'81 gs550 lower left oil leak

[a18klr]

Hi folks,

Did a search for my particular oil leak, and couldn't find it, so here goes...

I've got oil leaking from the lower left side of the engine. The leak seems to come from somewhere below the shifter. I'm thinking it might be the pan gasket leaking.

It seems like it doesn't leak while riding. I can stop at a long light and look down to find no oil leaking. But, after stopping and putting her on the sidestand, she'll leak a good 6 inch stain onto the pavement (immediately). I guess this is why I think it's the pan gasket. In my non-mechanical mind, I see the hot, thinner oil draining into the pan and seeping on it's way down. Oh yeah, and after a short ride, it doesn't leak. The engine's gotta be hot before it will start leaking.

In the next couple days I'm going to get under there and try to tighten the bolts on the pan.

So... Any ideas on where my leak might be coming from? And, are there tricks to getting to those pan bolts without removing the exhaust?

Thanks in advance!

-Trevor

http://www.staplesworks.com/klr/gs550/

[Nessism]

Common place for leaks is from the clutch push rod seal located under the left rear engine cover - near the drive sprocket. Take off the cover and have a look see.

[a18klr]

then what?

So, if I find that it IS the push rod seal, does that mean taking apart the whole clutch to fix it? I can't find a pic of the push rod seal in the manual.

-T

[Guest]

Are we referring to the sprocket and stator cover side? Could be from the shifter shaft, could be spun out of the stator cover if the half moon seal is not seated, or a pan seal as first noted. Pressure wash the area and ride it and see if you can find the source.

[SqDancerLynn1]

May have to dig it out , replace the clutch push rod seal shouldn't take more than an hour if you work slow like me

[stanski68]

be careful to tap the new seal in wil a like sized socket,it took me 2 seals to get it right I would order 2 they are 4.50 each, yu have to take off cover, front sprocket and mmetal clip to get to it.

[a18klr]

oil leaky

Ok, I have both oil seals in hand, and am going to try to replace one or both this week: clutch pushrod seal and/or shifter seal. I have a couple observations/questions (still)

I've tried and tried to find out the source of this oil leak. I am pretty sure that it is coming from behind the cover that the clutch cable goes into, and that the shifter goes into. Unfortunately, by the time I get in there after riding, oil is all over, so I can't tell where exactly it's coming from. I've ruled out the pan gasket at this point.

1. If the oil is coming from back there, is there anywhere else besides the pushrod and shifter that the oil could be coming from?

2. From the above posts, it looks like I can replace the pushrod seal from the left side. Am I understanding correctly? Any special tools I'll need?

3. And what about the gear shifter oil seal? Can I get to it from the left side. When I look at it, I think no. Any tricks to that one?

Thanks for any help for this non-mechanic!

-Trevor

[mbn321]

I would be interested to see where this goes as my 82 650 is doing virtually the same thing.I always thought it was from the alternator cover seal.Never worried about it too much just carried an extra quart of oil with me.

[Nessism]

You can replace both seals from the same side. Some people like to remove the shift rod before replacing that seal, which means removing the clutch basket on the right side of the motor and pulling the shaft out, but it is not strictly necessary accordingly to some people that have posted here before on that subject.

Before removing the seals however you should try to run the motor with the cover off and look for the leak.

Good luck.

Ed

[RJ]

My '82 1100E was leaking around the same area. Turned out it was the o-ring on the snout of the starter. The oil was moving past the starter into the bowl where it sits. There is an openig in the back of that area that the oil was leaking out of and onto the engine casing. I'm not sure if your bike is made the same, you can pull the starter cover off and feel around in there to see if it's wet (you may need to pull the starter).

[a18klr]

Ok all,

I've taken the clutch pushrod/shifter cover off and cleaned the area. I'm running the engine to try to see where the oil is coming from. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the engine as hot as when I'm riding it, and no oil is leaking. She leaks oil worse when hot.

So, should I just go ahead and replace the shifter seal? That's not TOO big of a job, right? I have both the shifter seal and the pushrod seal, but the pushrod looks like a lot more work. I figure I MIGHT stop the leak if I replace the shifter seal.

Having said that, do I just dig/pluck that sucker outta there, then slide the other one on/in?

Thanks.

-T

[a18klr]

Oh, and is the shifter supposed to slide in and out? Mine will move in and out about a centimeter.

[a18klr]

i'm fuct i guess

so, i've started to try to dig that shift shaft oil seal out. All I've succeeded in doing is picking off the front of it, since the parts of the seal that are inside won't budge.

Is my only solution now to go in from the other side (the right side) by removing the clutch? I don't think I'm really capable of removing and reinstalling my clutch, but at this point I'm gonna have to go for it, as that seal is all chewed to hell now.

[Nessism]

You need to dig that seal out of there. I have a screw driver type tool with a J shaped end that is good to get in there and pry out things like that seal. Just be careful not to scratch the inner bore surface of the cases when you dig around in there.

[a18klr]

Ok, I finally figured out this whole shifter seal dealie. The problem was that I didn't know that the seal had a metal frame, or ring, in it. When I dug the rubber off, I thought the metal of that seal ring was part of the case so I was worried about f*cking it up. Once I figured out that I could just yank that metal piece out, it popped right out.

I put a lot of hours into this damn seal replacement and now I see that it coulda (shoulda) only taken about ten minutes! I guess I need to be more specific in describing my problems. I'll work on that

Thanks for all the help and suggestions!