Oil Change gone WRONG

[Guest]

So... My 78 GS750 was in desperate need of an oil change but I've been putting it off because I knew I had 1 broken header bolt and another I was pretty sure had a SAE bolt jammed in there (my bike has a 4 into 1 exhaust so header removal is necessary for oil/filter change). Anyways, after addressing those lovely hardware issues, I finally got it all put back together tonight and started the bike--only to see oil leaking out of the filter cover. Major bummer. I know I have to pull the header off to remove the filter cover and check the gasket but my question is, how much of the fresh, unused oil should I expect to come out? I'm trying to prepare for the task while the engine cools down. I suppose I'm holding onto some faint hope that only the capacity of the filter housing will come out and not the entire 4 quarts. Can anyone who's done this offer advice? Thanks in advance for your help.

[eil]

I don't believe anywhere near the whole four quarts will come out, but you can always put a clean catch pan under the filter cover when you open it up.

[Carter Turk]

Do your oil change on a hill, or have the front tire up on a ramp of plywood supported by milk crates. My oil cooler lines touched the exhaust 250 miles from home, and I had to something similiar to this.

[Carter Turk]

I meant to say, remove the oil filter cover on a hill, then check to see if the gasket is pinched.

[Sandy]

A tip for next time is that you can reuse the oring a few times and when I put in a new one I hold it in place with 3 very small dabs of black silicone gasket goo.

[rapidray]

Do NOT use silicone on an oring. Grease is all you need on it to hold it in place.
Ray.

[Brendan W]

Often the seal gets folded in packaging and takes a slight set. A day or two under a few good books, I'm talking proper literature here, no trashy fiction, leaves you less to fight with getting it to sit in the groove. Obviously, European authors for metric bikes.You may need Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky if the kink is bad.

[chuck hahn]

Maybe 6 or 7 ounces will come out. Use a wiped out oil pan and reuse the oil is what I do if that happens. And Ray, why not a dab of rtv in the groove?? I use a dab of three bond and never a problem. Not GLOBS of the stuff, but just enough to hold the oring in the groove so it doesnt fall out like it did to this guy.

[rapidray]

Because silicone isn't neccessary when grease will hold the oring in place & keep it from sticking when you remove it again. He will be able to do 5 or 6 oil changes on 1 oring this way if he uses a Suzuki oring.
Ray.

[JTGS850GL]

And no chance of little bitty pieces of silicone goo circulating inside the engine.

[Gbrown]

Often the seal gets folded in packaging and takes a slight set. A day or two under a few good books, I'm talking proper literature here, no trashy fiction, leaves you less to fight with getting it to sit in the groove. Obviously, European authors for metric bikes.You may need Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky if the kink is bad.

[Gbrown]

I blocked the front wheel up and removed the filter cover. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the gasket hadn't been pinched or torn--turns out there was some 'gunk' on the engine block sealing face for the filter cover. I cleaned that up, used (3) small dabs of all-purpose lithium grease to hold the gasket, and put everything back together. Voila! No more leaks! Although I fear I may have overfilled the oil... The manual says 3800 cc for an oil and filter change (which translates to 4.015 quarts). I only had 4 quarts in there to start with and lost that little bit (less than 1/4 quart) when I fixed the leaky cover, but when I look at the sightglass all I can see is oil--no air gap up top. Should I go to the trouble of trying to remove some oil or what? Your advice is appreciated. Thanks.

[tkent02]

Should I go to the trouble of trying to remove some oil or what? Your advice is appreciated. Thanks.

you can tip the bike to the other side a little bit to see how overfilled it is, but did you start the engine? Some of the oil will disappear into the oil filter and the upper parts of the engine.

[Gbrown]

you can tip the bike to the other side a little bit to see how overfilled it is, but did you start the engine? Some of the oil will disappear into the oil filter and the upper parts of the engine.

I did start the engine--rode the bike to work this morning, actually. Are you advising I check the oil with the engine running? Thanks.

[mrbill5491]

I did start the engine--rode the bike to work this morning, actually. Are you advising I check the oil with the engine running? Thanks.

You can't check the oil when the bike is running. When you shut off the bike let it set for a few minutes for the oil to drain back into the pan. Not sure if you need your bike upon the center stand like some. Someone here can tell you that. If not, then stand the bike up as straight as you can get it, hold it there a few seconds then check the window.