1980 GS 450 L Shift seal wont seal, chipped left case?

[MikeQ]

Hey everyone,

I had to replace the shift shaft seal on my 450 the other day..Its a new bike and it was leaking a bit of oil from beneath the shifter. When I pulled off the cover to get at the seal, where the seal actually fits into the little round recess (part of the left engine case), part of that recess, about 1/4 inch of it is busted off. The idiot I bought the bike from had the flipping thing put back together with bondo. The way the seal is sitting right now, in the corner top left there is no metal pressing against the outside of the seal and the oil is coming from the outside of the seal. I can try to get a pic up tomorow. Any ideas on what could be done? Maybe rtv? Or should I be in the market for a used motor?

Thanks so much everyone..
Mike

[pete]

Repairing something like that could be interesting... it's possible for sure but I don't know much about welding alloy etc.

If you could get someone to weld in a chunk of alloy to fill it up, you should be able to shape the hole back to how it should be.

I suspect this would be an engine dismantle and repair job though...

You could try something like JB Weld or whatever but if you do be very careful not to get it inside the crank case.

[Mekanix]

Pull the seal out. find a piece of pipe that fits inside the diameter of the hole.
Weld the aluminum case back together and then remove the pipe. It should leave you with a round hole. Or do the same with JB weld. Although I don't know how long it will hold up. Some swear by the stuff, Some don't. I would try it and if it didn't work, its easy to remove the stuff and weld it properly.

[chuck c]

Our just do what I do- keep the level up and don't park it where you don't want oil.

I have exactly the same bike and leak but I don't recall seeing any missing aluminum. I'll have to look again. It could be an inherent problem with this engine.

Hey everyone,

I had to replace the shift shaft seal on my 450 the other day..Its a new bike and it was leaking a bit of oil from beneath the shifter. When I pulled off the cover to get at the seal, where the seal actually fits into the little round recess (part of the left engine case), part of that recess, about 1/4 inch of it is busted off. The idiot I bought the bike from had the flipping thing put back together with bondo. The way the seal is sitting right now, in the corner top left there is no metal pressing against the outside of the seal and the oil is coming from the outside of the seal. I can try to get a pic up tomorow. Any ideas on what could be done? Maybe rtv? Or should I be in the market for a used motor?

Thanks so much everyone..
Mike