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Oil Cover Leak - MAYDAY MAYDAY! :)

  • Thread starter Thread starter MinnesotaTim
  • Start date Start date
M

MinnesotaTim

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I have reviewed all information I can find in the archives of the Forum and now must resort to a MAYDAY call of my own.

Situation:
1982 GS750E
27,500 miles
Synthetic Oil: previously Mobile 1, but this time I am using the Rotella T 5W40 Synthetic.

I'm performing my first oil change since buying the bike. I first used a Fram filter that the fellow who sold me the bike gave me. I immediately had a leak around the filter cover. I dove into the forum archives and thought I had the problem and solution.

Today I bought a Wix filter and gasket and proceeded to again drain my oil (saving it for reuse) and repeat the procedure. The wix gasket does seem a bit beefier, but not all that much. I re-installed everything and viola: leak. Not as bad, but still there.

I removed the oil again and cleaned the mating surface of the engine and the lid with some carb cleaner on a rag, then cleaned everything to ensure no leftover cleaner in the oil, and reassembled the bike. This time I borrowed my neighbor's torque wrench and made sure the bolts were at the 6 pounds specified in the manual. I start the bike up and... LEAK.

The leak is consistenly only when the bike is running, and only at the top of the cover. I have no leaks at the bottom or side. The leak seems to be at the top of the filter.

Any ideas? I'm ready to resort to some sort of gasket goop to team up with the o-ring. MAYDAY! MAYDAY! I'm going nuts!

- Tim
 
Check the oil filter cover without the gaskket on a flat surface and see if it rocks or you can see daylight through certain parts. If it's good, check the engine surface with a straight edge. Hopefully you just need a new oil filter cover.
 
You're talking about a gasket, but it's really an o-ring formed to fit into the slot in the cover, right? At least that's what I got on my 1100. I think it's the same on your bike. If so, you didn't say whether you are replacing the o-ring, or trying to reuse the same one. In my opinion, you're asking for trouble if you don't replace that o-ring. It's inexpensive, and may be the answer to your challenge. Also, you should use a small amount of grease, or vaseline to keep the o-ring in the slot while installing the cover. You can't see if the o-ring fell out, but it's a disaster if it did.
 
By Gasket, I meant O-Ring. And yes, I am replacing it. I'm not trying to reuse the old one.

- Tim
 
MinnesotaTim said:
By Gasket, I meant O-Ring. And yes, I am replacing it. I'm not trying to reuse the old one.

- Tim
Click to expand...
I don't know if the O-Rings are getting smaller these days but all you need to do is take your cover to a machine shop and get a little surface area milled off. I just have a few .000's taken off and it will work like a charm provided that you don't have a cracked cover but I have never seen one crack. Someone suggested sand paper and a flat surface like a mirror and that would work but it's easier to just take it to your favorite machine shop.

Use a small amount of RTV in four or five spots to hold the O-Ring in place.
 
I'm going to check with a gentleman here at work who's job is building engines and tearing them apart to figure why they failed. He has 30 years experience with making things work, and finding out what happened if they don't. I'll post what he recommends once I have the info.

If I decide to get the cover milled down a bit, I think I can get the machinist here to do that for me.

Cheers.

- Tim
 
Sounds like you definately have a warped o/f cover. Take it to a machine shop, and aske them to check it for flatness on a granite table. I bet it's warped.
 
Problem solved

Problem solved

I am happy to report the cover no longer leaks oil. After trying Fram and Wix filters and O-Rings, I ordered an OEM o-ring from Suzuki. Before installing it I took it into work along with the Fram O-ring and had one of our machinists check its dimensions.

The OEM O-ring was 16 thousandths larger in diameter than the Fram. It was also made out of a softer, more rubber like material than the Fram. After installing the OEM o-ring I brought in the Wix o-ring and had him measure it as well, with the same results. Consistently smaller than the OEM and made of made of material that seems closer to nylon than rubber.

So, what have I learned? Sometimes, you can't beat an OEM part. I'll be ordering five to ten of the EOM o-rings shortly so that I have some on-hand.

Cheers.

- Tim
 
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