struck oil in the mountains

[robsGS850]

Hi all,

so, halfway through an amazing day ride up the coast from Vancouver BC into the mountains past Whistler, I notice my bike's engine has begun to seep oil along its whole perimeter, at the gasket between the cylinder heads and the lower case. (i'm sure there's an accurate name for this, sorry)

Is this as bad as I think it is? Big bucks? Huge labour? Or is this a semi-easy do-it-yourself thing any idiot can pull off? (I qualify as that idiot)

thanks!

ps. did this happen because I was a little overzealous topping up the oil before the ride? (I blame my dark parkade.. and myself)

Still, what a day.

-rob
81 GS850G

[Tom MLC]

Rob, stand by for lots of advice from the GS guru's. Sounds like your oil leak is in a worse place than mine (valve cover). I got gobs of advice, all right on the mark, from the folks who know.

But I wonder, just how bad are you leaking? Are you wet & smoking? Or just a black stain at the seam? Are you noticably losing oil?

[chef1366]

Try retorquing your head bolts and draining the extra oil. Too much oil will create a "frothing" of the oil.

[robsGS850]

But I wonder, just how bad are you leaking? Are you wet & smoking? Or just a black stain at the seam? Are you noticably losing oil?

Black stain at the seam all 'round, with oil slowly dripping out and onto (clutch and starter?) covers on either side. You can't actually see it pouring out, but like an hour hand of a watch, you can definitely see it happening over time. (I wiped the oil off at a rest stop, it all came back within an hour)

So what is the technical name of this gasket anyway? Thanks for the tips so far.

rob

[Baatfam]

So what is the technical name of this gasket anyway? Thanks for the tips so far.

rob

I believe it's called the base gasket or the cylinder base gasket.

Bob T.

[Ghostgs1]

Hope it's corrected by retorquing the head. If that doesn't do it then the top end has to be pulled, quite a bit of wrenching involved but not that tough technically. Maybe you can get by until winter? If not, If you have everything on hand ahead of time, gaskets, tools manual, etc., you should be able to do it over a weekend. Good luck. Ray

[robsGS850]

Hi all

Thanks for all the advice guys. I also asked the owner of a Suzuki shop what I should do. His take on things:

• it's not worth it to pay a shop to replace the gasket (at around $1000 bucks estimated, I'm inclined to agree)
• I should power wash it, let the engine run, spray on a little talcum powder to determine exactly where the oil's seeping from as wind blows it all around the engine, then sandpaper and epoxy the offending area.

What do you think? Bad idea? If I do the whole sandpaper/epoxy thing, is this permanent (not as in, will it last forever, but as in will this screw up any future attempt to fix it properly come wintertime)?

Oh and regarding tourqing the head bolts, after looking over my shop manual, i assume you mean all 12 bolts, (after removing the tank and carbs and cams etc...). Is this right?

Thanks again

rob

[Baatfam]

...sandpaper and epoxy the offending area

Honestly...I've never heard of using epoxy to fix a leaky gasket....
This was a profesional mechanic talking?

Not me...I'd get the book, some tools and try it myself before I'd do that. Or find someone with experiance to help/talk you through it.
Pulling the cylinder and replacing the gasket is not rocket science...It will take a little time, but it's just basic wrenching...

Just my $0.02....I've been wrong before....

Later,
Bob T.

[chef1366]

You don't pull your cams to retorque your head. Just pull your valve cover gasket. It's not as scary as you think it is. You might need a valve cover gasket and a torque wrench. Loosen the head bolts a touch before retorquing them.

[flyingace]

It all depends on what you use your bike for and how much oil it's using. Unless it's really losing a lot of oil, I would wait until I had another reason to pull the head. As a winter project, I would think about anything else that may need to be done (valve stem seals, rings, cam chain tensioner, etc.) and do it all at the same time.

It is a lot of work to pull the head and cylinder block just to replace the base gasket.

[Hoomgar]

Hi all

Thanks for all the advice guys. I also asked the owner of a Suzuki shop what I should do. His take on things:

• it's not worth it to pay a shop to replace the gasket (at around $1000 bucks estimated, I'm inclined to agree)
• I should power wash it, let the engine run, spray on a little talcum powder to determine exactly where the oil's seeping from as wind blows it all around the engine, then sandpaper and epoxy the offending area.

What do you think? Bad idea? If I do the whole sandpaper/epoxy thing, is this permanent (not as in, will it last forever, but as in will this screw up any future attempt to fix it properly come wintertime)?

Oh and regarding tourqing the head bolts, after looking over my shop manual, i assume you mean all 12 bolts, (after removing the tank and carbs and cams etc...). Is this right?

Thanks again

rob

Rob, I can tell your a good guy looking for help here. Trust me, the advice said mechanic is giving you is not good. I would trust a witch doctor before I would take that guys advice again, seriously. First of all, any shop that would charge 1000 to put in a new base gasket is price gouging you big time on labor. If they know what they are doing, it is a 2-3 hour job tops! And less than 100 in parts.

Secondly, epoxy to fix a base gasket? Did he really say that???

If you can handle working with tools and following instructions then a new base gasket, a shop manual and this forum are all you need to perform this repair. It is actually quite simple. Cleaning and adjusting carbs is harder work than this. Time will be your biggest investment but it would mean you could keep the cost down and keep the bike running.

If this leak came out of no where and is that bad I would think that the old re torque of the head bolts may not help. The gasket may be shot. or the bolts are loose which is not a good sign either but if you caught it in time and re torque them you could end up OK.

You do not need to remove the valve cover to re torque the head bolts. They are all exposed. You just need to maybe remove your fuel tank to give yourself some room but even that could be avoided with the right tools.

Hope it works out for you man. Let us know what you decide to try.

[flyingace]

Hoomgar - is that avatar John Wesley Hardin?

[Hoomgar]

Hoomgar - is that avatar John Wesley Hardin?

Black Bart

[chef1366]

How do you get to your head bolts without removing your valve cover? Mine are all under there except for the two outside the outer spark plugs and one between the headers.

[rustybronco]

stating the obvious... post up some pictures.