cam cover troubles

[Nessism]

Not sure I understand the problem Shirley, are you having trouble pulling the gear out or disconnecting the cable from the cover? To disconnect the cable, you just unscrew the serrated fitting that attaches to the end of the cable. You might have to use pliers to get the fitting to start unscrewing. After the cable is separated from the cover, you can remove the gear from the cover by first removing the small screw and lock tab from the cover - the gear pulls straight out after that (use pliers if necessary and pull straight out). There is no reason to remove the gear though unless you have leakage there and want to replace the seal.

Regarding the screw kit, the Stainless Cycle guys GS550 kit is 31 pieces but the Burk Motorsport kit (available through Z1) is 60 something pieces. Price is similar. I bought the Burk kit the other day and will start installing on my own 550 today!

[Nessism]

Although, since filling it with fresh 10w40, there's been a number of additional small oil leaks to show up, one in the head gasket, virtually every half moon plug around the cams. I've been reading about the possibility of going to 20w50, that it might stop a lot of the small oil leaks, and maybe even the crack in the cam cover.

Oh! And when I got the cam cover off, I discovered the the PO had fumbled one of the head's acorn nuts down into the valley and just left it there, so I placed it on properly and torqued it to spec. Could that have been what started the head gasket leak?

Thicker oil will not stop the leak but may slow it down a little - not enough to matter.

Yea, those half moon pieces tend to leak. Might be a good idea to take them loose, clean, and reinstall with gasket goop.

And missing/loose head nut is BAD. Very likely to cause oil leak...and goodly chance for an all out head gasket blowout. Big pain to fix leaks like this since the head must come off.

[ShirleySerious]

I have the tab and I've tried unscrewing the cable both with the tab on and off. It won't budge. Maybe some WD-40 will do the trick?

[Cathy344]

Thicker oil will not stop the leak but may slow it down a little - not enough to matter.

The guy at my local independent bike shop recommended staying with 10w40, but adding a Lucas oil stabilizer. Sounds reasonable enough to this novice, but I can't shake the feeling he might have just been trying to move product.

Yea, those half moon pieces tend to leak. Might be a good idea to take them loose, clean, and reinstall with gasket goop.

1) Remove cam cover (again)
2) Remove tach gears
3) Remove dirt and grime thoroughly
4) Apply JB Weld to crack and allow to cure
5) Grind down and sand smooth on the outside
6) Final surface prep and masking
7) Two coats of matte silver/gray furnace paint
8) Regrease top of gasket as well as all half moon plugs
9) Reinstall cover with Burk bolts

Sounds like a fun Saturday afternoon to me.

Oh, and I found the Burk bolt kit for my 550, but I've never found the "Z1" you've been mentioning. I found a Z1MotorSports.com, but they appear to be a Nissan-only outfit. Burk sells his kits directly off his website, but if they are offered for less somewhere else...

And missing/loose head nut is BAD. Very likely to cause oil leak...and goodly chance for an all out head gasket blowout. Big pain to fix leaks like this since the head must come off.

I figure I'm going to have to do a complete strip down and rebuild of the engine eventually, if for no other reason than to replace a leaking head gasket, I'll have gone about 50% of the way there anyway. I just don't want to have to do it for a couple of years. Next time I'm wrenching on the engine, I'll try just retorquing the head nuts to spec and see if that doesn't help my head gasket leak, which is minor, but noisome.

[Nessism]

I have the tab and I've tried unscrewing the cable both with the tab on and off. It won't budge. Maybe some WD-40 will do the trick?

So you simply can't get the cable to come off? If that is all you want to do there is no reason to remove the tach drive gear so put the tab and screw back in so the gear will not spin around. Now grab pliers and get a good grip on the serrated end of cable and turn counter clockwise. "Should" work. [-o<

[ShirleySerious]

I'll try that again, but it was really stuck on there. I tried more square nosed pliers and needle nose pliers and still had trouble unscrewing it.

[Nessism]

The guy at my local independent bike shop recommended staying with 10w40, but adding a Lucas oil stabilizer. Sounds reasonable enough to this novice, but I can't shake the feeling he might have just been trying to move product.



1) Remove cam cover (again)
2) Remove tach gears
3) Remove dirt and grime thoroughly
4) Apply JB Weld to crack and allow to cure
5) Grind down and sand smooth on the outside
6) Final surface prep and masking
7) Two coats of matte silver/gray furnace paint
8) Regrease top of gasket as well as all half moon plugs
9) Reinstall cover with Burk bolts

Sounds like a fun Saturday afternoon to me.

Oh, and I found the Burk bolt kit for my 550, but I've never found the "Z1" you've been mentioning. I found a Z1MotorSports.com, but they appear to be a Nissan-only outfit. Burk sells his kits directly off his website, but if they are offered for less somewhere else...

Z1 Enterprises! http://www.z1enterprises.com/default.aspx

Good prices, great service. Highly recommended. Their catalog index is sketchy so you have to dig around some to find stuff. Their price on the screws is reasonable, and they sell Vesrah gaskets which are high quality (much better than Athena brand).

http://www.z1enterprises.com/SearchResult.aspx?All=True&KeyWords=bolt%20set%20GS550

Half moon pieces need SEALER, not grease. If not glued in they have been know to squirm out while on the road. :shock:

Oil additives are snake oil. =; Just use a good quality 10w-40 or the ever popular low buck synthetic 5W-40 Rotella desiel oil (available at Walmart - assuming you are not boycotting...which is a big assumption after your comments about China in that other thread).

And make sure you leave a goodly bit of JB Weld covering that crack - on the inside is fine. If you grind it all off the crack will open up again.

Good luck. :-D

[Nessism]

I'll try that again, but it was really stuck on there. I tried more square nosed pliers and needle nose pliers and still had trouble unscrewing it.

Brute force is the answer! :shock:

[ShirleySerious]

Now I'm really cheesed off. I've waited a week for this gasket to come, and it's finally here and probably the wrong one. The part# I ordered was 11173-47001, but I got the part# 11173-47004-H17. Does anyone know if these are interchangeable, a redesign, or they sent me the wrong part? This happened before when I ordered from the dealership, and now it happened from Bikebandit.com.

[LeeGS550E]

The part# I ordered was 11173-47001, but I got the part# 11173-47004-H17. Does anyone know if these are interchangeable, a redesign, or they sent me the wrong part?

Don't get too cheesed off. Then you might cheese someone else off, and the cheesing chain could continue.

The part they sent you is correct. Before getting cheese on someone, I recommend you check flatoutmotorcycles.com's fiches too. There you find a note that says:

Part#11173-47004-H17 (replaces 11173-47001)

So you're ok. You can probably use some of that extra cheese to help stick the gasket in place.:-D

[ShirleySerious]

Oh, good, thank FSM. There's just two parts on the side of the gasket that bridge the two cams that I didn't see on the original. I guess that means I could've done this a week ago with the gasket I got from the dealership. Oh well.

[jimcor]

Oh, good, thank FSM. There's just two parts on the side of the gasket that bridge the two cams that I didn't see on the original. I guess that means I could've done this a week ago with the gasket I got from the dealership. Oh well.

After the cover is seated and torqued to spec just cut those off.

[DimitriT]

Is there some kind of chemical I can use that won't contaminate the oil, or is a razor blade my best bet?

I tried unscrewing the cable, but there's a thing that the ridged part goes into that moves with it. It won't pull out.

I used a 1/2"" wood chisel to help get the big pieces off. Got if very sharp. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a super steady hand. I utility knife razor blade is good the small pieces and to shave off the sealer they used.

A light polishing with some 600 grit aluminum oxide sandpaper after you get it clean would help even the surface and prevent leaks.

If the tach cable is stuck in the cover, unscrew the other end (from the tach) and remove the whole thing. Then once you've got it off the bike you can carefully get the cable off using your tools of choice.

[ShirleySerious]

I installed the new gasket and put everything together and fired it up. A couple minutes later, oil was spilling all over. I thought, "oh sh*t, they gave me a bad gasket." I looked through my trusty Clymer and realized that not all the bolts on the cover are the same size. Oops. I just fixed that and now it's time for take 2...