Slight oil leaks due to synthetic oil?

[Dr.T]

I put synthetic AMSOIL into my GS550 last year and have noticed more leaks popping up intermittently. Nothing to the point of dripping but I smell it burning and sometimes see smoke from it. Should I switch back to regular oil? I've heard the synthetics aggravate leaks.

[Nessism]

Amsoil is good oil. Hope you used the motorcycle or diesel engine variety.

Synthetic oil does not cause leaks, however they may exploit weak gaskets.

[salty_monk]

They "clean" better so can sometimes remove sludge that was previously slowing down a leak but they do not directly cause them....

Have you changed grade of oil? A lot of Full Syn is 5w-XXw. The thinner the oil the more you will burn in an older engine (tolerances are not the same as modern water cooled engines).

[Dr.T]

I used motorcycle oil the same grade/weight that is on the oil cap on the engine (I think it was 5w-40). I did forget to mention that this bike is from 1980. Should I revert back to another oil or what would you recommend?

[Steve]

As mentioned, the synthetic oil does not directly cause leaks, but the high detergent content might have cleaned some sludge that was blocking a leak, allowing it to show up. If you go back to a "regular" oil, it will still probably leak there. You could put in 'thicker' oil, but that will only slow it down, and will also slow down oil delivery to the smallest oil passages inside the engine (not good).

Suggetsions? If it's not dripping, just wipe if off once in a while. If it's dripping, replace the gasket.


By the way, not sure if there was 5w-40 available in 1980, so your cap probably says 10w-40.

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[Nessism]

I used motorcycle oil the same grade/weight that is on the oil cap on the engine (I think it was 5w-40). I did forget to mention that this bike is from 1980. Should I revert back to another oil or what would you recommend?

5W-40 is fine; the 5W is thinner than 10W, but only at low temperature. Once the bike is up and running the oil is 40 weight, which is appropriate for the GS engine.

If I were you I'd fix the leaks. Looks to be coming from the valve cover. How long since you adjusted the valves last and did you replace the valve cover gasket when you did? Did you remove the half moon seals and reseal them along the curved bottom area?

[7981GS]

That valve cover gasket looks incredibly thin to me. Who made it?

Eric

[Dr.T]

I haven't done any serious engine work on it and to my knowledge none of the previous owners have either. It's probably due for some but I'm not really experienced with engine work. Maybe with a tutorial....

I'll probably just run it as it is for now but with dino oil until the leaks get worse. Any hope for an oil conditioner that claims to fix leaks? http://www.lucasoil.com/products/dis...tid=7&loc=show

[Steve]

Any hope for an oil conditioner that claims to fix leaks? http://www.lucasoil.com/products/dis...tid=7&loc=show

I am rather skeptical of chemical "overhauls". Anything that thickens up the oil or tries to otherwise plug up a leak is also likely to plug up holes where I WANT the oil to go through.

.

[Nessism]

I haven't done any serious engine work on it and to my knowledge none of the previous owners have either. It's probably due for some but I'm not really experienced with engine work. Maybe with a tutorial....

I'll probably just run it as it is for now but with dino oil until the leaks get worse. Any hope for an oil conditioner that claims to fix leaks? http://www.lucasoil.com/products/dis...tid=7&loc=show

Performing a valve adjustment is not "serious engine work", it's a very simple basic maintenance procedure. The service manual calls for checking the valves and adjusting as necessary every 4000 miles. Failure to do this will damage the valves and maybe the cylinder head as well.

Basscliff has a valve adjustment tutorial on his website. You best get busy, and order an original Suzuki valve cover gasket in advance.

The oil is fine; Amsoil is first rate oil which is very expensive. It's foolish to blame the oil when root cause of the problem traces back to poor maintenance. Sticking monkey snot in the crankcase as a bandaid would be pure stupidity.

[Badooka]

I remember finding sawdust in a transmission once-Anything to stop a leak I guess.
Maintenance is king.

[Dr.T]

Hey guys. This year my leaks have gone from slow to rapid. They seem to be coming all from the front of the head under the exhaust pipes. Does that sound like gasket issues or is there anything that I might have done to the exhaust pipes that could have caused it?

[tkent02]

If you are lucky it could be the cam chain tensioner. Hot oil swirls everywhere.

[BigD_83]

Hey guys. This year my leaks have gone from slow to rapid. They seem to be coming all from the front of the head under the exhaust pipes. Does that sound like gasket issues or is there anything that I might have done to the exhaust pipes that could have caused it?

Unless you tapped an exhaust thread and popped through to the oil galley behind, then there is nothing I can think exhaust-related that would cause an oil leak

[78gs750e]

on some suzukis there are drains for the spark plug wells that come out right by the exaust, check the valve cover gasket