BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Good morning boys, has anyone had a small coolant leak from the small unplugged hole in the lefthand side of the engine block  :nervous: It is only a few spots after a short ride out, however research elsewhere seems to indicate a water pump failure....its going back to the dealers Monday so I`ll let you know the corporate answer later !

64 plate R1200 RT LE  ( WC  OBS ! )

Shinyface  :kacsint2:

ps I`ve been on here and the K16 site a few years however after a computer cock up so my id is slightly different !

Welcome back Shinyface hope the water issue is not too bad, but will check mine now.

That hole goes in a long way and there would seem to be a pump in there somewhere. It was a common problem on the 1600s but they have an external pump and they leaked through the drive shaft.  Have you any staining on the engine block?
With such a big drilled hole it might be normal and could just be condensation.

When my bike was new it leaked a small amount through the vent only. The leak was very small, the coolant level in the expansion tank over time only dropped by a small amount. By the time I had done 3500 miles the leak had cured itself. Its now dry. Apparently on some bikes the water pump seals take a little time to bed in hence the weep of coolant. I would just ride the bike and check coolant level after each ride and hopefully it will cure itself. However if the weep is sufficient that the expansion tank requires more than one top up then I would go to your dealer and get them to replace the pump.

Thanks Boys for the replies, its deffo coolant as its slightly blue, there`s not much but it shouldn`t be there. I also noticed that the temp blocks were going up and down at will ( -1  +1 etc ) for no reason as it was in top gear on the level with the same load on the engine, ( cool temp 11c ) . I assume it may be a pressure issue possibly linked to the small leak. hey ho

I thought I had seen the last of this after my K16 in two years had....two clutches, one gearbox, two starter clutches, starter motor, five switches and a electric screen repair. Other than that it was a great bike, apart from the oil leak from the starter which cut short my last summers Alpine tours with friends.

Shinyface

The blue indicates that it is coolant. On other discussion boards you will find many opinions but the prevailing thought seems to suggest that the small leak will seal itself with time. Altitude seems to be part of the cause. The two dealers that I have spokes with agree that its fairly normal and self correcting.


I had a GTL and had to replace two water pumps. Thats one reason I went back to an RT.


While I've noticed that my heat gauge moves up and down one 1 notch initially gave me some concern but Ive spoken to several owners and Im not concerned anymore.


Best wishes on the new bike,


Bud   

http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/rt-series/1 ... -leak.html




Try this web site:


Might be a help if one of our German friends on the forum dropped in on the factory to see what they say.

Thanks Budman, its back at the dealers today, the tech said he would be ordering a water pump if he thought it needed it..............either that or til he speaks to Bmw warranty division. I`ll keep you posted.

Shinyface

Well boys further to the water leak saga the official line from is Bracknell.......

" Yes we can see there is a leak ( photo ) , we are aware of the problem but at this stage we will monitor the situation before changing the water pump "  what a load of bollocks, sorry..... :silence:
Next month they will have to " monitor " the situation from Potes Northern Spain, good luck with that..... >:D

Shinyface

The dealers have been good in dealing with the situation but are driven by them on high.......

According to my dealer they have only ever changed 1 pump and that was in a GS. They have also been told by BMW not to  exchange  them unless there is a complete failure.  Some misting through the hole is apparently normal.  As you say, we shall see.

I guess the reason BMW don't want to immediately change the pump is that the weep is caused by a seal not bedding in, not a pump failure. Mine weeped for the first 3500 miles. After every ride I wiped a small amount of blue coolant from the side of the engine and then checked the level in the reservoir. Over that time the level never went below minimum. I got the dealer to check it and it was topped up once. The amount of loss was very small, looked much worse. It has now remained dry for the last 7000 miles. So I guess if the loss is small, do nothing, monitor expansion reservoir and pray it fixes itself. However if you have to top up the reservoir after every ride then thats not acceptable, I would press for a replacement.


The big question is "Why should a water pump seal need bedding in." Surely it should just work ! Isn't modern engineering wonderful.

Shinyface just thought of something, as you are travelling off to Spain can't you get your dealer to pressure check your system. I believe that they can do that and if it passes may give you some hope that your not going to get stuck. May be they can't and I'm taking total bollocks but worth checking out.

Thanks for the replies I`m going to put as many miles on it as possible before it goes abroad, then reassess the problem or not we shall see.

Shinyface

Hello. On my bike it's no blue coolant coming out off the little hole at the left side. After driving 530km afew days agoe, the side off the engine was covered with some black oily stuff. I didn't drive hard and it was cold weather. Is it motoroil leaking thru the waterpump?

Fosningen wrote: Hello. On my bike it's no blue coolant coming out off the little hole at the left side. After driving 530km afew days agoe, the side off the engine was covered with some black oily stuff. I didn't drive hard and it was cold weather. Is it motoroil leaking thru the waterpump?

Take it back straight away to your dealer.
What the others are reporting is the smallest amount of coolant. If yours covers more then just a dribble then there could be a more serious issue. Let your dealer have a look at it and decide what is required to be done.