Oil leak from Clutch seal

[mrhedges]

I just got my old '81 gs850g running again from a long slumber and now oil is leaking from the clutch seal bad enough to sprinkle my pant leg. Do I have to pull the hold clutch cover off the replace this or is their a way to replace the seal without pulling the cover?

[salty_monk]

You mean the rotating shaft that comes out the top of the cover with the splines on it or does that model have the pushrod right through the cases like the 550?

I think either way you might get lucky by putting a couple of screws in and using them as a puller... Bit weird if it's the first one though. It would be more likely it was coming from somewhere else & just pooling there I would have thought...

[mrhedges]

It's a rotating shaft with splines on it. I guess I could check it it's coming from somewhere else

[mrhedges]

[Rich82GS750TZ]

There is an oil seal there that you can replace. From memory, I'm pretty sure you have to take the clutch cover off to replace it. But I could be wrong. See if someone else has a definitive answer on that. At least inspect the bearing too, make sure it's good. Washer too. Can't imagine either of those going bad.



Fiche image from partshark.com

https://www.partshark.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d4017af8700230d8b4e4d0/clutch

If you're going to take the clutch cover off:
.5) If you don't have a factory service manual, download one from BikeCliff's Website (see link in signature)

1) I't's not absolutely necessary to dump the oil beforehand, Bike on the side stand should only spill a bit of oil. May need to top up when done.

2) Have a New OEM clutch cover gasket on hand. The old one is probably original. Prepare for a lot of scraping.

3) Those cross-head screws are not Phillips. Have a manual impact driver and a properly fitting bit to remove those. Consider replacing cover bolts with a later model ('82 /\?) hex-head bolts.



4) There are different length cover screws. Keep them in order.

5) Follow the manual to uninstall and reinstall clutch cable, cover, etc. and torque the cover down properly.

[Brendan W]

I got it out with a hook and small screwdriver, no opening cases. If memory serves the original is 9mm deep. I made do with a 7mm, all they had in stock, and it was fine.
The size should be visible on the rubber upper part.

[mrhedges]

This is all so helpful, glad I logged back in. So, years ago and I think I posted on this forum about it. I took this bike on a very long road trip and hit some serious potholes in detriot MI. I got a bad oil leak which I originally thought was this seal and ordered the parts mid trip. Turned out it was the Cam Chain tensioner. I decided instead of fixing it mid trip I'd just top off the oil until I got back home. . I mean the seal is original and over 40 years old. I also ordered a new clutch at some point. Maybe I should just remove the cover and see what the clutch looks like? Do the clutches even wear out on these bikes? Is this even something to worry about? It's good to know that if I go this route I don't have to change the oil because it's fairly fresh oil in there.

In addition to this issue the bike is leaking oil from what appears to be the front of the head gasket. I feel like I read some where on this forum that this could be from the head bolts being loose? I actually had the cases split back in 2016 when it was leaking oil so bad it would spray my leg, so that gasket is newish.

[Grimly]

Do the clutches even wear out on these bikes? Is this even something to worry about? .

Actually wearing out is relatively unusual, but they get hardened and glazed with miles and time, eventually slipping.

[rphillips]

Personally I've been lucky, I've not had worn out plates nor plates warped bad enough I could tell it. Only time I remember ever having a slipping problem, I put some "Slick 50" in my oil, I thought I'd ruined them, any throttle and it'd slip bad. I changed the oil and things got better, after appx. 300mi. changed again and again better, then changed again and things finally got back to normal. Other problems were from abuse, the dogs (tabs) that turn the hub get flattened real bad, and a few times I've found little 1/2" chunks broke out of a plate.

[Brendan W]

This is all so helpful, glad I logged back in. So, years ago and I think I posted on this forum about it. I took this bike on a very long road trip and hit some serious potholes in detriot MI. I got a bad oil leak which I originally thought was this seal and ordered the parts mid trip. Turned out it was the Cam Chain tensioner. I decided instead of fixing it mid trip I'd just top off the oil until I got back home. . I mean the seal is original and over 40 years old. I also ordered a new clutch at some point. Maybe I should just remove the cover and see what the clutch looks like? Do the clutches even wear out on these bikes? Is this even something to worry about? It's good to know that if I go this route I don't have to change the oil because it's fairly fresh oil in there.

In addition to this issue the bike is leaking oil from what appears to be the front of the head gasket. I feel like I read some where on this forum that this could be from the head bolts being loose? I actually had the cases split back in 2016 when it was leaking oil so bad it would spray my leg, so that gasket is newish.

If it ain't broke don't fix it
I would leave the clutch well alone unless you have issues.
Headbolts do loosen after a gasket replacement.
I got almost a half turn after a few hundred miles.
Check the torque and see if that sorts it. If not you are most likely looking at replacing the head and base gaskets and might as well do the valve seals.

[mrhedges]

If it ain't broke don't fix it
I would leave the clutch well alone unless you have issues.
Headbolts do loosen after a gasket replacement.
I got almost a half turn after a few hundred miles.
Check the torque and see if that sorts it. If not you are most likely looking at replacing the head and base gaskets and might as well do the valve seals.

Man I really don't wanna pull the engine apart, I did that back in 2018 because oil was spraying my leg anytime I went over 55mph. I had help from an acquaintance who had a shop. We did a whole rebuild I think he charged me $600 and gave me a discount because I helped scrap off the old gasket material. This leak doesn't seem nearly as bad so I went and checked the torque and found a loose bolt on the front and one of the two that hold the head to the base (near the outer sparkplugs). Hoping this fixes it. This bike had been stolen and abused (I have another thread about that) and when I got it back the valve covers where leaking crazy bad and the bolts where super super loose.

I also made a budget side cover with some vinyl and zipties I had laying around and a $4 grommet maker from HF. I thought about doing some redneck engineering on the Oil seal with Red RTV then decided against it seeing as the pinon has to shift in the seal and I figured there's no way that would work. I even was like "maybe I can put some grease on the pinion so the RTV won't stick to it" Probably just turn into a oily mess. I can see the pin hole where it's leaking which is the part the pinion pivots on. I tried to get it out with a little screwdriver but it won't budge. I had the idea of using my drill to drive a screw into the seal and then trying to pull that up but by that point it was dinner time. Might dig into it again tonight. I ordered JIS screw bits for my manual impact just incase I have to pull over the clutch cover. Fortunately I have a new seal and gasket (OEM) laying around. I ordered these years ago when it was leaking on one of my trips. The leak really wasn't that bad so I never got around to fixing it. I really want to get it going so I can rip around on this bike and start to do some work on my other "nicer" bike a 1986 Kawasaki Concourse with a sorta bad oil leak. Someday I hope to own at-least one motorcycle without an oil leak!

[mrhedges]

heres a pic of the "side covers" I made. Arts and Crafts are not really my forte but they will keep dirt and dust from the electronics...hopefully

[Rob S.]

heres a pic of the "side covers" I made. Arts and Crafts are not really my forte but they will keep dirt and dust from the electronics...hopefully

Yikes!!

I mean very nice. Why not splurge for some real ones?

[mrhedges]

Yikes!!

I mean very nice. Why not splurge for some real ones?

I actually bought some new repo ones on ebay last year and they didn't fit right and I returned them. Instead of spending money on some used one's I'd like to replace the battery tray and clean up that whole area and just have it open but I have more projects then time and I need to just get this done and going for now.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

You can buy cheap small sheets of ABS plastic in various thicknesses and sizes on Amazon. You can cut this stuff easily with a band saw or even hand tools to the triangle or trapezoid shape you desire. Drill some holes around the edge and zip tie it to the frame. And it would look a million times better than what you did. I’m not one to call out someone else’s handiwork. We all work with what we got but. We love these bikes. Sometimes we have to make things we can’t find reasonably priced replacements for. But this side panel…. I don’t know what to say. My mom said “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”. I guess I’ve said too much already.