Oil leak in engine/ right side???

[Daddio87]

i have a 82 gs650gl bike that i got 2 years ago...i have a leak at the top of my engine on the right side of the bike..the leak is BAD and covers my carbs all the way back to my saddle bags...it started the end of the summer last year and now is worse..i cant tell if its my head gasket or my round crome covers..if it is the covers (where my valves are?) what do i need to do..i just pressure washed the bike today to try and clean up the mess but havent ridden it yet.I found a 35 piece gasket set for the bike and thinking of putting it in.ive worked on my bikes before and just wanted to know if this is something i should do or let a shop do?.any ideas on what to do? the bike runs strong, but there is a little vibration when i get to 5rpms and i can hear some "ticking"...the bike has 16000 miles on it... also my pipes on the right side have a little blueish and goldness to them...i figured oil wasnt getting to the top of engine and not cooling it so it was getting hot...i hope i didnt fry the engine but like i said it still has power and cruises nice..how do i know if i fried a piston or something???can anyone help me?

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. Daddio87,

After cleaning up the engine good, watch for the leak. It may be easier to spot if you use spray power in the suspect areas and check for the wet spot. The usual suspects include the tach cable drive seal, the valve cover gasket, or cam chain tensioner. There could be others but let's hope it's one of those because they are easy to fix. You will find a lot of GS lovin' on my website. You'll find a manual and guides to help familiarize you with the maintenance procedures.

Vibration can be caused by improperly balanced carbs and out of spec valve clearances. The ticking you hear could be normal. Does it go away off-idle? These are not quiet engines. But it could also be the cam chain tensioner needing reset or a rebuild. Let's hope it's not a bad valve. (Valve clearance checks are critical!) Check out all the information and links on my site. It's all in there.

Anyway, I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[tkent02]

Yeah, we can help.
Start by cleaning it up so you can see which gasket is leaking. It's probably the valve cover and maybe the half moons. It needs a valve adjustment by now anyway. there are only so many places it can leak, most are very easy to fix.

You didn't cook the engine, only Chef ever does that.

[bellucci]

Chef,
Why is he beatin' on you about blowed up motors? I was just looking at the slide show of you working on a beautiful engine the other day? I know it wasn't your engine, Right?
Curt

[mike_of_bbg]

The chrome cam end covers are decorative and are fine to run without. There are rubber half-moon seals behind them which may leak. Since they can pop out or crack they can make for a pretty big leak. Like BC said, probably time to do a valve adjustment anyway. Just get four half-moon seals and a new valve cover gasket.

[chef1366]

Chef,
Why is he beatin' on you about blowed up motors? I was just looking at the slide show of you working on a beautiful engine the other day? I know it wasn't your engine, Right?
Curt

Tom likes to jab me because I've blown a few motors. It's all in good fun.
I'm building that 1230 for my street bike.