HELP - Impeller shaft removal troubles

[Trent]

I have a 98 wr and on hot rides the coolant leaks out from the drain hole in the water pump. While trying to remove the impeller shaft I was taking off the impeller and as I was trying to unscrew it from the impeller shaft the whole assembly started turning and the impeller did not unscrew. Something gave inside...I assume it is the narrow part of the impeller that snapped. What to do? Can I pry the impeller and the impeller shaft out of the housing? Any ideas?

[MotoGreg]

Did it break free or is there still some resistance? If there is still resistance, you're just turning over the motor, that's what mine did. I don't think you have to pull the impeller off to remove the case cover anyways, it's just easier to break it loose while the motor is holding the back part of the shaft rather than trying to break it loose holding the back part with pliers or something.

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MotoGreg - The voice of absurdity

'99 WR400 - 'Cause thumpers rule and two-strokes drool!

'92 GSXR 7/11 (But I wanna get a dope 916)

I might let you visit my photo album for $3 - ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK - DANGER LURKS WITHIN

[Trent]

no, it is spinning like a free top! I haven't been able to pull the shaft out...I guess the bearing is too tight a fit. If I can't pull it out then I am going to have to remove the whole right side cover which I don't want to do as I have a race this weekend and don't know if I will get the gaskets in time. Speaking of which, I know the manual calls for the clutch cover gasket and the crankcase cover gaskets to be replaced...how crucial is this?

[MotoGreg]

You have to pull the whole side cover no matter what. You can't change the seals unless you take it off. Once you pull off the cover you can lock some vice-grips on the shaft and then unscrew the impeller. You are going to need to get both seals and the impeller shaft. I didn't change the cover gasket, it came off fine without tearing. Also be careful, there are two or three o-rings as well. It's not a hard job, pull off the kickstarter and rear brake lever, then pull the clutch basket out and unbolt all the cover screws and it's off. The hardest part is getting the clutch basket back in because it has to mesh with a couple different gears and you might think it's in all the way but it won't be, you have to fiddle with it for a couple minutes. And also you have to be able to torque the clutch basket nut of course.

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MotoGreg - The voice of absurdity

'99 WR400 - 'Cause thumpers rule and two-strokes drool!

'92 GSXR 7/11 (But I wanna get a dope 916)

I might let you visit my photo album for $3 - ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK - DANGER LURKS WITHIN

[MotoGreg]

Oh ya, I forgot... stop trying to pull the shaft out, it comes out through the back of the cover once the impeller blade is taken off the front of it. You can't pull it out the front, there is a lip on it.

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MotoGreg - The voice of absurdity

'99 WR400 - 'Cause thumpers rule and two-strokes drool!

'92 GSXR 7/11 (But I wanna get a dope 916)

I might let you visit my photo album for $3 - ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK - DANGER LURKS WITHIN

[Trent]

Yup, the sleeve of the impeller that fits inside the balancer broke right off and remains inside the balancer. I hope to find a magnet that is small enough tomorrow to reach in and pull the broken off part out. What a lame job of engineering. I didn't check to see if the impeller is made of steel so that a magnet will work...hope it is.

MotoGreg...thanks for the help, much appreciated.

[Trent]

The balancer is hollow so I pulled the left crankcase cover and just pushed out the broken nib.

A caution to anyone removing the impeller. I would suggest not removing the impeller simply by unscrewing from the impeller shaft...this may break the shaft. Instead, pull the right crankcase cover and remove the impeller while holding the impeller shaft with a wrench. May save a bunch of time and a broken impeller shaft.

Mine is all fixed and ready to try tomorrow.

[Trent]

Can anyone tell me if the balancer is hollow all the way through? If so, then I could take the left side crankcase cover off and push the broken impeller nib out through the left side.