SuzukiSavage.com - Oil Leak on my Savage

hshift

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Oil Leak on my Savage
09/18/08 at 08:11:44

I have a 2000 Savage that I has a very slight oil "weep" coming from the seam where the cylinder head meets the cylinder. I'm talking about maybe one drop of oil on the floor of my garage over two days. It looks like replacing the gasket will mean pulling the motor, so I don't think it is leaking bad enough to warrant that kind of big job. My question though, are there any oil additives that can stop minor leaks like this? I know STP makes one for instance. Are these safe for bikes?
Thanks,
Ed

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T Mack 1 - FSO Serious Thumper Alliance Member Offline sold 2001 LS650 for a 1986 XLH1100 Posts: 2919 Emmaus,Pa Gender:	Re: Oil Leak on my Savage Reply #1 - 09/18/08 at 10:13:13 Thighten the 6 nuts that hold the head on first. Also plan on replacing the rubber plug that covers the access hole to the one nut, which is many times the real leak that just flows to odd places.
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Paladin.

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Re: Oil Leak on my Savage
Reply #2 - 09/18/08 at 10:17:38

hshift wrote on 09/18/08 at 08:11:44:

...very slight oil "weep" coming from the seam where the cylinder head meets the cylinder. ... It looks like replacing the gasket will mean pulling the motor, so I don't think it is leaking bad enough to warrant that kind of big job....

If it's the plug it can be replaced with the engine in the bike. Pull tank, remove and discard chrome covers, remove head cover, replace plug, replace head cover, replace tank, remove tank, hook up speedo, replace tank.

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DJM Full Member Offline '06 Red S40 Posts: 116 Encinitas CA Gender:	Re: Oil Leak on my Savage Reply #3 - 09/18/08 at 10:46:04 Paladin: You forgot the part about removing the starter to gain access to the place the O-ring for the Speedo fell.
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hshift YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 13	Re: Oil Leak on my Savage Reply #4 - 09/18/08 at 13:23:23 Thanks for all the advice, I'll give it a shot.
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motokid

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Re: Oil Leak on my Savage
Reply #5 - 09/18/08 at 13:38:36

Hi,

this head cover removal job has been explained quite well on this site. One point, however, remains obscure and that one holds me from doing it to tighten the head bolts - rebuilding the gasket. I;m afraid that I'll either not do it right and get a leak after first start, or do it too well and plug some of the oil channels. Is there some comprehensive guide how to use that chemical thingie.

K

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Oil Leak on my Savage Reply #6 - 09/18/08 at 18:45:24 That O-ring isnt worth the hassle, replace it if its gone.
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justin_o_guy2

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Re: Oil Leak on my Savage
Reply #7 - 09/18/08 at 19:12:02

I was concerned when I saw the area where the sealant was supposed to go & the potential consequences for getting it in places it didnt belong. Also, it has the upper lands for the cam in it, so, too much Goo will make for sloppy cam bearings & too little could maybe create a bit of a tight spot for the cam. I used the recommended sealant & a tiny flat blade to put the stuff where I wanted it & carefully put it down on the head. I cant remember if its got dowells or not, it seems it should. If it doesnt & you feel the need for a guide, buy bolts that are tall enough & cut them off, to slip the head cover down & keep it aimed where you want it. I also cant remember if the instructions on the sealant were to wait & let it start to tack up. If it says it,, OHH do it. Getting the goo on it evenly is important. If you arent happy with it & it starts getting hard or whatever, just clean it off & start over, no biggee. I didnt use tape, but if I was concerned about getting it somewhere it just couldnt go, masking things off is an easy way to protect things. Ive masked things off to keep crap from sanding out, or scraping gaskets, spreading goo is no different.

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vhfkid Full Member Offline Thumpin' in ETEX Posts: 138 East Texas Gender:	Re: Oil Leak on my Savage Reply #8 - 09/18/08 at 20:28:18 I am in the same situation, most likely the cap plug leak. But I am concerned, are there any gaskets or o rings that should be purchased from the stealership before I do the work? Yeah of course I'm gunna need some high temp silicone, and everyone has their favs, please leave that to another post. Thanks! vhfkid
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Paladin. Serious Thumper Offline Hamster Posts: 4929 Sunny Southern California Gender:	Re: Oil Leak on my Savage Reply #9 - 09/18/08 at 20:44:39 I did mine just over a year ago, about 6K miles, all I had new was the plug. I think I may have used Aviation Form-a-Gasket, don't remember, but we do have a container of such, many years old, the dried on spillage is not totally dry.
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T Mack 1 - FSO

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Re: Oil Leak on my Savage
Reply #10 - 09/19/08 at 06:31:42

NO gasket on head cover, just sealant. Use a high temp gasket sealer. Auto-parts stores will have it (got mine at Auto-zone)

I just did the plug replacement about 3 months ago (I think.... or was it 2). It took about 2 hours..... but I'm pretty good mechanically.... figure 4 hours...

Tips:
-1 When taking the cover off, do not pry against the mating surfaces of the cover to the head. That can cause a nick that is a potential spot for leak.
-2 Clean Clean Clean!!!! For best seal the new gasket sealer needs a oil free surface. I use alcohol to wipe it down. I was using 91% that I bought at the chain drug store down the street (CVS). But, now using de-natured Alcohol purchased at a hardware store. Try to stay away from the 70% rubbing alcohol as it has 30% additives that can leave a residue.
-3 when applying the gasket sealer, you only need a thin layer. Thickness...... more than a piece of paper, but less than a credit card. Coat both surfaces........ head and the head cover.

-4 Make sure engine is at Top-Dead-Center. This will let the rockers be loose. Fastest way to do this, use the inspection port on the left engine cover and also take the sparkplug out. Using a socket, turn the nut (same direction as the wheel turn to go forward), put a finger over the sparkplug hole. When you feel air pressure on that finger, you are almost at TDC. At this time look at the nut and see it the alignment marks are together.

-5 You will have to disconnect the decompression linkage. Two choices, 1) (hardest): loosen the nuts and remove cable but this means you need to adjust correctly when you put it back together. 2): remove the two phillips head screws that hold the bracket for the decompression linkage on to the head cover. It is only a tiny bit harder to unhook the cable this way, BUT there is no re-adustment needed when re-installing.

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Engineers design things, Technicians make them work.
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30% of being mechanical is confidence/30% is knowing to go slow when needed/30% is looking repeatedly at what you have/10% is dumb luck Wink

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vhfkid Full Member Offline Thumpin' in ETEX Posts: 138 East Texas Gender:	Re: Oil Leak on my Savage Reply #11 - 09/22/08 at 05:37:34 Thanks TMack and Paladin! I think I'll try to tackle it this upcoming weekend. vhfkid
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Paladin. Serious Thumper Offline Hamster Posts: 4929 Sunny Southern California Gender:	Re: Oil Leak on my Savage Reply #12 - 09/22/08 at 07:28:02 If you have a digital camera take pictures of things BEFORE you take them apart so you can see how they are suppose to go back together.
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hshift

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Re: Oil Leak on my Savage
Reply #13 - 10/22/08 at 05:13:09

Finally got this done last Sunday, and the 'weep' is gone. Cleaned off the splatter from everywhere, and so far the fins of the cylinder and the battery case are spotless. The area behind the exhaust port where the head bolts are is dry also.

IT took me almost 4 hours to do this, and I'm pretty good wrenching, but I never worked on a bike before, and was worried about breaking off the cover bolts, so I took my time and was extra careful. When I got the cover off, the head plug cap was seated in it's space, but was so loose it's no wonder it was leaking, and it had NO sealant. Put the replacement in with sealant, and it fit nice and snug. Used anti-seize on the cover bolts to re-install, and used a torque wrench to tighten.

I'd like to say thanks to all the posters here who made the decision to do this myself an easy one to make. Besides the satisfaction of doing this job myself, it's great to know I saved myself from forking $300 bucks over to the dealership. The instructions on this website are spot on, and were easy to follow.

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PipJones

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Re: Oil Leak on my Savage
Reply #14 - 10/22/08 at 09:40:54

I recently (three days ago) changed my head plug and it only took me about 2 hours. I didn't worry about tdc or any of the sort, i just ripped into my motorcycle and 2 hours later i was riding away from work (i am a mechanic, so it might take you longer)

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?board=tech;action=display;num=1099227295

that link has a detailed explanation of what to do, check it out and see what you think.

best of luck

Pip Jones

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Gargle, sputter, burp and die!!! The ways of my LS650!!!!!

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