1979 GS850- Oil Leak/Troubleshooting

[emlivings]

Hello everyone,

I bought this bike a few months back as a beginner bike to learn on.
It recently sprung a leak from the middle side of the 1st cylinder exhaust header in the back of the block.

in the first picture, you can see a little hole that the oil leaks from at the top of the picture.
I don't know if anyone has had a similar issue, but I took pictures of where it is coming from. It's low-pressure dripping covering the entire 1st cylinder side of the engine block.


Any experience or guidance on where this might be originating from would be helpful before I start tearing into the engine.
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Edit: the pictures flipped when uploading. The "left" side of the picture is the top side of the engine (for orientation)

 

[Nessism]

My suggestion is to buy a can of spray on engine degreaser, such as Gunk. After cleaning, dry the engine with a leaf blower or similar. When dry, spray down the leak area using some foot power spray. Then start the engine, while watching the leak area closely to find the leak location.

 

[Grimly]

It's probably coming off the valve cover, sneaky little leaks from there tend to spread a lot when left.

 

[emlivings]

After some research i was pointed to the cylinder head bolt washers in the front middle of the block. Any thoughts?

 

[Nessism]

After some research i was pointed to the cylinder head bolt washers in the front middle of the block. Any thoughts?

I've never heard of "cylinder head washers" causing a problem. The factory service manual calls for checking things like head nut torque, but most people never do it. Have you? That said, even if not checked, oil leaks from the studs/washers/nuts, is unusual.

Honestly, "research" is useless in a matter like this. Get your hands dirty and clean the engine as I said.

 

[emlivings]

I have found whats going on.

Bad valve cover gasket was pooling oil down in the 1st cylinder spark plug area the leaking out the front from the arrow shown in the photo!

 

[emlivings]

All fresh and clean just waiting for the gasket to arrive.

 

[Nessism]

While the cover is off, it would be smart to check the valve clearances, and adjust as needed. Failing to do this critical maintenance, kills many bikes, because the valves tighten with mileage, and when the clearance is gone, the valves hang open and burn.

 

[rphillips]

Good job keeping things in line. Just part of owning one of these old things. Oh, not sure, did I mention WELCOME.