Oil leak/spray from upper left end of '82 GS650L engine?

[Anonymous]

Oil is leaking from whatever is under the round chrome cap on the end of the engine above the cylindars. The cap is just dangling on at a single point. What is this area and what is leaking? I've looked through the Clymer manual and can't identify it. Obviously, I'm brand new at this stuff.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

[lukehan]

rubber plug

I checked pictures in the gallery and it looks to be the same setup as my 79 gs850. Under those round covers are some half moon rubber plugs that fit into the head and are held in by the cam cover. These are notorious for leaking. Fixes I have heard are putting a little gasket sealant around it and reseating it or wrapping it with a couple rounds of teflon tape. Or if it is old and cracked, they are around $4 a piece from bikebandit.com

Luke

[lukehan]

pic

Here is a pic of one of the plugs (it has been leaking as you can see)

[Anonymous]

Next questions

Thanks for the prompt help!

Can you replace the plugs without disassembling the, what, cam shaft housing? Also how do the chrome covers attach--snap fitting?

[lukehan]

On my bike the chrome covers are attached with two phillips screws (you can see the holes for them in the picture on either side of the plug), I'm not sure about your bike. I don't think you absolutely need to remove the cam cover to remove/install the plugs, but it may be easier and while your at it you could check your valve clearances.

luke

[Anonymous]

The round caps are all held on by two screws, either on the outside like in Luke's pic or underneath the cap, threading upwards into the cam cover. If you lift the cover and turn it over, you'll see where the caps attach. Unfortunately with the latter, if they go loose, you can't get at them to tighten them up without lifting the cam cover. Use loctite or something similar when you put the screws back in so they don't work loose again in the future.