixed coolant plus I think about four onces of Redline Water Wetter(check bottle for correct amount). No overheating problems even in out hot humid weather. Are you on the east or west coast? Hope all goes well changing your seal-Mort

 

Hey Mort,

I am in Port Saint Lucie... Where are you at?

 

Pulling the cover isn't all that hard. I just unscrewed the pulse pick up from the cover instead of bothering to try and find the harness plug.
I was putting in an advancer when I had the cover off but you can see it hanging on the right of this pic:



The tricky part is putting that #$%@% back on..... Actually it's not that hard if you have a helper and I highly advise you find someone to help hold the gasket and get everything lined up. Try to do it by yourself, well hope you like to cuss....

For sealant, use Hondabond and also only apply it in the sections that are shown in the manual, don't put it on the entire gasket

 

Sorry, missed you coolant question.

I have run just standard Honda coolant in mine for years with no issues. The water wetter can't hurt though I have never needed it but then there is a lot less humidity here.

Right now I have one of the "Fancy" coolants in there, I forgot which brand but I won it at a bike night and it's some purple stuff, Anyways it's pretty pricey stuff. so I figured it was time for a coolant flush anyways, why not give it a try. The bike runs at the exact same temp as it did before.

So it kind of run what you like but for me, when it's time to change it again, it's back to just standard coolant. Keep it fresh by flushing the system every couple of years and you should have no problems.

 

Make sure you get all the old gasket material off. But be patient, you don't want to gouge or scrape off any magnesium/aluminum.

What usually works to line up the gasket, is to push the bolts through the cover with the gasket attached, then line the cover up with the engine case, start all the bolts before tightening. And don't over torque the bolts.

And yes, an extra pair of hands would be helpful.

 

Thanks everyone. How about the impeller shaft? It should line back up with the gears on the motor correct?

 

Yes the splines on the shaft will need to mesh with the gear,, but it's not a big deal.. it will go right in place with at most a little twist of the impeller (or whole cover)