Hi all,

noticed the clutch cover gasket on my 2002 Rev3 250, is sticking out at the top, and leaking oil. I've got a new one, and am looking to replace it tommorow. I'm assuming the water pump has to come out first?..or does it come away with the rest of the clutch cover ..all in one piece?..(haven't looked that closely at it yet). If I do need to take out the water pump gubbings first..will I need to drain the system?

ANY advice is welcome..'cause I'm not TOO good with the spanners ..Thanks in advance for any help.

Stu,

You don't have to remove the water pump. It comes off with the case. I had to reposition the gasket on my '04 rev. The biggest pain was that the skid plate rubber interferes with the cover and I had to partially remove the skid plate to get the rubber out. The earlier revs may be a bit different though. I think this was one of the target areas when they lost so much weight in '03. You will need to drain the coolant before doing the job. If you have to remove the skid plate, a 6" C-clamp will make it much easier to put back together.

Thanks RON,

Thats what I was hoping..and I did think the bash-plate rubber might be a nuisance...know what you mean about the C clamps though, since I've had the bash plate off before.

But...(and this is probably a dumb question)..why would I have to drain all the coolant?..I was hoping it just all stayed within the pump/system?

Thanks in advance if you can help me a bit on that one.

Keep those suggestions coming in folks ...I need ALL the help I can get!

you should'nt need to drain the coolant if you remove it as one item,leave the pipes on and lift it as one unit

Phew..thats good news...THanks g.rasp

I might even be able to get it right now. Off to do it in a mo..will let you all know later how I get on. Cheers for all the help.

OK..job done...can't believe it..AND I didnt break anything.

Just in case anyone else is watching this with interest I can now confirm that you MUST drain the coolant first (thanks ROn!)..can be done very easily by opening the screw at the bottom of water pump.

AND..you must remove bash-plate and rubber, since one of the clutch cover bolts is hiding behind the bash plate rubber.

In fact the hardest/worst part of the job was taking the bash plate off and on. Its a nightmare...VERY easy to strip the threads..especially if you cannot hold the plate with G clamps or something whilst inserting/removing the bolts.

SO...back on the bike again...hopefully some more crashing on the weekend