oil leak exaust 1984 GS1100G

[clancey g]

hi, ive been searching the old threads looking for posts, nothing so far i can find. The left side exaust where pipe meets head seems to have oil coming out of the thread or onto it from some where, onto the outer most exaust bolt ( left leg as i sit on bike) there are small seaps coming from gasket on top of cover over the head, nothing obvious. the bolts holding the exaust are not standard and are packed out with 4 split or spring washers. some of them were are a little loose. can oil come out of threads, is there a sealer for threads ?, or a seal that lets oil leak down into this area. it does not seem to blow smoke and oil looks ok as well as oil level,and plugs look not too bad, it runs ok. still been working to get it rego and ive been away, so cant take it for good run yet. it has only started to do it, even when its sat for a day or so after running for a bit while testing electric it leaks little bit oil onto or out of bolt, and onto the floor cant see it while its running. whats best way to trace leak. thanks clancey.

[Larry D]

The best way to trace a leak is to completely clean the engine as best you can and let it dry thoroughly...then take some powder and dust the area. Start it up and wait and watch for where the powder becomes wet. It's seems to be the left side because the oil will run that way with the bike on the kickstand, but, it could be coming from anywhere.

My bet is the valve cover gasket.

[7981GS]

Check the tach cable for leaks. Common problem.
Replace both seals if it is the source of your leak.
And, as mentioned, the cover gasket as well.

Daniel

[850 Combat]

Any leak above the exhaust pipes should be easy to fix. Below the exhaust, not so easy.

Unless a PO redrilled an exhaust bolt hole in the headin to a place it should not go, oil should not leak out of the exhaust bolts.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

If you're going to replace the valve cover gasket, you might as well check the valve clearances while you're there. If you must, order the proper bolts for the valve cover. Check the tach cable seal for leaks, replace if necessary. But, like Mr. Larry D suggested, you've got to get the motor cleaned up a bit before you can be sure where it's leaking. Yes, you can use a thread sealer. I use the white stuff from Loc-tite. But I don't think there are any oil passages near the valve cover bolts. Keep us informed.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[clancey g]

ok, thanks every one. ill get cleaning from top down, last owner said he had done shims, obviously no new gasket when it was done ,will have a look at them. bikes been on center stand (lowered still goes up ok ). best place in australia to get gaskets for this model is suzuki ?, thanks clancey.

[clancey g]

update, still cleaning her up. have not got top cover off yet. i had exhaust off and plugs out, and tank off, found items may be related. threads in head for # 1 cylindar near striped but end of bolt holes into head look ok, so it was loose, cleaned up loctited bolts an threads with mid strength lock tight till rethread them. breather tube split top motor near air box, air box mounting bolt broken it hangs at angle. main prob is petcock looks like it had little black tube going from it to # 2 carb ?? thats now blocked off and ziped tyed sticking up out of the carb and not connected, small brass tube same size sticking out of petcock ???, and there is an inline fuel tap in the fuel line, restricting flow i would suspect. looks like i need a new petcock, is it possible excess fuel from or leaking onto or through #1 cylindar mixing with grime. the piston an plug looks darker and weter than other ones i looked at. sorry if bit long, getting there, merry x-mass all regards clancey.

[1948man]

Is the petcock set to Prime? It sounds like the PO disabled the vacuum that would be needed for the fuel to flow in the "ON" position. Then he put an inline valve to keep the fuel from flowing constantly. It would be easy to forget to close this valve after running. Gas in your oil is a possibility. Does the oil smell of gas? If so, change it and resolve the petcock issue. You can get aftermarket or even OEM petcocks or rebuild it.

[clancey g]

ok update i got the top of motor cleaned up a bit, replaced petcock (with genuin suzuki part) and vac hose that was disconected. now the fun start's as i found oil leak is coming out of the exaust from the head number 1 cylindar when i run it. it's much worse now that i did the petcock and replaced the vac hose that was blocked off. im trying to work out is it excess fuel or oil, what looks like thin oil stream's out onto the exaust runs down hot pipe and burns off. if it was that bad i would expect it to blow blue smoke through exaust ??, this does not seem to be, i did find a old post with some thing about internal oil seal washer near the chain tensioner ??, im just bit stumped best logical way to track this down. the bike had stood for fair bit only riden once in a while by last owner. it did not leak oil like this that i could see when i first got it. i have basic tools and time. thanks clancey.

[850 Combat]

i found oil leak is coming out of the exaust from the head number 1 cylindar when i run it.

what looks like thin oil stream's out onto the exaust runs down hot pipe and burns off.

Is the oil streaming on to the exhaust or is it comming out of the exhaust?

My vote is that it needs a valve cover gasket to stop the oil from leaking out on to the exhaust.

The tach drive is lower than the exhaust ports and should not drip on to the exhaust. Where is the thin film comming from?

[Steve]

Clancey, it appears that you have not ridden the bike yet, so I was going to suggest another possibility for your "oil leak".

My guess is that the insides of the exhaust pipes are a bit carboned-up, due to poor running conditions. When you start a cold bike, there is a lot of moisture produced until things get up to full working temperature. "Full working temperature" is not achieved until you are a few miles down the road, so that moisture simply condenses on the inside of the pipes and runs down to the weep hole. Since the inside of the pipe is rather black, the water that runs through and drags some of it down will also be black, possibly looking like oil.

Just a guess, but that's what you are asking for.

The tach drive is lower than the exhaust ports and should not drip on to the exhaust.

What bike do you have where this is true?

EVERY Suzuki GS I have seen has had the tach drive either just above or just below the valve cover/cylinder head line, which is always ABOVE the exhaust ports.

.

[850 Combat]

What bike do you have where this is true?

EVERY Suzuki GS I have seen has had the tach drive either just above or just below the valve cover/cylinder head line, which is always ABOVE the exhaust ports.

.

Oops. Can't help it, all ate up with the dumass. not much chance of a thin film of oil making it from the tach drive to the #1 in my opinion though.
I meant that every leak above the exhaust ports is simple to repair. This still sounds like valve cover to me, which although time consuming is not difficult. Scraping off the gasket in a pain, and takes time.

[clancey g]

ok, ill update with a pic, it is running bit rougher than it was, if i pull the vent tube off petcock i can blow through back into the carby connection with out any resistance ?. ok ill have a look at those things, heres a pic, is it worth while putting a electric fan near the motor to cool it and run it for a while ??, if it leaks like that it prob wont pass reg inspection till i get it sorted, it could just need a good run you think ?, :UPDATE. Ok i ran it varied the rev's for a fair while, i put 2 pedistal elec fans blowing cool air across the motor and ran it for an hour or more, it took a while and lot of smoke, it seemed to cook off and dry up like steve thought, possibly it got beter after the choke was not needed ?. also the top gasket will need doing and i will do the taco seals and cable as well, as the taco stoped working sudenly while doing this test (dooo). looks like i need to go back and work through all the basic's clean up every thing and replace seals gaskets, thank you every one clancey.