Head and cylinder gaskets appear to be weeping oil

[Royboy]

Hi,

My newly aquired xs650E (78) appears to be weeping a bit of oil at the head gaskets
and at the base of the cylinders. Bike as only 6000 miles and came to me fairly
pristine. Before riding I changed both filters and the oil (Honda GN4, 10/40). Then
rode the bike about 75 miles. Ran well but possibly a bit lean on the left side.

Following the ride she went up on the lift for pretty much new everything after 33 years
of disuse. Do I just need to retorque the head bolts or does this oil weeping indicate
bigger things? Is 10/40 too light for warm weather riding on this bike?

Your opinions will be appreciated.

roy

 

[bloodthirstysystem]

try to re-torque, it will probably fix it. do it in order according to the manual with a torque wrench.

use 20W-50 oil

 

[Patches]

try to re-torque, it will probably fix it. do it in order according to the manual with a torque wrench.

use 20W-50 oil

Beat me to it.

Here's some info

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2034&highlight=head+torque+spec

 

[Royboy]

Thanks for the replies! Something else for the to do list while she's up
in the air. I'm kinda pumped about the Brembo parts I got from Merc.
that should wake up the front brake which currentlyfeels really dead.

Thanks again, Roy

 

[DogBunny]

If you are lucky, simply changing to 20w-50 will stop the weeping. Then read the re-torque thread mentioned by Patches. You can slightly increase the torques as per 5twins revised spec drawing.

 

[Ghetto]

Any advantages of 20w-50 over Rotella? I use Rotella, re torqued head and I am also getting some weepage.

 

[retiredgentleman]

20W50 makes the motor quieter vs 15W40 diesel.

 

[5twins]

Excess crankcase pressure can cause or increase oil leaks as well. If you're running pods, install the power brake check valves on your breather hoses instead of just little filters.

 

[gggGary]

Don't just retorque. remove each acorn nut, add some anti-seize (I buff em shiny too) then retorque. If you don't remove them you are just twisting the stud not tightening the thread. You will be surprised how much torque it will take to break the nut free from the stud. Don't forget the 10mm head bolt above the cam chain tensioner and the two 12mm under the spark plugs.
My 10,000 mile 83 was pouring oil out the head gasket. I did the remove one at a time retighten routine, and the engine is dry as can be, no head removal needed. Ye-Haw!

 

[DogBunny]

Any advantages of 20w-50 over Rotella? I use Rotella, re torqued head and I am also getting some weepage.

The advantage of motorcycle-specific 20W-50 is that it is specifically made for motorcycles, and it might just stop your weeping!

I was using 15W-40 diesel, and when I switched to 20W-50 it cured multiple weeps and leaks.

I got Castrol 4-stroke motorcycle 20W-50 on sale at Autozone for $2 a quart. That's cheaper than a gallon of diesel oil. Look for sales and stock up.

 

[ReycleBill]

Don't just retorque. remove each acorn nut, add some anti-seize (I buff em shiny too) then retorque. If you don't remove them you are just twisting the stud not tightening the thread. You will be surprised how much torque it will take to break the nut free from the stud. Don't forget the 10mm head bolt above the cam chain tensioner and the two 12mm under the spark plugs.
My 10,000 mile 83 was pouring oil out the head gasket. I did the remove one at a time retighten routine, and the engine is dry as can be, no head removal needed. Ye-Haw!

Wish I'd read that before I replaced the head gasket.... Oh well, she's fine now.

 

[ReycleBill]

The advantage of motorcycle-specific 20W-50 is that it is specifically made for motorcycles, and it might just stop your weeping!

I was using 15W-40 diesel, and when I switched to 20W-50 it cured multiple weeps and leaks.

I got Castrol 4-stroke motorcycle 20W-50 on sale at Autozone for $2 a quart. That's cheaper than a gallon of diesel oil. Look for sales and stock up.

I just got a case of Rev-tech for $2 per quart-- craigslist.

 

[Royboy]

Hate to show my ignorance but how in hell do you guys get
a torque wrench on some of those fasteners? Particularly the
two under the coils and the one way down in back?

roy

 

[igya]

If you remove the tank and top mounting brackets, you'll find it very easy to torque those head nuts. Be extremely careful not to break the 6mm (10mm head) bolt on the rear of the head. I've broken 2 of those using a torque wrench at 7 ft.lbs. (112 in.lbs.) of torque. I've started tightening those with a 10mm wrench just by feel with no problems.

 

[retiredgentleman]

Royboy;

http://www.gearwrench.com/catalog/extensions_and_adapters/wobble_extensions/

Use a wobble extension for the bolts under the spark plugs

 

[jefft]

I shaved a little corner off the coil mounts which allowed me just enough room to get at several of the front bolts.
jefft

 

[jefft]

gggGary-----I didn't quite understand what you meant by cleaning the treads. Are you saying to completly remove the studs that thread into the cases and clean that end of the studs or just remove the nuts to clean the end of the studs with the nuts before retorquing?
jefft

 

[5twins]

Just clean the tops of the studs where the nuts go, don't remove the studs (jeez, lol). For the bolts (and nuts), I remove them one at a time, clean, anti-seize, re-torque. At the very least, bolts and nuts that have been on as long as many of these need to be cracked loose a quarter turn or so before re-torquing. They can become stuck on or in the threads and give a false torque reading (higher than it really is). For the 8 large acorn nuts, all are re-installed to factory spec 1st then all are brought up to 30-35 ft/lbs.

 

[Royboy]

Thanks for the continuing replies to this thread. The re-torque
went well once I woke up and realized that I could use my 1/4"
drive inch pound wrench on the smaller fasteners if I just x 12'd
the values. Much smaller head on the wrench fit fine.

Thank you for your guidance. I'm moving on to brakes and tires.

roy

 

[jefft]

I understand that cleaning every bolt and nut, antiseizing and then retorquing might clear up a leak if you have your engine removed from the frame. How did you remove #13 and #15 to clean them? I don't have enough room due to the coil bracket to remove them on my 77 frame?
jefft