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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Oil leak after putting head cover back on
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Message started by jwenrich on 07/07/17 at 14:54:37

Title: Oil leak after putting head cover back on
Post by jwenrich on 07/07/17 at 14:54:37

I spent the better part of last winter removing the engine and replacing my piston with a high compression one.

All the parts found their home again, and the bike runs great. I am about 300 miles in.

After a long ride, where I pushed it A bit more than I had, I noticed an oil leak from the air passage at the back right of the head (see photo) . It looked like maybe a leak out the head bots, so I went back and took off the valve cover.

My question is this: do you think I just need to re torque the head bolts or do I need to put gasket goop around the screw holes nearest the cam chain(see photo, where there isn't any gasket) . When I first took the valve cover off, I noticed there was no gasket sealant around that area, so I copied what I saw from the factory. Should I be adding gasket there, or just torque the head bolt?

Side note: the gasket seems to have sealed, but there is none left where the cover and head meet. It all got squished to the sides. Is that OK?

Title: Re: Oil leak after putting head cover back on
Post by jwenrich on 07/07/17 at 14:55:16

Gasket picture. Wondering if I should add gasket to the bolt area just left of the chain.

Title: Re: Oil leak after putting head cover back on
Post by jwenrich on 07/07/17 at 14:58:14

The valve cover. Shows the gasket just being pushed out. You can also see where I didn't use any gasket in the center.

Title: Re: Oil leak after putting head cover back on
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/07/17 at 15:04:39

I would not use rtv.

Title: Re: Oil leak after putting head cover back on
Post by verslagen1 on 07/07/17 at 15:08:31

To the left of the chain is not an open area.
I normally put RTV here, but it's more to maintain constant thickness.
If it does leak here, it will go to the top, not the air passage.
The only way I've found to isolate a leak like this is...
http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1335737953
http://www.savageriders.com/verslagen/images/oil_leak_check.jpg

BTW, you're using too much rtv, you want little to no squish out.

Title: Re: Oil leak after putting head cover back on
Post by jwenrich on 07/07/17 at 15:22:31

If not rtv, what other kind of gasket maker would I be looking for?

When I said open area, I meant place where the cover comes down. The attached picture should be clearer. I stopped putting rtv where my left finger is, and am wondering if I should put some where my index finger is, closest to the cam chain cog. That goes for both sides of the cam shaft.

Is that where you are saying you put some?

Sounds like I will be re torqueing everything, sealing all around, including the space by the cog, cleaning up the oil and praying it doesn't leak anymore. If I find more, air pressure test it is.

Thank you

Title: Re: Oil leak after putting head cover back on
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/07/17 at 16:08:48

Or equivalent
Look up
Three Bond 1211

Thin even coat, there are things to watch out for. I can't remember them right now.

Title: Re: Oil leak after putting head cover back on
Post by batman on 07/07/17 at 20:17:26

In the pic above ,there should be no sealant in the area between your fingers,(on either side of the "well" the cam lobes ride in) ,if you look at the underside of the cover you'll see there is no matting surface in that area. I can't really tell where the oil leak is coming from,it's possible that it's from under the brass washer on the head bolts ,it's a good idea to anneal( Heat) the brass washer to make it soft before torqueing the head bolts as there are oil passages around some of them, and the washer acts as a seal.

Title: Re: Oil leak after putting head cover back on
Post by jwenrich on 07/07/17 at 20:23:28

Thanks batman. My first assumption was incorrectly torqued head bolts, so maybe I'll try heating as well this time.

I won't put gasket on the narrow strips, but I may put some right at the bolt areas.

I'll watch my amounts this time on the goop. Last time was my first and I figured it was better to overdo then to miss a spot and have to go back in.

Title: Re: Oil leak after putting head cover back on
Post by Dave on 07/08/17 at 03:41:54

If you reused the copper washers that go under the head studs - they likely didn't seal well and oil is weeping past the right rear head stud. The left front and right rear head stud can weep oil.

Take the right front and left rear head stud nuts and washers off, and then clean them really well. When they are dry put a thin coating of sealant on the bottom and top of the washer, and a thin coating of anti-seize on the threads of the stud - then torque down the nut. Don't use so much anti-seize that it oozes out onto the bottom of the nut - as you want the nut to get coated with the sealant as you torque down the nut. Do one at a time to reduce the implied load on the other studs while you are taking the nuts and washers off.

I don't use the generic RTV on the head....use Suzukibond or Three Bond. It really is different than the generic stuff. It sets up much slower and gives you time to work - plus you don't have ugly orange sealer that shouts - "my head has been taken off and glued back on".

Title: Re: Oil leak after putting head cover back on
Post by jwenrich on 07/08/17 at 07:46:43

Thanks Dave. I will do all that as well. Looks like I've got some stuff to order before I get that back on.

Always impressed with the quick, helpful advice from the forum. Thank you.

Title: Re: Oil leak after putting head cover back on
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/08/17 at 07:53:45

Tighten the cover down using at least three passes.