Oil on starter cover, possibly from carb area?

[Guest]

1982 GS 1100 E. I have noticed a little bit of oil on the top of my starter cover. Not a whole lot, just a bit. When I touch the bottom screw of the leftmost carb it appears there is oil on it.
Not sure if it is coming out there or if it is collecting there.

Any ideas where oil would be coming from to land on the starter cover? As a follow up what does that bottom screw on the carb do, is this the bowl drain?

Thank you.

[hampshirehog]

Those little oil leaks can be the devil to trace. Just guessing but have a look at your cam chain tensioner - it's a candidate.

That brass screw is a float bowl drain.

[tom203]

Those little oil leaks can be the devil to trace. Just guessing but have a look at your cam chain tensioner - it's a candidate.

That brass screw is a float bowl drain.

Yeah, wipe tensioner flange down and see if it weeps as you ride on.

[sedelen]

My GS1100EZ has had both those leaks, one from the cam chain tensioner and the other from the carbs.
I replaced the cam chain tensioner, oh about half a dozen times, the one I have in there now, well guess what? it seeps! Someday I'll replace that seal, but this was practically a new tensioner.


The carbs could be a number of things, you'll have to be patient and do some investigating in this area. When mine leaked, it appeared as oil.
There's a gasket underneath the screw, they deteriorate with age. Also, the screws holding on the float bowls, if they're loose they'll leak, especially with the bike on the sidestand.
So, clean off your cam chain tensioner before your next ride, then after your ride (when your engine cools), feel for the big drop of oil that collects under it, on the bottom of the tesnioner should you have a leak there.


If your tensioner looks different, it's because mine isn't a GS1100E one. The GS1100E's come with "plastic" knobs that crack and you can't get replacement knobs for, so I went with this one.
See the cracked plastic knobs for the '82 GS1100E tensioners. The black one is off a different bike, don't know exactly what, but the knob was metal, hence why it's not cracked. "Plastic pieces of crap!"

[cowboyup3371]

I would agree with the others that your cam chain tensioner might be the cause of your leak. However, I would caution you to clean everything up first and spray the back side of the engine down with Athlete's Foot Spray. I too had what I thought was a leaking cam chain tensioner and replaced the seals this last winter. However, I have since found out that another suspicion of mine proved accurate in that either my head or base gasket is leaking. Clean and check the entire rear of the engine before digging into replace anything.

And as far as the little screws at the bottom of your carbs, yes they are drain plugs.