Technical query

yellowstorm · Post by **yellowstorm** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 6:11 pm

1997 Firestorm (FV model)

Following on from Oh S**t, I appear to have a small hole in the front of my clutch cover (adjacent to the fwd cylinder and exhaust) next to the water pump housing cover.

Its about the size of a biro tip and perfectly circular. The fact it is such a uniform shape makes me think it's meant to be there. However on topping up with coolant, it did seem to be escaping from this hole. I'm not sure if that was down to the fact the water/coolant had alraedy breached the clutch cover gasket.

A suggestion is that the hole is some kind of pressure release if the impeller packs up then the water will escape throught the hole instead of blowing the gasket or seals and mixing with the oil. However there is an overflow tube on the water pump housing that also seems to do this.

I'm wandering whether to patch the hole up or replace the cover, but if someone can take a quick look on their bike and see if its meant to be there, that would be much appreciated.

Thank you all in advance

Post by **sirch345** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 6:26 pm

I've just had a look at my bike and if you mean on the flat part of the clutch cover the part that actually faces to the front of the bike, but is vertical then yes I do have a hole in it, it's just above the front bottom bolt for water pump housing. Mine though has a short metal cranked tube coming from it with what appears to be a drain hose attached to it.

Hope that is clear,

Chris.

maxchilli · Post by **maxchilli** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 6:27 pm

Hi yellowstorm

I had the exact same thing happening with mine, which I bought as a damaged repairable. If memory serves correctly it was the impeller bearing that wasn't sealing properly. The hole is there purposely to let water out if it gets through, so in that respect it's doing its job!

I didn't have the skill / tools to remove and replace the bearing correctly so took it to my local bike shop who replaced it for a small fee.

Hope this helps, I'll grab my paperwork later to double check what I've said. Nice to get back on the forums TBH, I've been a bit of a lurker lately...

All the best
Mark

yellowstorm · Post by **yellowstorm** » Mon Aug 25, 2008 8:39 pm

I seem to have discovered what the hole is for (i think).

Looking at the workshop manual it shows a Mechanical Seal Inspection Hole. It mentions that if coolant were to leak through this hole, the mechanical seal has failed.

So good job i didn't fill it with chemical metal.