Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Losing more oil than I want

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Losing more oil than I want

    I degreased the engine on my '80 GS850G the other day in an attempt to locate the source(s) of the leak of trace amounts of oil. It appears that there are 4 main leaking areas, though there may be more.
    1-Oil pan. I have searched high and low for a gasket but am coming up empty-handed. Any ideas?
    2-Cam chain tensioner (possibly). I know there's a procedure somewhere here, but I my searches are, thus far, fruitless. Can you point me in the right direction?
    3-Valve cover. Center front (where the cam chain is). I attribute this to possibly improper torque settings (as I could not afford to buy 2 torque wrenches when I set out to do the valve adjustment), though they should all be torqued evenly, if a little tight.
    4-Head gasket. Right side, the oil seems to have seeped down from the bottom of the head. Am I going to be in over my head if I take this on? I have never replaced a head gasket before, though mostly only for lack of opportunity.

    Any other trouble spots I should be on the lookout for, or am I missing anything obvious? Also, if I keep riding will I suffer major damage even if I keep her topped off with oil? Thanks for any help/moral support.

    #2
    Originally posted by 46hand View Post

    Any other trouble spots I should be on the lookout for, or am I missing anything obvious? Also, if I keep riding will I suffer major damage even if I keep her topped off with oil? Thanks for any help/moral support.
    No damage if you keep oil in it, except to your boots and pants. A likely spot is the tach drive, it's easy to fix, the tutorial is right there with the one for the cam chain tensioner.
    Keep in mind a little bit of hot oil goes a long way, it can migrate around the engine in the swirling airflow and make it look like you have more leaks than you really do. Clean the engine well, then ride it just a little bit, you should be able to see where it first starts to leak. Sometimes sprinkling some kind of powder can help you find it. Remember the joke about the fat chick?


    Life is too short to ride an L.

    Comment

    Working...
    X