Oil pooling on head, normal? Leaking half moons

[scaylabs]

I got leaking half moons after adjusting my valves. One of them bad enough that oil is dripping all the way to the #4 exhaust causing it to smoke quite a bit.

No big deal I thought, just followed the recommendations and smeared a light coat of Permatex Ultra Black on the round portion of the half moons. No luck, just as bad as before. I did clean all surfaces before applying the silicone and let it cure overnight before tightening the bolts completely.

When I pulled the cover to apply the silicone the head was filled with oil almost 1/4" to the rim on the outside cylinders. I had to use a bunch of paper towels to hold all the oil that poured out when I took the half moons out. And this was over 24hs after the engine had run.

Is it normal for oil to drain so slowly from that spot? Could this be causing the half moons not to seal even with the silicone?

I checked the breather and it seems to be clear.

[850 Combat]

All of mine do. I have a Turkey baster for valve adjustments. If it drained out, it would be a bit rough on the cams.

I have used the Vesra half moons and had them work fine, but on a recent job I ended up getting OEM. That bike also had a silicone Realgasket in it though. OEM gasket with OEM moons and so far so good (about 300 miles only)

[scaylabs]

Great, thanks!

I'm ordering new OEM half moons right now. Hopefully that will be the end of it.

[Nessism]

Those oil pools are supposed to be there so the cam lobes have a ready supply of lubricant at all times. I believe this is one of the reasons the shim and bucket GS valve train is so durable.

[bwringer]

I've found that some new half-moons stick up too much, especially with the soft silicone RealGasket. I generally try to re-use old ones whenever possible.

[s276l]

I am having this same exact problem with oem half moons and oem gasket. I did notice the half-moons stuck up higher but thought it would seal when the head cover was tightened...

bwringer - what did you do with the leaking oem half-moons?

Sean

[JEEPRUSTY]

Yamabond a dab or two will do.

[Nessism]

Yamabond a dab or two will do.

No Yamabond. Suzukibond only, or the company that makes both, Threebond.