Is There A Place Common For Oil To Leak On 81 GS650E's

[NateTheNewb]

Before I go digging in and buy gasket kits and what not, is there some doo dad in there that is known to leak? It comes from the left side of the engine.

Could it just be that the bolts are loose on the sump or elsewhere?

Thanks

Nate

[BigD_83]

Lots of places for leaks to crop up...the valve cover gasket and half moons are common culprits, apparently.

Are we talking stains on the engine, or pools under the bike?

Post up some pics, Nate

[Big T]

Valve cover, half moons, cam chain tensioner and tach drive seem to lead the list of oil drippers

[Nessism]

Clean the engine (Gunk engine degreaser works well).

Dry the engine without running (leaf blower works well).

Spray engine with foot powder spray or similar.

Start engine and watch closely for where the leakage is coming from.

Fix leak.

Done

[NateTheNewb]

Okay, thanks for all the ideas. I wouldnt say pooling. it drips after riding extensively and slowly winds down maybe leaving a doughnut hole spot on the ground. Or perhaps a small, hostess size regular doughnut.

I just replaced the valve cover gasket when I adjusted the valves a month ago or so. It's definitely coming from the bottom.

Could bolts on the looser side be the issue? (Hoping to be lucky)

As far as the spray and search method....would most, if not all possibilities be fully exposed that I could cancel out the possibility of leak originating behind any engine covers?

[Steve]

As far as the spray and search method....would most, if not all possibilities be fully exposed that I could cancel out the possibility of leak originating behind any engine covers?

There are four "engine covers" on your bike.
1. Left front - stator cover. Has its own gasket, any leaks will be apparent.
2. Left rear - shifter cover. Has no gasket of its own, can be removed to see if anything is leaking behind it. Behind it are the gear indicator switch and clutch pushrod.
3. Right front - ignition cover. Has a gasket, but there is no oil behind it, unless the crank end seal is leaking.
4. Right rear - clutch cover. Has its own gasket, any leaks will be apparent.

As previously mentioned, there are also possibilities from the timing chain tensioner, valve cover (including the half-moons), head gasket and base gasket. Not previously mentioned would be the o-ring on the starter nose. That is behind the stator cover (#1 above), and can let oil into the starter cavity, which would then drip down the "mystery hole" to the bottom.

.

[NateTheNewb]

Steve, you're awesome. I swear you're checkin every morning to see who needs help out there. Thanks a bunch, if I could meet you in person I'd take you to lunch, or help you remove an engine or something!YOu're much appreciated.

I'm bettin its 1, 2 or the oil pan. After that I'm syncing my carbs again. She's not doing what she's told between 5 and 7K RPM's. I wonder how much, if any that has to do with the oil leak...

Thanks again....Nate

[Steve]

I check often, but at no set times.

I also try to provide just enough correct answers to silence the guys who think I'm a real jerk.

.

[tkent02]

I also try to provide just enough correct answers to silence the guys who think I'm a real jerk.

.

And after they have been silenced you just make stuff up?

[chef1366]

Don't forget the starter o-ring.

[NateTheNewb]

Alright, I hope I still have everyone's attention here. I discovered my oil pan bolts were quite loose. I tightened them, drove it hard enough to make it leak, which it didn't. I thought perhaps that was the issues but I took it for an extended ride and it started leaking more than it ever has. Maybe the loose sump bolts served as some sort of relief for the actual trouble area. It left a six to seven inch oil spot in about a 30-45 minute window. What component, on th left side could leave that large of a leak? Tomorrow my first order of business is to remove the back left cover and see what I can find.

Could that amount be coming from any number of different spots or is thee a prime suspect I should know about?

Thanks, Nate

[BigD_83]

Remember that the bike leans to the lft while on the center stand,so you cannot discount midle and right side issues. All of the aforementined spots could leak down and eventually get to ground. The valve cover and half moons seem the least likely, but are are easy to check.

It doesn't take much oil to leave that big a spot, but you really should not have any. I say degrease your engine and find the spot with baby powder. (you may have more than one leak)

[NateTheNewb]

So is there any reason that the engine would decide not to run with front sprocket cover off? I took it off to watch it run and see if I could get it to leak, which it wouldn't, so I thought the leak may be coming more from around the front sprocket seal or something that would change with the bike in motion and not just parked. As soon as I pulled away with that cover off, it died and wouldn't start again.

[NateTheNewb]

So, that's a negative, for whatever reason it decided to flood.

Now I've ran it, hard enough to repeat the oil issue, and I cantget it to leak again. I guess that's a good thing? I checked the oil level, it was still there to leak out.

If the engine had too much oil to begin with, what's the first avenue it would take to get out of there? It almost appears as if its coming through motor mounts? That's not a possibility is it? I wouldn't see those being engineered that they'd go all the way through.

Also, with my crankcase breather really pushing out due to bad rings, could having a filter on that potentially back it up creating more pressure?

Just thinking out loud here. Is that weird that I want my bike to leak? Haha!