oil leaking from tach cable

[korrg]

finally nearing the end of the tech side of my fine tuning, taking care of the little annoying bits, like for instance, there was a small oil leak where the tach cable connected to the engine. The shade tree that brought her back to life said to just add a bit of oil, clean it up with some carb. cleaner and live with it (30 year old bike and all that). Unsatisfied with that answer I pulled the cable, and cleaned the area (the gasket was new and still in good shape). When I put it back together I used a little copper gasket glue both where the pop off part reattached (with the weird cantilever type arm that holds it in place) and on the lip of the screw connector. worked great! until yesterday, it seems the oil has worked its way up the cable housing and is now leaking out of the top, where it connects to the gauge.
If I use the same method of "repair" I'm afraid I'll just end up with a gauge full of oil.
why is this happening, and how can I fix it?

 

[hampshirehog]

Courtesy of Brian:

http://www.bwringer.com/gs/tachcableseals.html

 

[korrg]

Courtesy of Brian:

http://www.bwringer.com/gs/tachcableseals.html

yes yes, I took it apart and rebuilt it. the parts where new from when my mechanic friend brought her back to life, I just added gasket glue to the mix.

 

[7981GS]

it seems the oil has worked its way up the cable housing and is now leaking out of the top, where it connects to the gauge.

why is this happening, and how can I fix it?

Engine oil over filled?
Do you have some kind of obstruction in your breather system?
Is the steel mesh and air hose from the top of the cam cover plugged up?
If you are using the factory airbox, is it plugged up in the area that the vent hose enters it? (gunk, rust)
Or worst case, check your compression and see if one of the cylinders has loose/worn, broken rings or
a hole in the piston causing the extra pressure needed to force the oil up the tach cable.

Just some ideas as this is not normal.


Daniel

 

[Guest]

Several years ago I replaced one with a Suzuki replacement. The new seal leaked from the moment it was installed, turned out to be an incorrect size seal, too small OD. Bought a new seal, again and it was the correct size and is still working. I didn't notice the first seal was too small when I installed it as it was fairly close to the correct diameter and I assumed it to be correct. Could be similar problem. Ray

 

[Redman]

There is an o-ring and a seal in the cable drive unit.
Look at bwringers info.

.

 

[7981GS]

it seems the oil has worked its way up the cable housing and is now leaking out of the top, where it connects to the gauge.
If I use the same method of "repair" I'm afraid I'll just end up with a gauge full of oil.
why is this happening, and how can I fix it?

Is anyone else reading this?

Daniel

 

[koolaid_kid]

Is anyone else reading this?

Daniel

Certainly. If oil is leaking out the seals then it could easily walk up the cable as it spins. Solutions have been offered, so there is no need to post the same solution multiple times.

 

[korrg]

Certainly. If oil is leaking out the seals then it could easily walk up the cable as it spins. Solutions have been offered, so there is no need to post the same solution multiple times.

yea, upon farther examination it looks like he replaced the cable with a used one most likely from e-bay, as during the initial "get 'er runnin" stage he did try to cut a few costs.So "new" apparently means "new to me" I'm just going to order a new cable, less than 10 bucks from the bandit. actually considering just ordering an entire set, and replacing them all (@$50)

 

[koolaid_kid]

I highly recommend your solution. Keep the old ones as spares, and carry them with you on long rides. Nothing worse than getting stuck in the middle of the Smoky Mountain National Park without a clutch.

 

[havoK]

my bike did this when i got it (tach leak) ...cable replace and all better...

 

[7981GS]

Nicely done Bobber or whatever it is.
Where is the brake light?

Daniel