So brickers, maybe this will be good for a couple laughs, though I was shedding tears when it happened. Made some rookie mistakes. I was going to change out the coolant on my 95 k1100rs. So I'm following the manual and I'm on the step where I think that I found the drain plug on the water pump. It's like a 1/2" allen, and it's positioned so that it backs out in a somewhat upward angle?!. No coolant comes out, and I'm thinking, okay, the fluid level must have been REALLY low then. So I unclamp the hose above it and drain copious amounts of coolant. I go to put that drain plug back in, which is finely threaded, and I can't, because there's no clearance for my fat fingers and a long allen wrench would not engage it at the proper angle without damaging the threads. So after a couple hours of not being able to put the drain screw back in, I took the water pump off, which was not too bad, and then had the pump in my hand where I easily put the screw back in. NOW, I put the pump back on (you have a shaft that sticks out of it that connects it with the bike). I put the five short bolts and two long ones back in, and start tightening. I see a 1/4 inch gap between the pump and the bike while tightening the last bolt. I think, this is sweet, I'm going to just lag this pump back on. But the pump housing breaks, and a chunk (the area of the last bolt I'm tightening) flies off. Very tragic. What I think has happened is that I didn't have the pump flush when assembling and maybe had a spacer or something related to that shaft not lined up perfectly. I have a new water pump housing being shipped, but would like any feedback regarding tricks on lining up those gears and also if I need to use some sealant/liquid gasket when putting the pump back on and also the pump cover. Both items I had to knock off with a block of wood and mallet after taking the bolts out. Long day of learning, but worth it.
