Leaks and stuck RPM (high) even with clutch in. 83' xs650 Heritage Special

[MarieKaramazov]

You may have your work cut out for you changing that seal. It looks like someone JB Welded it in there, lol. Hopefully not though. Maybe that's just Yamabond gasket sealer smeared all over it.

I think you still have the ball in your worm gear. Yes, it gets pushed farther in like that when the pushrod fits into it. Put a wad of grease on it, both to help retain it in the worm and to keep it lubed.

Yeah, there's definitely something hard smeared on the metal there, but it doesn't look like it's covering the seal. Makes me wonder if there was a crack though on that raised circle par of the case where the pushrod comes out of... something I should try to remove and inspect I imagine? I'll try replacing this first and see if I have problems I suppose

Any recommendations as far as what type of grease to use for the ball?
((Rudimentary question if anyone has the time: Is there a rule/pattern about what takes grease and what takes lube instead, and then which type to use for each? Currently poking around online and in the owner's manual to see if there's a pattern of which type of grease in general for which parts, and then what takes lube instead...I'm falling into a lubrication worm hole. I know that grease is basically just higher viscosity lubricant and better at keeping out contaminants, I know there's chain and cable specific lube (actually manual recommends SAE 10w30 motor oil for a lot of its lube points), but it seems like some things take lithium grease and others high speed (?) (or high temp grease which seems self explanatory), and other parts just take lubricant. So far it seems like if something is a moving/pivoting part it needs lubricant (e.g. throttle cable, brake/clutch levers, stands, etc) and it needs grease if it needs to stay in place and/or is a friction location, or if not friction, then pressure? Sooo swingarm bushings? And then there's the interior oil lubrication of the bike. Sorry thinking out loud a bit here.))

If this was me and not being certain it is the Pushrod seal I would try to inspect behind the Sprocket

It's definitely the pushrod seal, I'm just not sure if it's only that since the other oil I see could be it's own source or it could be runoff from the seal...

 

[Jim]

It's definitely the pushrod seal, I'm just not sure if it's only that since the other oil I see could be it's own source or it could be runoff from the seal...

If you can't definitively tell, about all you can do is replace the one you know is leaking, clean the area up and run it again. If the sprocket is (also) leaking, tightening it usually cures it.

 

[Raymond]

On the clutch pushrod seal, you're right, you need to get that epoxy off - try not to damage the cases. It might have been put on to try and seal a crack in the cases but hopefully, and more likely, it was an ill-thought attempt to cure the leaky seal. With the push rod pulled out, you can prize the old seal out, and possibly take much of that epoxy with it. There's threads hereabouts on replacing the seal.

Interesting question on grease, oil, lubricants. This is not the technical, scientific answer, just my understanding from having been around bikes. You want grease on something that doesn't move far or fast, like swing-arm pivot, brake and clutch levers, the clutch push rod and ball bearing, the headstock bearings, suspension bushes, etc. Also areas where there's metal-to-metal but you don't want it to rust/seize up such as wheel spindles (axles) or brake-arm bolts. Use oil where it would be hard to get grease to such as throttle and clutch cables.

A tub of general-purpose grease does for most areas. I also have high-melting point molybdenum grease which I don't use very often and copper grease, which is better than general-purpose grease on areas like brakes where you don't want the grease to melt and get to where it shouldn't be. I use Harley SAE90 gearbox oil for cables and the drive chain, because I happen to have some and it's nice and thick. Engine oil would do the job. But the general rule is better to have something than nothing, so better to slap on some grease than to stress about what the ideal product might be.

 

[Jan_P]

Thinking out loud again .. and living in another part of the
world .
Buying a 40 years old Motorcycle does always come with some risk
But there are rules here around such transactions. also
The price and merchandise should correspond
I dont know the price and what kind of paperwork exists here. In this case
But I know of a case when a fraudster sold a Rusty Volvo Station wagon running on three cylinders
to a 18 year old horse interested girl
She took legal action and got it solved

Not going into the legal aspects ,, That can differ ...
But if there is a crack under the sprocket or so

I Believe the right procedure is to inform the seller of problems as soon one finds them and pictures
in this case JB Weld. And Oil spots under the bike
The assumption behind that is that the seller can be involved in the solution of the problem.
And that there still can be Honest people around. ( According to rumour )
Thinking Perhaps an estate sale The seller then has no Knowledge of problems with the sold item.
Perhaps even not driven it at all.
The seller has then a possibility to evaluate the best action.. Forward Before You are starting with an attempt.
Repairing and the seller thereafter can say that he no longer takes responsibility
Say perhaps the seller is a shop .And has Staff and tools .He perhaps then can fix it.

Having said that Even if there is a problem that was there at the time of sale.
It is difficult to get it corrected .. It also depends who you are and who the seller are.

It can be a way forward to inform the seller about the current Situation.

A 40 year old bike at low price .Nothing much else than suck it up and repair
But if the price was high and the problem large .. Perhaps a write off in worst case

 

[5twins]

As far as grease goes, like Raymond said, anything is better than nothing. A good general purpose grease you can use any place on the bike would be Kendall Super Blu. It comes in either tubs or grease gun tubes. You may want to get a grease gun by the way. There are a few grease fittings on the bike that require one. Anyway, the Super Blu used to come in blue colored containers .....

..... but they've changed that, first to silver and now to red. Same grease, just different packaging .....

 

[MarieKaramazov]

Thanks for the grease and oil notes! I couldn't find the Kendall at the places I went to, so I went with this for now:

That 3-1 oil being just for general purpose for lubrication moments when I need to get something moving I assume. I think the green heavy duty works for high temp too.
I got STP SAE 10W/30 motor oil for throttle, clutch cable (and I think it works for chain too, but I'll have to double check)

 

[5twins]

Yes, that grease will work just fine. Those are the small 3 ounce tubes made to go into one of these mini grease guns .....

https://www.amazon.com/Plews-Edelma...60HM1GKFMEC&psc=1&refRID=52DWXQR9W60HM1GKFMEC

But you can just pop the end cap off and dig some out to use by hand.