got an oil leak... advice?

[bushido]

hot oil is spitting out and burning my leg.




this is where it is coming from, any suggestions on what to replace to make it stop leaking?

[rustybronco]

Remove the round cam end covers, I think you'll find the answer.

you'll need a new valve (cam) cover gasket and four new half moon end seals and some threebond (or suzuki/yama/honda-bond).

you might also do well to check the valve clearances while you have the valve (cam) cover off; it looks like its been awhile since they have been checked.

[Mr. Brown]

Don't be afraid to remove those round cam-end covers. If everything is sealed up right, those covers are only for looks. If not, you'll find out soon enough.

Let us know.

[Griffin]

If that's the only place it's leaking, you're lucky.

That's a $25 fix (valve cover gasket and new half-moons). As was previously stated, do a valve clearance check while you're in there, get her buttoned up tight when you're done, and you'll have several thousand miles of fun before it's time to check clearances again.

[bwringer]

It looks like someone tried to fill one of the cam end caps with RTV ($4 a tube) to stop a leak in (or perhaps replace) a $2 half-moon plug.

That's pretty dang funny, actually.

Be on the lookout for other hillbilly mechanicking as you tear into this.


And as a rule of thumb, RTV silicone should NEVER be used anywhere near a GS.

[bushido]

Yeah, this bike has definitely been rigged with over the years, I am slowly finding out all the creative shortcuts the previous owner took to "fix" the bike. Oh well, it was only $500...

The valve cover and half moon gaskets seem easy enough to change, however I briefly read into checking valve clearances and that seems pretty advanced... am i over complicating it?

would it be a waste of money to take the bike to a mechanic to get the valve clearances checked? How much would a fair shop even charge for this?

so i need 4 of these? http://www.oldbikebarn.com/Cam-End-P...ki-09241-23002

and a valve cover gasket...couldn't find one on that site, any recommendations?


this is the bike by the way:

[hampshirehog]

Valve clearance checks are pretty straight forward, even for a novice. good tutorial on : http://members.dslextreme.com/users/...lve_adjust.pdf

(Not the same bike but the same procedure).

If you do the work yourself you know it's been done - nowhere over here that I'd trust.

[reddirtrider]

My philosophy is - always, always, always work on the bike yourself. Become knowegable about her and fix problems as they show up. That way she won't get to the point where there's multiple problems and you'll have a nice, safe, cheap, reliable ride.

When you trail ride in remote areas with a group there's no bigger pain than someone who doesn't maintain their bike properly and breaks down. That means someone has to help them and it ruins their day also. Apply that to the street.

[850 Combat]

Where do you get the half moons for 2 bucks?

[nufnuf]

Bad news mate, The only way to fix this problem is chop your leg off!
Sorry
Now, at first glance, with a belly full of wine, it looks like that fine lookin ol girl has been sitting on her own for a while.
Also, not that Im capable of paying much attention at the moment, it looks like a farily new leak .NOW dont quote me, as I have only ridden two or twenty gs1000 but I cannot recall one squirting me in the leg with oil. Sounds like good oil pressure. I would be worried that one of your other oil cavities, may have a problem as well.
Dont just hop in and replace the half moons and the rocker gasket . Im not sayin you need to pull the thing down. Hell I can barely type let alone talk, just have your eyes open when you remove the rocker cover and be aware there may be an underlying issue.
And when YOU adjust YOUR valve clearances, take your time.

[mike_of_bbg]

How long are you planning to keep your bike? If you're planning to keep it a while, might as well man up so to speak and learn to do the valve adjust, and get the necessary tools. Old Bike Barn is on the "bad vendors" list. I hear they've improved, but their prices are none too good! $24 for a cam end plug - just ONE! Gosh I hope that's a set of four and they forgot to put it in the description, but still...

Go here:

https://www.partsnmore.com/cat_index.php?model=gs&category=engine

Get yourself 4 cam end plugs (BTW, some like to install them backwards - keeps them from squirting out later and may help prevent the camshafts from "knocking" against the head ends) for $12, the valve cover gasket, some threebond (for the cam seals - and you'll find other uses for it! It's under tools on their site BTW), and the shim tool. Should be about $50 shipped.

Also highly recommended that you buy metric feeler gauges and a metric micrometer or digital caliper. When you get in there, remove each shim and record the sizes. Most will have a printed size, but invariably a few will have the size worn off, hence the micrometer. Usually you can move some shims around and only have to buy a couple.

[mike_of_bbg]

Oh, and BTW - you can go to your user control panel and add location information to your profile so any GSers a nice ride away might be willing to come help. Plus consider adding a sig with your bike year/model in there.

Best 'o luck to ya!

[bushido]

you guys are awesome. thanks so much for the words of wisdom.