Oil Leak

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Quimrider

Sodium Hydroxide aka NaOH (the active ingredient in most oven cleaners) is not something you want to put on the aluminum engine fins. The engine fins are aluminum, right?

Don't panic. A little bit of common sense is required; thus my cautions about rinsing afterwards
BUT.....
I just looked at the can and it is only 4% NaOH; hardly a concentration that will "eat away" even soft aluminum......if you put it on, rub a bit and then rinse it OFF. If you are really paranoid, rinse with white vinegar.

I did mine a week ago and just looked again; no indication of any ill effects. The fins are certainly some kind of alloy and have a matte finish to start with. Even if it did dull it a bit, it would still be better than the brown crap that I took off. :yes:

[Rick]

I've got what appears to be the same leak (bolt next to spark plug, leaking onto the 4th fin). I took the chrome cover off and found the spark plug to be loose, but tightening that didn't solve the problem. If you've been able to resolve this please let me know what you did, or if you took it to a shop, what they diagnosed and charged for the repair.

Thanks!

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Rick

If you've been able to resolve this please let me know what you did, or if you took it to a shop, what they diagnosed and charged for the repair.
Thanks!

This is why I dropped into the thread with what might sound like a different problem.

Several of us have found what first appeared to be an oil leak in that exact same area, only to find out upon careful investigation (in my case by TWO shops) that it is NOT an oil leak at all but some left over assembly or shipping "grease" that turns brown and VERY stiff (hard) after it cooks on the hot engine for a while.

You may have that condition instead of a "real" oil leak.

[Rick]

When I first noticed the problem (yesterday), I went ahead and cleaned everything up as best I could, so I would be able to notice the first trace should it actually be a leak. Today, after a short ride, I saw it re-appear on that 4th fin, so I'm reasonably sure there is some sort of leak. It's not much but it's definitely there.

[Quimrider]

Rick,
I've just fixed the leaking cylinder head cover that leaks right around the spark plug. I still have to adjust the valves tomorrow before I fire the engine back up to see if I have truly fixed the problem. I was glad to find out that I could get the cover off with the engine still in the bike. after I got it apart, it looked like the gasket material had gone away where it was leaking. I checked and it had not warped. I will post details of what I used to remove the old and what I used for the new gasket tomorrow when I'm not completely exhausted. I will say that it wasn't as difficult as I feared it would be.
Oh yeah my clutch cover gasket failed on me and I'll have to fix that before I can think about putting oil in.

[Quimrider]

I will probably put together a quick step by step how-to if I have time. It would have helped if I had taken some pictures before I started putting stuff back together. Here's an abbreviated rough draft:

1. Remove gas tank

2. Remove decorative chrome and their mounting brackets

3. Unbolt cylinder head from frame and remove frame to cylinder head brackets (picts will help here). The two bolts on the frame had blue thread lock making them difficult to remove.

4. Follow service manual to put the engine at TDC (so both intake and exhaust valves are fully closed.)

5. Unscrew all bolts on cylinder head cover except the two rocker arm shaft bolts (3rd pic down on page 3-24 service manual). One of the bolts has a gasket washer make note of where this goes. Thankfully for me the service manual shows where it goes on page 3-64. Service manual says to replace with new but I didn't have a new one readily available an didn't want to have to wait for a new one so I just put some liquid gasket on it during reassembly. I probably shouldn't have to mention this but don't loosen the two acorn nuts by the spark plug. You're just taking the cover off not the whole cylinder head.

NOTE: there is a bolt under each valve cover cap.

6. Tap with a rubber mallet or pull gently on the valve cover to break the gasket seal. Mine took some tapping and pulling. but came off easily with a little patience.

7. Use some gasket remover on both surfaces. Be careful not to get any in the engine. I'm not sure of the consequences but I'd image it wouldn't be a good idea to have this stuff in your engine oil. Let it soak for 15-30 minutes. The old gasket material should easily dissolve. If not put more gasket remover on and let it soak longer.

8. Wipe surfaces clean with some rags and make sure you get all the old gasket material off.

9. Remove gasket remover and oils from mating surfaces with brake cleaner or similar solvent. I sprayed some on a rag and was very careful on the cylinder head, again being careful not to get anything in the engine.

Edit 10-8-08: The original gasket material didn't hold up!

10. Apply liquid gasket maker to one of the mating surfaces. The outer area directly on the cylinder head and then for the surfaces around the inner bolt holes, apply to the cover. I suppose it really doesn't matter which surface you put it on. I just started with the cylinder head and then switched to the cover because the cam shaft was in the way. I used a rubber glove and used my finger to smear a thin layer. Thin being the operative word here you really need very very little, just enuff to cover the metal.

EDIT 10-8-08 OLD STEP TEN, SKIP THIS STEP. FOR REFERENCE ONLY.
10. Apply liquid gasket to both mating surfaces. Service manual says to use Suzuki Bond 1215. I couldn't find any specifications on this and wasn't going to pay ~$20 for some from Suzuki. The aviation gasket maker I used can go up to 400 deg. F Hopefully this is high enough temp. If anyone knows what the Suzuki temp. spec is please share. I could have used a 700 deg. F RTV silicone but the gasket remover doesn't dissolve RTV silicone. I don't want to imagine the pain in the ass it would be to remove the silicone if I had to take the cover off again.


11. Put the long bolt in the center thru the hole in the cover before you put the cover back on. Otherwise you'll be cursing like a sailor when you realize the frame doesn't allow enough clearance and you have to start over.

12. Only finger tight the bolts so you don't squeeze out all the gasket material. Wait 24hrs for gasket to cure before going to step 13.

13. snug all bolts to spec which is 7 ft-lbs. As stated above instead of using a new gasket washer, I just applied some liquid gasket to the existing washer. This is probably not necessary I see no reason why a new gasket washer would be required.

14. adjust your valves (see service manual).

15. put valve cover caps back on and enjoy your leak free engine.

16. Any questions?

Other thoughts:

EDIT 10-8-08 I ENDED UP USING THE RTV ABOVE. I LEFT THIS AS A REFERENCE INCASE SOMEONE WANTED TO TRY THIS GASKET MAKER.
Prior to this I've never used any of the gasket products shown above. I just used what I could find locally and readily available. After looking at Permatex's web page I may try this if the aviation gasket doesn't hold up. It looks similar to the aviation gasket stuff but goes up to 600 deg. F.

If you need to replace a clutch cover gasket, (surprisingly it has been more difficult that the cylinder head cover gasket!) soaking the gasket material that sticks to the clutch cover over nite with the gasket remover will make it SIGNIFICANTLY easier to remove as it is nearly impossible to remove otherwise without damaging the mating surface.

[Rick]

Wow. Thanks for the detailed instructions! Now I just need to determine whether or not that's something I want to take on myself, but this helps a lot. :2tup:

[Quimrider]

I was apprehensive about doing it myself as well. Mine was more of a weeping slow leak so I let it slide for a few months before I did anything about it. I don't know if the valve adjustment is really necessary, but I figure since the rocker arms are on the cover that it should be done. I'm due for my 3000 mile adjustment anyway. If you don't have the tools to do the valve adjustment yourself, I don't think it would be that far out of adjustment and you should be able to ride to your nearest service shop and have them do the adjustment when you're done with the gasket. One thing that I didn't mention is that you should use the liquid gasket sparingly. You only need a thin layer. There is no rush when doing this because the liquid thickens when you put it on and dries slow. the bottle doesn't say how long it takes to dry so I'm giving it over nite to dry. I just noticed that yours is a 2007. It shouldn't be leaking on something so new. Is it still under warranty?

[Rick]

Yes, I'm a little irked that I'm having this problem on so new a bike. It's got 4300 miles on it, so it has been ridden some. It's no longer under warranty so I'm on my own. But it is such a slow leak that I'll probably just watch it for awhile to see if it gets any worse before I take any kind of action. There is no loss of compression or other ill effects that I have noticed, I just need to wipe off a drop of oil every couple of trips.

[Quimrider]

have you tried snugging the bolts on the cover to see if it stops the leak. Just don't crank on them too much the spec is only 7 ft-lbs.