SuzukiSavage.com - Is my head gasket leaking?

NCSUindy09 Junior Member Offline Rollin' Posts: 64	Is my head gasket leaking? 11/21/13 at 09:50:29 Where is all this oil coming from? It seems like it's clean above the head gasket but oily under. My bike leaves oil marks wherever it's parked. Also when it gets hot enough this crud smokes. Head gasket replace seems like a lot of work so I want to be sure. Thanks
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Re: Is my head gasket leaking?
Reply #1 - 11/21/13 at 10:05:24

It does look like head gasket... but, I doubt if it's blown...
You might try just removing the front and rear nuts (in those little cubby holes)... put a dab of RTV on the threads, and tighten them back up...
Then see what happens...
If it still leaks,.. you may need to pull the head cover and torque all the head nuts...

JMHO... Huh

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NCSUindy09 Junior Member Offline Rollin' Posts: 64	Re: Is my head gasket leaking? Reply #2 - 11/21/13 at 10:06:32 Oh, just some info. 1986 Right at 14k Miles, this is a daily commute bike (5mi>). Totally stock. I don't know what a cam chain tensioner is but I hear I better find out soon. Some mechanical experience but not a whole lot.
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Re: Is my head gasket leaking?
Reply #3 - 11/21/13 at 15:07:18

I had a similar looking leak...look at the studs in the square space in the front and back, there is a nut that might be a little loose, you can take it off and clean everything really good (including the threads on the stud) with alcohol or a degreaser and put some sealant (rtv or other) on the threads and put the nut back on and snug it down.
Here is where mine was leaking

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DavidOfMA Senior Member Offline Getting back in gear after a long time away Posts: 336 Beverly, MA Gender:	Re: Is my head gasket leaking? Reply #4 - 11/21/13 at 20:01:53 Mine had the same leak. Has been fine for a couple thousand miles, after tightening. Don't know why this nut comes loose and the corresponding one on the other side doesn't (or at least mine didn't). Anyone know?
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wambr Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 610 Russia, Samara Gender:	Re: Is my head gasket leaking? Reply #5 - 11/22/13 at 00:58:03 think the cause of the oil leakage - the bad sealant under the cover of the valves. it's a positive sign that amount of oil suggests that the oil pump in the engine works very well and oil passages in the cylinder clean.
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wambr Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 610 Russia, Samara Gender:	Re: Is my head gasket leaking? Reply #6 - 11/22/13 at 01:06:21 Oh forgot... you need to open the cylinder head cover and clean the old sealant. then apply a fresh sealer and replace the cover and secure the nuts with the correct torque.
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Is my head gasket leaking? Reply #7 - 11/23/13 at 09:55:58 wambr wrote on 11/22/13 at 00:58:03: think the cause of the oil leakage - the bad sealant under the cover of the valves. it's a positive sign that amount of oil suggests that the oil pump in the engine works very well and oil passages in the cylinder clean. Now that right there is what we call POsitive Spin!
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Re: Is my head gasket leaking?
Reply #8 - 11/24/13 at 05:48:25

When are you guys going to tell him about the rubber plug?

Or suggest he clean all the crap off his engine with engine cleaner then look at the clean parts on first crank up to see where the ooze starts from?

NCSU ...... does that mean North Carolina State University?

And that is not an insult, I graduated from State and live nearby in Fayetteville.

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« Last Edit: 11/24/13 at 14:16:30 by Oldfeller--FSO »

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NCSUindy09 Junior Member Offline Rollin' Posts: 64	Re: Is my head gasket leaking? Reply #9 - 11/25/13 at 09:52:30 Yep. Wolfpack!! What rubber plug? Haha
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Dave YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 18099 Camp Springs, Kentucky Gender:	Re: Is my head gasket leaking? Reply #10 - 11/25/13 at 10:23:19 http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1099227295
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old_rider Serious Thumper Offline Backyard Bill Productions Posts: 3147 flordia panhandle Gender:	Re: Is my head gasket leaking? Reply #11 - 11/25/13 at 14:34:25 Wouldn't the plug leak start higher? not sure cause I've not seen pics of that..... or is it along the same split line? Have you sprayed it off and located where the oil is coming from yet?
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Serowbot YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline OK.... so what's the speed of dark? Posts: 28662 Tucson Az Gender:	Re: Is my head gasket leaking? Reply #12 - 11/25/13 at 14:45:14 +1.. plug leak's I've seen started higher...
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DavidOfMA Senior Member Offline Getting back in gear after a long time away Posts: 336 Beverly, MA Gender:	Re: Is my head gasket leaking? Reply #13 - 11/26/13 at 10:30:39 Easy enough to shine a flashlight in the opening near the head plug to see if oil is pooling or seeping from there, isn't it?
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Re: Is my head gasket leaking?
Reply #14 - 11/27/13 at 03:07:54

Clean it up good so the surfaces are all dry, then crank it up and start looking immediately with your flashlight.

We've had several people report they can actually see the plug moving as the engine huffs (sucks and blows internally with the piston movement).

Between the two underside nuts and the rubber plug, it covers 90+ percent of all the oil leaks like you have shown us.

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