SuzukiSavage.com - oil leak

Darryl

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oil leak
07/22/26 at 16:22:13

I had an oil leak that left a fine mist on the RH side of the crankcase. I did the Verslagen head plug fix, and a new seal on the speedo cable, plus sealed the speedo fitting on the trans. I took it for a 15 mile ride and there was more oil mist just below the cylinder. This is really annoying after all the work I've done. The side cover gasket is new and doesn't appear to be leaking. Any suggestions? I ran it for a while parked and couldn't see anything coming out.
BTW the 38-year-old head plug, while very loose, did not appear to have been leaking.

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splash07

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Re: oil leak
Reply #1 - 07/23/26 at 03:57:18

Make sure to clean all the oil that had previously leaked off the engine. Perhaps it was residual oil from before you repaired the head plug. After cleaning take the bike for a ride and stop frequently to inspect and see if you can see any new oil and where it is originating from. It does sound like maybe you still have the head plug leak. Are you running the stock air box with the crank case breather attached? Do you have stock vacuum operated petcock? If your petcock failed then your crankcase could be overfilled and leaking some oil/gas mix from the crankcase breather. Good luck.

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Dave

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Re: oil leak
Reply #2 - 07/23/26 at 04:33:23

Oil leaks can be very difficult to locate - especially once your start riding at speed.

Several years ago I was getting oil up on the front right side of my fuel tank once in a while. Sometimes I could ride all day and never have any oil - and sometimes I could go for a short ride and get the oil on the fuel tank. After a long time searching, I discovered the O-ring on the speedometer drive tube was leaking - but it would only leak when I did a full throttle acceleration through several gears. The wind while riding would somehow carry the oil forward and upward and blow it onto the front of the fuel tank!

More recently I spent a lot of time looking for an oil leak that would deposit a few tiny drops of oil onto the metal plate behind the starter. It turned out it was an aftermarket head gasket that did not have the coating applied between the layers of the head gasket, and the oil was weeping out the front of the gasket - it was very difficult to spot on the shiny black head and cylinder. A new head gasket solved the problem.

You need to clean the motor really well, then go for slow rides and look for the oil.....wind at speeds can blow the oil around and make you start looking in all the wrong places. The nut at the front of the cylinder beneath the header is known to leak oil, the washers on right side cylinder studs can leak - and the right rear cylinder stud can also leak oil. The center case can leak oil and drip off the left footpeg if the engine mounting bolt is loose. Look at the O-ring on the engine oil fill plug - those can get old and leak.

Keep looking.

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Darryl

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Re: oil leak
Reply #3 - 07/23/26 at 14:01:47

Yes on stock airbox and crankcase breather, and no on stock petcock. That was the first upgrade I did, since when removing the LH case cover a gallon of gas poured out. There is little chance the head plug is leaking with the slick Verslagen plug, and it wasn't even leaking with the 38-year-old original.
I got both the factory speedo cable seal and the recommended o-ring, and decided to use the original type. I'm going to remove the exhaust today so I can examine and tighten the rest of the RH case cover bolts. I noticed the one near the front cylinder base bolt had a seal on it and appeared oily so removed and sealed it. I'll keep looking.

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Dave

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Re: oil leak
Reply #4 - 07/24/26 at 04:15:17

Darryl wrote on 07/23/26 at 14:01:47:

I noticed the one near the front cylinder base bolt had a seal on it and appeared oily so removed and sealed it. I'll keep looking.

You might be onto something there. The right side case has 3 locations that have the sealing washers. These washers have a rubber inner ID that seals against oil leaks.

In the attached diagram - the bolts that have the number "7" have the sealing washers.

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Sealing_Washers.JPG

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Darryl

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Re: oil leak
Reply #5 - 07/31/26 at 11:31:49

I re-sealed those three bolts and replaced the filler cap o-ring, and took another test ride. After only a mile I looked down and oil was practically gushing from the base of the cylinder on the RH side. Upon closer inspection it was coming up out of the side cover (new) gasket. Apparently I must have screwed that up somehow, so will be ordering a new one. Another thing came up - is there a seal or o-ring on the shaft for the clutch release lever? I couldn't find any mention of one in the manual. Before my ride I tied a piece of cotton string around the shaft to see if it got wet. It was soaked, but then so much was coming out from the gasket leak that it could have been from that. I wanted a Savage because it reminded me so much of the old Matchless single I had when I was a kid. Well, that bike was constantly broke down and so is this one, so it is similar! Sad

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Dave YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 18813 Camp Springs, Kentucky Gender:	Re: oil leak Reply #6 - 08/01/26 at 04:30:58 Yes, there is an O-ring on the clutch release shaft. To replace it you have to remove the cotter pin and slide the shaft out....you will see the O-ring sitting in a groove machined into the shaft.
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Darryl

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Re: oil leak
Reply #7 - 08/11/26 at 17:25:45

I think, fingers crossed, that the leak is fixed. I've been wrenching on cars and bikes for about 65 years now, you would think I would know not to make boneheaded mistakes. Well, it seems that the top of the side cover gasket fell down as I was assembling it. Amazing how much oil will spray out of a gasket-thickness hole. Not very impressed with the condition of the paper gasket when I took the cover off, I decided to just use a bead of good gasket sealer instead. We'll see how that works out. I also replaced the clutch lever rod o-ring, plus added a fat one on the outside of the case just as backup, and blew out the vent tube that goes to the head cover. Went for a 20-mile ride and no signs of a leak, so I'm optimistic. Now if I could just get my street rod fixed that easily - it has serious issues.

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DragBikeMike Serious Thumper Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 4738 Honolulu	Re: oil leak Reply #8 - 08/11/26 at 22:36:43 Darryl, you might wanna look into the OEM gasket. The latest genuine Suzuki gasket is excellent and can be used over & over. It is well worth the premium price. You want the metal gasket with the polymer coating. If it ain't magnetic, it ain't right. This old post has the specifics. http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1566457841
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