Leak behind Ignition Cover - How to Repair ?

[Guest]

So when I ride I get some oil that seems to leak from somewhere behind the ignition stuff. It soaks the cloth cover on the wiring coming out at the bottom. If you look close you can see some oil in there at the bottom and on the bottom left my current solution. On a 50 mile ride it gets the paper towel a little wet, but without the towel I get some drips onto the exhaust and no-one likes oil back by the rear tire, right ? Other than that this engine is completely dry and the bike (82 GS450) runs really really sweet with an outstanding 2 into 1 exhaust note....yeah, like a fine wine. Anyways, is there a seal behind all that ignition stuff, I assume a shaft sticks out behind there somewhere, right ? If so, any idea on part number? I can't find any OEM diagrams that show that side of the engine !

[Rkutzner]

The fairly new purchase !

[robertbarr]

Oil seal. 09283-22015. Use care removing the dead one. It's a little tight in there, and you don't want to scratch the crank, especially where it rides on the seal.

[simon kuether]

Check you haven't slightly overfilled with oil . This has happened to me on my 1000S .

[Grimly]

Also check the engine breather. PO might have blocked it off or put a daft little filter on it. Too little breathing can force oil out past seals.

[bwringer]

Not sure about your bike in particular, but on other GS models where I've replaced the crank seal, the seal is supposed to be installed "inside out". The reason for this is that shaft seals are often directional and so it needs to be installed so that the shaft rotation is correct. If you get a magnifier and examine the seal carefully, there's often a weensy little arrow showing the shaft rotation direction. So on a GS850, for example, the seal is installed with the metal part outwards.

Again, YMMV; haven't done this on a fo fiddy.

Removal and installation is fairly standard, just a little tight. Remove all the ignition stuff and you can get to it.

I press these in with an arrangement consisting of a long bolt in the shaft, a nut, some washers, and a piece of appropriate pipe or perhaps a deep well socket of suitable size. Pay attention to the correct installation depth and don't push it too far. Don't try to just beat it in with a hammer. I believe the manual also specifies using a bit of case sealer on the perimeter of the seal.

[Cipher]

any chance that pressure sender is seeping?