'97 blade water pump seal change.

[Pete.]

My brother's blade started leaking coolant from the water pump bleed hole. We stripped the pump down using my hydraulic press and found that the mechanical seal had a split bellows. Honda will only sell a new pump at over £200 and any used pump is going to be risking the same problem as the rubber seals will be similarly hardened over time so there was nothing to do but change the seal.
Easier said than done as it happens because Honda used a Type 73 SPECIAL seal that's an odd size. The seal face and ceramic rotor are identical to a standard £10 seal but they used an over-sized dish to mount the static part. New seal on the left, old seal dish on the right in the pic.

https://peterrimmer.myby.co.uk/images/blade_pump01.jpg

So we need a way to mount the new seal in the hole. We decided to bond it into the old dish, so first job is to cut off the base of the dish to make a ring. I jammed the thing onto a tip-ex pen to hold it and ground the corner away on my bench grinder to cut the base away from the dish.

https://peterrimmer.myby.co.uk/images/blade_pump02.jpg

https://peterrimmer.myby.co.uk/images/blade_pump03.jpg

leaving us with all these bits to assemble:

https://peterrimmer.myby.co.uk/images/blade_pump04.jpg

Bonded the new static seal into the ring of the old one. No need to be super-fussy as it doesn't spin but the tapered lip does a good job of keeping it central anyway:

https://peterrimmer.myby.co.uk/images/blade_pump05.jpg

But now the seat is 1mm thicker so turn 1mm off the face of the pump to give the right spring pressure:

https://peterrimmer.myby.co.uk/images/blade_pump07.jpg

Press in the shaft:

https://peterrimmer.myby.co.uk/images/blade_pump08.jpg

Sealant on the seal and new ceramic in the impeller:

https://peterrimmer.myby.co.uk/images/blade_pump06.jpg

Finally press in the seal:

https://peterrimmer.myby.co.uk/images/blade_pump09.jpg

Impeller was pressed back on and it's all like new again. Job done for a tenner and a couple of hours work.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[barrkel]

And a lathe and hydraulic press and grinder and space to keep them all
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Bikes: S1000R, SH350; Exes: Vity 125, PS125, YBR125, ER6f, VFR800, Brutale 920, CB600F, SH300x4
Best road ever ridden: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2MhNxUEYtQ

[Iain.]

[Pete.]

You work with what you've got. Strictly there's no need for the lathe or the press, the job could have been done with just the grinder and a bit of ingenuity but this way was easiest.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good