persistant oil leak on the engine...above head gasket level, any obvious candidates?

[robinelwood]

1979 GS850. newbie stuff done, good compression, runs quite nicely now.

New head gasket, base gasket, valve cover gasket, valve oil seals, cam tensioner O-rings 515 miles ago.

HAs a small but increasing oil seep from inside the engine fins beside the cam chain tower.
Picture is immediately post-wash, before starting: a line of oil is coming out between the first and second fin and running down over the face of the cam chain tensioner ledge/tab...from there it goes , well, everywhere....

Busting into it tomorrow...was going to re-do valve clearances, but now will probably need to re-gasket it after finding the oil leak.....but I'm hoping for any brilliant insight on where that oil is coming from. Any culprits occur to the smart people? casting flaw? anti-gravity oil? what?
Much thanks... Robin E

 

[jprice90]

willing to bet its coming from the tachometer mount/sleeve.
Im dealing with the same issue, theres seals that go bad

 

[tkent02]

Going to need a much better picture to see anything, but that would be my first guess too since you replaced the cam chain tensioner stuff and the valve cover.

By the way, all oil is anti gravity oil once it gets hot and the oil mist starts swirling around the cooling fins.

 

[robinelwood]

Thank you gentlemen.

I'll investigate the drive sleeve... is there potential for it to leak far back from the engine face? All the tachometer gear visible on the engine stays clean, and the oil is definitely appearing much lower, coming from 'inside' the fins.....

 

[tkent02]

Clean the whole thing, get it really clean like using that purple power degreaser and a pressure washer or at least a good nozzle. Let it dry, shoot some dry powder like foot powder or something all over anywhere it could possibly be leaking from. You will easily see where the oil first starts to come out.... Kind of like the joke about the fat chick. Could be a crack or a defect in the cylinder, anything is possible but more likely some gasket or something just didn't seal up right for some reason.

 

[robinelwood]

Did this twice, plus the 3rd time pictured (sans powder)... oil appears consistently in the same spot (spreads elsewhere once in motion...) I'll see what I find...
Thanks!

 

[tkent02]

Again, where is the spot? Can't see Jack in the picture.

 

[robinelwood]

as you face the engine; right beside the cam chain protrusion/tunnel, 1 fin above head gasket level. Oil is coming from w/in the fins (source hidden), running down over the little 'platform' that justs out and has the tab bolt between head and base, and drips down onto the headers from there.

again: coming out about 3/4" ABOVE head gasket level, right next to the cam chain (on the left first, eventually both sides). No oil visible in headbolt wells, or escaping anywhere else....

 

[ukjules]

Is it not seeping out of the head gasket where the cam chain is located.
I e. Oil from the cam chain tunnel between the cylinders.
When going along oil travels all over.

The 10mm bolt to tighten there never seems to seal ?
I have that same issue and even with skimmed head etc
It still leaks. Need head gasket with some instant gasket dressing on.
Anyway that is my next intent to fix mine !

To date I have never managed to solve it and live with it.

 

[robinelwood]

well...it OUGHT to be leaking from there.... but despite many cleanings, oil always appears (prior to riding anywhere) definitely above the ledge above the gasket, making its way down to the gasket.... I would much rather it was a gasket seep. That would make more sense.

 

[Guest]

Copper washer on the head is leaking oil down a stud.
My guess.

 

[ukjules]

Cam cover gasket:
I at first thought this could be the reason. It can leak and drip
down near the spark plugs and then out via two drain holes
just above head gasket and could travel around that area.
Thing is this can only happen on runs not sat standing.

If it was the copper washer on stud , how would you fix it ?
assuming it was torqued correctly ?
So it would be a combination of copper washer and head gasket ?

 

[2BRacing]

as you face the engine; right beside the cam chain protrusion/tunnel, 1 fin above head gasket level. Oil is coming from w/in the fins (source hidden), running down over the little 'platform' that justs out and has the tab bolt between head and base, and drips down onto the headers from there.

again: coming out about 3/4" ABOVE head gasket level, right next to the cam chain (on the left first, eventually both sides). No oil visible in headbolt wells, or escaping anywhere else....

Try using thread sealer on the threads of the valve cover bolts next to the cam chain tunnel. I discovered oil leaking from under the heads of those bolts and then running down through the openings in the head to that small bolt in front.

This thread sealer is non-hardening. Please do not use RTV.

 

[ukjules]

<I am not trying to take over this thread but have a similar issue - my questions might help ..>

I am ordering that exact thread sealant off ebay and will try on Cam cover bolts and the 10mm bolt as per the chaps picture.
I am also going to use "Wellseal" on the cam cover gasket.

Also: i note that on my gs550 it does leak a bit out of the Cyl head bolts with the copper washers.
If they are torqued correctly what can be done about this ?

 

[Lorenzo]

Cam cover gasket, and sealant on the bolts.
RTV if applied thinly (don`t worry, is gonna swell) around all the threaded harbor, with a rotary motion of the screw, between silicon cladded fingers is going to be just fine.
Or else apply the suggested sealant.

 

[ukjules]

<Again i am not trying to take over this thread .... but my issue is so similar>

Many parts ordered for a top end refresh (bar the rings and base gasket)
Dowels, oem head gasket for the first time and will use thread sealant and possibly on some gaskets wellseal.

One thing i learnt from another thread is the copper washers on the cylinder head.
These compress and dont seal so well so you can heat them up and cool them to rejuvenate them.
This hopefully will stop any coming up the oilways. - I have the same ones for 60k !

 

[robinelwood]

Thank you all for the suggestions and similar situations: I'll post when I find out which of these things is the culprit.

 

[robinelwood]

I don't post on here to feel smart: Issue was the cam tensioner not being bolted on tightly enough. Little drizzle out the top of the mating surface, runs right forward through the fins and comes out right where you'd expect. Thanks to all for help isolating/narrowing the field of problems.....

 

[ukjules]

Thanks so much for posting reason. It helps enormously to others in peril.
Just done a top end gasket refresh in mine in the hope of no leaks.
Goes to show you have to be meticulous !