700 Water pump shaft and general ??'s

[rmkrazi]

I went to replace my water pump belt today and found that the groove on the end of the water pump shaft is starting to wear and round off on the inside edges where it contacts the oil pump drive. Would it be a good idea to replace this or could I get away with it for the season? I already know the answer to that question but entertain me any ways. How hard of a fix is this and what seals and gaskets should I change if I decide to change this?
Another thing I noticed was a small puddle of oil of some sort had collected in the stator housing almost directly below the stator. Its seems like wherever this came from it hasn't been there too long cause it wasn't spattered all over the inside of the housing. The machine hasn't ran since last march and I fogged the motor last spring. What could this be? Dried out or blown seal is all i can think of. Hope not!!
Also, should there be a gasket between the recoil and stator housing and should the hole above the stator be plugged or open so it can vent. Sorry for a lengthy post, thanks for any input.

 

[rocket]

The wear you are describing is "typical" and doesn't sound bad enough to be worried. I've seen that slot worn to the point where the pump will turn about 45 degrees before it contacts anything - THAT is worn too much. The oil inside your stator housing is probably fogging oil - over time, oil can start to seep past the seals in the motor, especially as they get older. If the oil is blown all over the place, then you have a bad seal. If you do feel you need to change the seal for peace of mind, the seal is attached to the back of the mag housing, not buried in the motor, so it can be changed fairly easily. No, there is no gasket between the recoil and mag housing and the hole (for access to timing marks on flywheel) may be left open or be covered with tape or something to keep debris out.

 

[rmkrazi]

Well then, thanks for answering all my questions... much appreciated. According to the guy I bought the sled from, the bottom end was gone through before he sold it to me. So hopefully the seals got changed, if not, its good to know that you don't have to completely disassemble the motor to change that seal. Could I spray some starting fluid around that area to see if the motor revs up. Thanks again...

 

[Pebs]

Wouldn't the pressure coming out of the crankcase just blow ether away from a bad seal rather than suck it in, in this case?

lol no pun intended

 

[rocket]

Crankcase pressure is mostly positive, only a little negative. But, that little negative pressure will be enough to alter the fuel/air mixture and change the idle of the motor. I wouldn't necessarily use starter fluid (very effectively washes oil off the cylinder walls), but spraying some WD40 or similar fluid around the seal will tend to "plug up" some of the air leakage around a bad seal and again, alter the idle of the motor.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

i have found over the years when the pump shaft shows alot of wear it normally means the oil pump is going bad...one of the first shafts I changed for this came back in about 500 miles later seized due to the oil pump dying....since then if it has worn the shaft very much i change the oil pump as well.....