Oil Leaking from end caps.... What do I do?

[Anonymous]

Hey, I've got a semi-quick question for anyone who knows something about the '82 GS1100G. I, as of now, have lots of Oil leaking from one of the four end caps (I think that's what you call 'em.) I believe it is the left rear cap.

I removed the cap and found that the oil is comming out of a semi-rectangular seal in the middle of the cap. I don't even know what you call this seal or even if it is connected to anything. Or frankly, its purpose in general.

I wasnt sure what to do about it, so I pushed it in a little bit and smeared silicone all over the hole- it stopped the leak for a couple days, but I'm loosing about a half quart every week.

Basically, I want to know where I can go from here. Do I replace it? It is practical to dry replacing it? If so, what is it called? (so I know what to order.

As always, Thanks alot.

Matt Pease
Essex, Vermont USA

[argonsagas]

A dealer should still have the parts available. You remove the valve cover, pull out the old half-moons and place the new ones in.

Silicone will work if you want to re-use the existing ones, but the cover still has to come off to do the job.

[Big T]

Pull the valve cover

replace all (4) 1/2 rd seals and the valve cover gasket

Might as well check the valve clearances while you're in there

Easy job - just retorque the valve cover correctly

[KrazyKarl02]

Yamabond

If you are really cheap, put a little yamabond on it. Even when I put new ones on, I put a thin layer of yamabond on.

Of course, I have also sealed cracked valve covers with yamabond, so sometimes I over use it!

[mark]

Get the valve cover gasket, and the 4 half moon "plugs" from your dealer or Bike-bandit.com etc.

If I was you, I'd skip the silicone and all of that. Just get the new stuff and torque down you valve cover properly starting at the center and working your way out. Use a torque wrench unless you have a lot of experience. It won't leak.

The previous owner of my bike siliconed everything I guess trying to save a few dollars. What a mess. Its a miracle that pieces didn't break off inside the bike and clog up an oil passage or something. Maybe others could do a better job with it.

Good idea to check and adjust your valves while your doing it too.

[bwringer]

Don't let silicone anywhere near your bike. A previous owner slopped that crap all over everything on my bike, and eventually a few oil passages clogged caused the #4 rod/crank bearing to sieze solid. Dumb &@%$#!

You can get the end seals for $2.50 and the valve cover gasket for $15.00 from CRC2, so there's no excuse for messing around with silicone.

http://crc2onlinecatalog.com/

And adjust the valves while you're in there. CRC2 has the shims for only $5 each.