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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> major oil leak.
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Message started by danroot on 08/09/08 at 16:22:54

Title: major oil leak.
Post by danroot on 08/09/08 at 16:22:54

ok, so ive had my savage for about 5 months and it hasnt given me any problems accept for a small oil leak. i finally decided to get it fixed and took it to a local mechanic. they said the head gasket seal was broken and it would cost 600 bucks to fix. i only paid 700 for the whole thing, so i diddnt feel like totaling the bike fixing a leak. so i told them i would pass and paid my $100 diagnostic fee and picked up my bike. on the way home it was acting funny. when i got home i noticed it was gushing oil from the bottom of the engine. i quickly wheeled it over an oil pan and shut it off. i went outside and noticed that there was a trail of oil going down the street. i dont know how long i was riding with that much oil coming out. it looked like about a quart came out while it was sitting in my garage.

the mechanic had no comment on the incident..... >:(

so, what does it sound like to you guys? and does anyone living in the s.f. bay area want to make some extra cash checking out my bike?

Title: Re: major oil leak.
Post by Charon on 08/09/08 at 16:56:45

If the oil is actually coming out the bottom, and making an obvious trail, I think I would see if the oil plug is still in place. It could have worked loose. If that isn't it, you should be able to find where the oil comes from. If not, fill it with oil and start it. That ought to reveal the secret.

I had a Honda Twinstar that started spewing oil out. Its problem turned out to be a defective seal behind what I would have called the flywheel. Another possibility might be the output shaft seal, behind the drive pulley. Major leaks are not usually hard to find.

Title: Re: major oil leak.
Post by shadowman on 08/09/08 at 19:19:53

From this distance my first thought is that the original leak might have been something as simple as the chronic head-bold leak that so many of us deal with. But does anyone else find it coincidental that a minor leak turns into a gusher on the way home from the shop just after declining a major repair job?? Was it the oil drain plug and do these ever just loosen on their own? Not the way I put it in they don't.

Title: Re: major oil leak.
Post by shadowman on 08/09/08 at 19:26:10

P.S. If you caught a quart of oil when you shut it down, there is a fair chance -- a possibility -- that you didn't do any additional damage. Myself, I'd drain the rest of it out, refill with fresh, check the plug to see that it fits true, clean all the oil off the fins, and run it up again gently. Then check for leaks and deal with them. Assuming it doesn't seize up on you. Good luck.

Title: Re: major oil leak.
Post by T Mack 1 on 08/09/08 at 20:03:12

The local mechanic must have wanted to work on Harley's and not thumpers.

Small oil leaks in the head area on the LS650 are about 90% (or higher) mostly caused by the rubber plug over the front right head nut. "head cap plug".... "cap head plug"... :-?

An oil leak in the head gasket would show up on the right rear of the cylinder where the oil passage comes up from below. But.... it might actually drip down the cam chain gallery and go back into the sump.

Title: Re: major oil leak.
Post by Max_Morley on 08/09/08 at 20:10:36

It would be almost impossible to pass much oil past the infamous head plus/cap. We've watched it jiggle up and down at an idle on my B-i-L's 88. It seems like alot when the wind blows it back through the tunnel in the head and it splatters all over the side covers and battery box, then drips off the lower left cylinder top ledge corner when the bike is parked on the side stand. Besides the drain plug being loose, if the fill cap is loose or missing I believe lots of oil can exit there. I wonder if they pulled the cam cover and did not reseal it with the pear shaped formed o-ring and sealer or maybe even left the plug/cap out (cap is the Suzuki's term as I remember as it caps off access to that short front head stud). Diagnose it and find the leak before tearing it down. Max

Title: Re: major oil leak.
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/09/08 at 20:16:57

Shadowman took the letters right out of my keyboard. I had some trans issues & warranty hassles with a shop in Tyler Tx. I was standing on a porch, talking to a buddy & he said" Your torque converter is loose". I just brought it home from the shop. Went & looked & the dust cover was slightly bent out & the torque converter bolts were just "broke loose" still slightly tight.( Yep, he is that good) Amazing coincidence I'd say. Much the same as this sudden Gusher. If the oil drain plug is loose, it would be eactly the VERY first I ever heard of that just "spontaneously" let go. I know what I would be tempted to do, but I would probably do nothing, but I would never, for any reason, go back there for service. The "service" would most likely be be a STUDy in getting the shaft.( I mean Shaft)