oil is everywhere

[morbidphil0622]

I went out for a ride on my 83 gs750 es today for about an hour. Low and behold about a mile away from home I started to notice a funny smell, looked down and there was oil splashed all over my right leg. I imediately took her home to check things out, turns out oil is leaking from the valve cover gasket. Seemed like it would be a pretty quick fix at first, but when I went to tighten down the bolts to see if maybe that was the problem it appears the front bolt on the valve cover in front of carb #4 is stripped and will not tighten completley. I am assuming that this is causing the gap in between the valve cover and the seal. So I guess my question is how do I fix this stripped hole problem? I have tried to use bolts from other parts of the valve cover but that doesnt work at all, I have even patched up the area with some jb weld but after a ride or 2 the jb weld becomes almost like rubber and cracks off. I am so confused as to what I should do. The shop down the road will replace the gasket for about 80 bucks but I dont know how much it would cost to have the hole re-threaded. Any response will be greatly appreciated.

[Ghostgs1]

You need a metric helicoil insert kit. Available from most fastener supply houses, cost around $50. These are very good and permanent repairs. Ray

[bwringer]

Also check the half moon shaped plugs under the circular covers on the end of the valve cover.

[morbidphil0622]

Wow, you guys respond fast! I just went to grab a bite to eat and here you are. I checked the half moon thingys and it isnt coming from there. All of the oil is slipping out from the front of the valve cover. I was wondering if just a tap and die kit would work if I just use a bigger bolt? I have one of those and I would think that it would be easier to do.

[earlfor]

I wouldnt tap it for a bigger bolt. a bigger bolt will not fit through the valve cover and you would have to drill that also. (more leaks) Plus, you're limited in thickness for tapping, so if you were to ever strip the retapped hole, you are done, not enough metal left to tap again or to insert a helicoil. Bite the bullet, spend a few bucks and do it right. Its always cheaper in the long run, to take the time, spend the money and do it right.

Earl

Wow, you guys respond fast! I just went to grab a bite to eat and here you are. I checked the half moon thingys and it isnt coming from there. All of the oil is slipping out from the front of the valve cover. I was wondering if just a tap and die kit would work if I just use a bigger bolt? I have one of those and I would think that it would be easier to do.

[morbidphil0622]

That is so true.....

[83'GK]

If you absolutely cannot find a 'metric' heli-coil kit, you can use an SAE thread and get the same physical-sized SAE bolt as the stripped out metric one and use that. About $10 max at your local auto parts house.

[bwringer]

The metric heli-coil kit should be easy enough to find -- they have them at the Advance and Pep Boys stores around here. You should be able to find a replacement bolt at an Ace or DoItBest hardware store. (The big box home stores don't have much metric stuff for some reason.)

The hard part will be judging whether there's enough metal to drill and tap for the helicoil insert. I think several folks have done it, so you should be OK. Go slowly, drill straight, and be careful.

[rustybronco]

How good is your bike? if its nice do it right!
if its a beater loctite stud and bearing mount (green) and the proper size stud will do in a pinch, though it's hard to undo when finished.

[mark]

Get the helicoil kit. I knew nothing about them last year and now have done three of them on intake manifolds, cam chain tensioner etc. They work great. Get some tapping oil and have someone help you drill the hole straight...sometimes thats a little hard given the different angles of a motorcycle engine to the ground.

Make sure you drill the hole deep enough for the helicoil to screw in all the way.

[phaeton]

Definitely get the helicoil...

BTW which shop quoted you 80$ for the gasket!? You can do that yourself and get a gasket from your local dealership, I just picked one up for 24$ CDN for a TSCC engine...

[dpep]

Before you do anything else order a valve cover gasket from these guys.

http://realgaskets.com/

They sell a reuseable silicone gasket. Using it requires a lot less torque than a standard gasket. A whole lot less. If the hole isn't completely stripped, you may be able with some locktite to get and hold the prescribed torque without any repair. It is a long shot, but you have nothing to lose by trying. You are going to have to buy a new gasket anyway, and it doesn't make sense for it not to be a silicone one.

[robinjo]

Cheapskate solution, if there is room for a nut directly under the hole file a little flat for the nut to rest on and use a longer bolt so it sticks out, costs $0.50.

[coxcars]

simple fix for oil leak on vavle cover

I just fixed my 83gs 750 for the same problem. My local napa store was able to get me a thread insert kit for $30.00 it is a 7mm x 1.0 thread. it only took about 20 minutes to repair three bolts and she was dry and mobile.

[morbidphil0622]

The shop I received my quote from was just another hole in the wall shop. I really had no intentions on taking her there I was just trying to find a ballpark on if I could be lazy or not. Also I really did not see a way to pull my valve cover off without taking out my motor. There does not seem to be enough clearance. I am going to do things the way that they should be done. Patience always seems to work out in the end for some reason. I just wish it wasnt so nice outside, makes it very tempting. Only the last few threads on the hole are stripped so this shouldnt be too hard to do. I am not too sure that I would buy a silicone gasket, wouldnt it eventually come apart under the heat and get peices of silicone in the oil pump? Hmmm... just a thought. Anyways, thanks for all of the imput you have been way way way helpful and I hope to be able to return the favor someday... Jason