Dirt Rider Long Haul FE650

Hey j, glad to see you on here! That leak you describe is a pain! I think most of us here will tell you that the leak at the weep hole is last issue Husaberg needs to address on this engine. If you dig through the owners doc, there are a couple of tips in there. The seal is delicate and can be damaged easily, I would suggest a little grease, but you have probably already tried that, but have you tried the special little tool that Husaberg sells to protect the seal during installation?

Husabutt just posted this pic the other day,



This will help install the side case without damaging the seal.

I promise you will be better treated here than on TT.

:lol:

Nice to see you here Jimmy, I am a Dirt Rider Subscriber and as an enthusiast I appreciate your candor. I feel that you guys are as impartial as is possible, keep up the good work. Here's one for you the Aussie Bros here are planning a "Force Ride" Down Under in 2008 with a recon ride this May. How about Dirt Rider covering it ? These guys are Hard Core off roaders it's gotta make for a great story! Come on you missed the Moab Force Ride you owe it to yourself.

Ron

this is a real problem area .

if it is going to give you problems they will be ongoing , you will find you have a good seal for a short time and then it will leak again .

i know that it helps to fit the seal into the case square , like exactly into the recess .

i used fine sand paper to smooth out the rough spots on the shaft .

my 650 had 200 hrs on it when i sold it and i had to constantly change the seals , it would only last a very short period and then leak .

The 07 models have a different seal in behind the impellor that is softer and provides better sealing. The seal will be subbed in and is an all rubber seal, the old one had the steel case.

JL Glad to see you here. Keep up the good work

fryguy

fryguy said:

The 07 models have a different seal in behind the impellor that is softer and provides better sealing. The seal will be subbed in and is an all rubber seal, the old one had the steel case.

JL Glad to see you here. Keep up the good work

fryguy

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Does that part# replace for the 05 06???????

Bobzilla said:

fryguy said:

The 07 models have a different seal in behind the impellor that is softer and provides better sealing. The seal will be subbed in and is an all rubber seal, the old one had the steel case.

JL Glad to see you here. Keep up the good work

fryguy

Click to expand...

Does that part# replace for the 05 06???????

Click to expand...

Possibly that is what fryguy means when he says "subbed in" :?:

I have had the sidecover on and off my 501 at least 20 times, never used an install tool and after about the first half dozen times I thought I should change the waterpump seals seeing as they can be a source of trouble. Anyway I pulled the old seal out (it was a full rubber type) and installed a genuine new one (steel back type). The new seal leaked quite excessivly after about a half an hour of riding and as I had planned a ride the following day all I could do to fix this problem was to try the old seal again. It worked, and to this day it still has not leaked, and I havent been game to try to replace it for fear of introducing a leak.

Maybe mine has the 07 seal in it so I might order one of them to see if it will fit as I am sure I will need one soon. So from my experience the full rubber type seems to be the go.

I did notice on my housing where the seal sits there was some damage, like a gouge from removing a seal carelessly, and I think mine possibly leaked past there and not up the shaft where the seal contacts it

Mick

Thanks Risky. My anglish isn't two good sumtimez.

Yes the new seal will work in all applications and will be the only seal available

A little history,

The original husaberg seals like those found on the 2001 series were the "old" style and were rubber on the outside with radial ribs to seal the outside with a steel inner.

The newer seal which is the same as the KTM's I believe is all steel on the outside and is a hard nut to get installed. It is also my understanding that this newer seal is "hard" in relative terms, and that is why you see the grooving on the shaft itself.

I have had to replace my seal on my 04 550 twice along with the bearing after riding in flash flood conditions during the Jack Rabbits Hare Scrambles a year ago due to the fact the weep hole faces forward and it got impacted with mud.

However, since that time I have not had to replace the seal since. I have been running Evans coolant as well, don't know if that has anything to do with it or not. It did weep a bit since I had overfilled the rad, but since that time has not weeped at all.

When I install the seal I put some three bond 1211 on the outside of the seal to make sure that the steel outer seals against the case. It is my opinion that if you have scored the case during the installation of the seal as I did during my first attempt, you will have a leak around the outside of the seal. I have since solved this problem with a proper drift made of 1" aluminum round stock.

I don't have the nifty little tool that you can from Husaberg, I just use some scotch 33 electrical tape wrapped around the shaft where the circlip groove is.

So Jimmy, maybe that is what is happening with your bike. Have a close look at the case where the seal "seats" in the case to see if it's scored. If it is perhaps a little three bond 1211 is the cure. However, if the new seal is as I imagine it, that may solve your problem too.

I'm glad to hear that they are going back to a rubber coated seal like the "old" ones. I bet this will make installation a lot easier.

I now have 140 hours on my 550 and it's running great.

Hope this helps,


P.S. Thank You for your no bs write ups of our bikes, as well as all the rest of the bikes you test. It's nice to have an enthusiast as the editor of DR. I for one enjoy your writing.

Hey Folks,

One other possible root cause of the water pump seal is coolant type. Although this is not likely the cause of the Berg seal being intermittent, it could come into play in some cases.

On both motorcycle engines and industrial natural gas engine I have experienced where changing of the coolant to another type introduces new leaks. Specifically this will happen when changing from standard green coolant to the newer "long Life" (red/orange) variety. Standard coolant typically has a much higher silicate content than long life. The purpose of the silicates is to help seal up leaks....when the slow leaking coolant hits atmosphere it turns into a hard cristaline substance and thus begins to seal the leak path. We're talking slow leaks here....not the "pool on the ground" variety. If you've ever seen hard greenish crystals hanging off a coolant hose on your bike or car its crytalized silicates.
Long life coolant is a "low silicate" coolant. If you switch up to long life after running standard coolant for a while, the long life will tend to wash away the cristaline particles which were sealing up slow leaks. This problem is so evident in the industrial world that long life (low silicate) coolant is NOT approved for use in Caterpillar natural gas engines.

My suggestion is, if you need to top up or change your coolant, stick with the same brand / type that originally came out. This way you won't be introducing leaks.

Just another piece to the puzzle....

Regards,
Nick

Jlewis,
If it is not too much trouble, would it be possible for you to present here the findings from your 200 hr tear down.
Thx...NSMAN

on my 02 fe650e, i had to replace the seal after about 60hrs.
there are two items to understand, imho,
1-use the install tool and/or resurface the shaft so it doesnt damage the seal.
2-make sure your coolant is not filled to the top of the radiator filler cap.
its like the old muscle cars, you never filled the system all the way.
there is always an 'air gap' in the radiator, or an area without coolant.
as the temp rises the gas can then be compressed.
hope that helps.
tuts :devil:

JLewis said:

I'm going to tear the bike down completely now and get a good look at the insides. When I reassemble it I'd like to dial this one nagging problem in.

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Hey Jimmy. Sorry I didn't catch this thread a little sooner. If you want you can just bring the bike by my place and I'll walk you through the proper way to get the WP shaft to seal... the whole job only takes 15 minutes from start to finish. I should have a few seals in stock.

If you plan on tearing the motor completely apart, I have the case splitter as well...