Leaky Base Gasket

rtaylor522

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Hey All,
I'm still working on the finishing touches on xs2 to get it road worthy. I have had it running some to fine tune the timing/work on carbs syncing and tuning. As I have been running it I noticed what looks like some weeping on the left side of the base gasket. It sits on a left side kick stand and has'nt done much upright running due to brakes and no center stand. Could the constant leaning to the left be causing the base gasket to leak on the left side? It's not like it's pumping out of there but it's definitley weeping, and it's bone dry on the right side. This is a fresh top end overhaul by a machine shop and the only other leak I've traced and fixed was a slightly loose cam chain adjust mounting bolt on the back of the engine. It was an Athena Gasket Kit.

On a separate note I tried changing the clutch pushrod oil seal and that was a failure. I've been reading some other threads on it. Do you think freezing it and then taking a light grit sand paper to the sharp edge on the hole it goes into will do it? Do you have to remove the drive sprocket to get it to go in straight?

Thanks all,
Rob
 
being on the side stand would not cause that. even if it was laying on it's side that should be a tight seal..

after an engine tear down you need to properly torque the head bolts. 13 of them (i think), in the right order, at the right torque for each.
run the engine and torque again. ride the bike, torque again. ride longer, torque etc.. do it a handful of times
 
Right, in addition to gasket compression you have compression of the rubber washers on the 4 outside studs (unless you've replaced them with copper), and sometimes there's pressure given up as the parts settle onto the dowels. The drill I use is to let a fresh motor sit overnight and go around the fasteners with the torque wrench backed off a bit, working up to spec. torque (I've seen the large nuts give up as much as 6 ftlbs.) If a lot of pressure was lost, let the motor sit and settle and go around again. After a few sessions at idle to set initial adjustments (fuel screws, ignition timing, synch), let the engine cool and go around again, then again after the engine's cooled following the first ride to full warm-up. Repeat at 100 and 1,000 miles, then yearly. I use book spec (14 ftlbs.) on the 8 mm. bolts and 28 ftlbs. on the large nuts.

Oil at the cylinder base often migrates from other areas, fooling you into thinking you have a base gasket issue. Check for leaks at the gland nut for the top-end oil pipe and at the cam chain adjuster.
 
I have a similar problem with my 81. I rebuilt the motor last winter and I've just been getting around to running and tuning the bike. I have re-torqued the heads a couple times and have gotten the motor from leaking from everywhere to a point where a small pool of oil develops just under the carbs. ..should I keep re-torquing.. or will I have to pull the engine apart and re-do the gaskets..another thing to add is this only seems to happen when the bike is warming up .i.e. just started the bike after adjusting the clutch today...took a couple passes down the block and there the oil was....let the bike idle on the stand and I dont see any more oil accumulate

I appreciate your guys help I know this thread is far from recent but searching forum has lead my specific problem to this page and I figure it might be relevant

thanks
 
Tracking oil leaks can be maddening. It comes out clear, runs everywhere with the help of airflow, and becomes visible after it's gotten dirty and settles somewhere else. This takes good detective work.

Start with a really clean engine, ride a little, inspect, repeat.
If it gets oily, and you haven't found it, start over with a clean engine.
One trick is to puff a little talcum or baby powder in there, see where it sticks.

The pros use a fluorescent dye, added to the oil, detected with a blacklight...
 
Just on the re-torquing of the head. After the rebuild, torque up to the manual spec of 26 ft/lb on the large acorns, leave overnight, then torque up to 30 ft/lb. All other fasteners leave as per the manual. Its widely acknowledged the 26 ft/lb figure is too low.
After 100 miles, check and retorque, again after 200 and then 500.
I have had similar issues with bikes that have sat a while leaking oil. A quick wash off and head torque has cured the problem
 
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