Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Oil leak from Generator/starter area gs1100E

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Oil leak from Generator/starter area gs1100E

    Hi, so i've had a leak in the same place on my 81 GS750E, and now on the 81 GS1100E.

    the oil shows itself when it collects towards the bottom/back side of the generator cover, as well as misting my left boot, my shifter and left footpeg, as well as the side stand. the amount of oil it dumps is very small, but certainly not in a great spot. the bike doesn't leak at all while standing, only while riding.

    I have been able to trace the oil source to behind the countershaft sprocket cover, but all of those bottom end oil seals are holding up just fine. not wet, hardly even dirty. The culprit seems to be the small drain hole that allows the starter housing to drain off any accumulated water. I put a small piece of cloth into the housing, plugging up the drain hole, and found the cloth later soaked in oil. confirmed.

    SO - this oil exodus only seems to happen when riding the bike hard. riding on the highway to work ~45miles on the interstate at night (~85mph sustained), and definitely happens when I bring the bike to the race track for track days. the volume of oil is borderline insignificant, as it very rarely collects enough to leave a spot on a rag when i clean it up between sessions, but it just mists my shifter toe in an annoying way.

    Basically, im wondering if anyone has dealt with this issue, and has any ideas on how to seal it up better. i added a bit of extra RTV to the gasket surface for the generator cover to keep any oil from making it's way up from the stator through the starter and into the housing, and out the drain hole. seemed to work for a bit, until i rode the bike hard. I also think that using the engine hard while making left turns at hard lean angles works to distribute more oil into the cover to splash up and around.

    thx for the read.
    C
    81 gs1100E
    81 gs550
    74 xlch 1000 custom
    03 ktm 525 exc supermoto
    76 honda cj360
    72 honda cl350
    2 green parrots

    #2
    Could be coming from the cam chain tensioner gasket or higher, head or valve cover gasket, and making its way down into the starter motor housing.
    Rich
    1982 GS 750TZ
    2015 Triumph Tiger 1200

    BikeCliff's / Charging System Sorted / Posting Pics
    Destroy-Rebuild 750T/ Destroy-Rebuild part deux

    Comment


      #3
      From your description, I would replace the O ring on the starter nose, and check the grommet the stator wires come out of
      1978 GS 1000 (since new)
      1979 GS 1000 (The Fridge, superbike replica project)
      1978 GS 1000 (parts)
      1981 GS 850 (anyone want a project?)
      1981 GPZ 550 (backroad screamer)
      1970 450 Mk IIID (THUMP!)
      2007 DRz 400S
      1999 ATK 490ES
      1994 DR 350SES

      Comment

      Working...
      X