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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Return of the head plug leak? /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1358449611 Message started by DavidOfMA on 01/17/13 at 11:06:51 |
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Title: Return of the head plug leak? Post by DavidOfMA on 01/17/13 at 11:06:51 I had a leaky head plug replaced about three months ago and have ridden only a few hundred miles since, as it's been pretty cold around here. I noticed, today, some oil on the left side and front of the cylinder. The bolt in the center of the cylinder, an inch or so under the exhaust manifold, has some oil on it, and the fin under that bolt and the one beneath it also have some oil. Does this sound like the head plug is leaking again, or could it be explained by something else, such as the bolts loosening up due to riding in cold weather? Thanks, David |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by Oldfeller on 01/17/13 at 11:21:06 Who replaced your head plug for you? Did they use sealant on the new plug when they installed it? What kind of sealant did they use? In short, take it back to them. |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by verslagen1 on 01/17/13 at 11:22:52 Re torque that bolt, might go so far as to remove and clean and apply blue locktite... tighten the back one too. |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by DavidOfMA on 01/17/13 at 12:00:24 Thanks. Just stopped by the shop, they'll look at it Saturday. I'll mention using sealant on the plug, if they have to re-do the job. What works best? |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by Qwapy on 01/17/13 at 12:24:51 "Return of the Head Plug Leak" Woaw! That sounds like the title for a horror movie ;) |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by DavidOfMA on 01/17/13 at 15:00:16 Starting to feel like one, too! |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by Dave on 01/17/13 at 17:44:27 Best to use? Suzukibond....the Factory stuff. |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by DavidOfMA on 01/19/13 at 10:15:27 Took it to the shop and they showed me something I didn't know, which is that you can see the top of the head plug from the front of the engine. It didn't appear to be leaking. They removed, cleaned, locktighted, and replaced the bolt that the oil seemed to be leaking from. Road the bike around for half an hour and so far, no leaks. I asked the mechanic about Suzukibond and the head plug, and his opinion is that adding a sealant makes the plug more likely to leak, not less, so he doesn't use it. What's been the experience here with using a sealant or no sealant with head plugs? |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by verslagen1 on 01/19/13 at 11:03:29 shops don't usually replace the plug and they leak. we don't tend to replace either, but we use RTV and they don't leak... for a while. |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by DavidOfMA on 01/19/13 at 19:23:58 Roughly how many miles have you gotten out of a head plug leak fix? Original plug ran about 8500 miles before it leaked. |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by Oldfeller on 01/20/13 at 14:57:01 Since your reppie dude didn't seal your plug (and also didn't tighten your cap down correctly nor did he likely retorqe your head bolts correctly either) you'll get to tell us all about it as the leaks re-occur. Dealing with the Dealership's Mikey dude is a biatch, to be sure. My stuff hasn't leaked again in 20,000 miles, I'll tell you more as the miles rack up on the repair work. Some have a lot more miles than that, but you see we eat up a cam chain every 30-40,000 miles so we have to go in again. Generally, a good list method type seal job doesn't leak. |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by Oldfeller on 01/20/13 at 14:59:57 Since your reppie dude didn't seal your plug (and also didn't tighten your cap down correctly nor did he likely retorqe your head bolts correctly either) you'll get to tell us all about it as the leaks re-occur. Dealing with the Dealership's Mikey dude is a biatch, to be sure. They say "they know what they are doing", but the big pile of long term evidence says the contrary -- every Savage is a new experience to this year's new Mikey. My stuff hasn't leaked again in 20,000 miles, I'll tell you more as the miles rack up on the repair work. Some have a lot more miles than that, but you see we eat up a cam chain every 35-50,000 miles so we have to go in again. Generally, a good list method type seal job doesn't leak. |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by DavidOfMA on 01/21/13 at 07:16:51 Hopefully, by the next time I have a head plug leak I'll be more up to speed on motorcycle maintenance and will be able to competentlly tackle it myself. There certainly is a wealth of information on the site and in its membership. |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by Digger on 01/24/13 at 18:58:19 2C0F0705060F0F0611630 wrote:
Old, What version of goo did you slop on your plug 20,000 leak-free miles ago? Enquiring minds want to know.... TIA! |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by Oldfeller on 01/25/13 at 13:36:13 Permatex black RTV (I color matched to the painted head and barrel so the ooze is not noticeable at all) |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by Digger on 01/25/13 at 19:14:28 0A2921232029292037450 wrote:
This: http://www.permatex.com/images/stories/virtuemart/product/22072.jpg or this? http://www.permatex.com/images/stories/virtuemart/product/81158.jpg |
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Title: Re: Return of the head plug leak? Post by Cavi Mike on 01/26/13 at 00:02:42 High-Temp. |
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