Oil Leak

[Shipper]

For years now I have been quite proud of being able to leave my bike over any surface without fear of oil leaks. Not advisable, but proud none the less. Until recently! Upon changing the oil/filters etc. this spring I foolishly followed the manual advice and applied gasket sealer to the filter pan gasket and sure enough, leak. Up until this point I would simply wet the gasket with oil before reefing it tight with the six bolts. No leaks. Just finished cleaning all gasket remnants from the pan plate and will now do the same on the engine side gasket surface.

Whats the generally accepted practice - gasket sealer/cement or no?

 

[gggGary]

nope, oil r grease. If yah just gotta use sealer I like hylomar.

 

[member28833]

Where is that green gasket from ?
The black/grey Yamaha gaskets I've used worked well with just a smidge of grease. No leaks
-RT

 

[5twins]

That green gasket is the Athena. I actually like them and think they hold up better than a factory one for multiple uses. I can usually get near half a dozen plate removal/installs before I need to change that gasket. Factory ones, not so much.

No sealer, just oil or grease like Gary said. The factory did put sealer on the plate side, don't know why, and I've cleaned my fair share of them off (paint stripper) - not fun, lol.

 

[canuck1969]

I have used the green gaskets with a smearing of grease. No leaks but you do need to make sure both surfaces are completely clean and smooth.

You used the phrase "reefing them tight". Not suggested with these bolts. They will shear. I managed to get mine to the spec'd torque with the greased gasket with no issues. If you have to go much tighter then there is something else at play. May be a dirty surface or a slightly warped plate. A double gasket will help both of those situations if needed.

 

[5twins]

I use a torque wrench on mine and don't go much over 6 ft/lbs (72 in/lbs). My "golden" number for M6 fasteners used to be 80 in/lbs (about 6 2/3 ft/lbs) but I've started backing off on that. The 6 ft/lbs seems to work just as well so far. On an oil bearing cover, it's not so much having all the fasteners really, really tight but rather having them all the same tightness.

 

[Shipper]

Where is that green gasket from ?
The black/grey Yamaha gaskets I've used worked well with just a smidge of grease. No leaks
-RT

The green gaskets are from Direct XS (the Canadian Mikes XS) and over the years they have been fine. My mistake was using gasket cement - which I never have before and never had a leak but stupidly, for whatever reason, i decided to read the manual. Reinstalled the plate after cleaning the surfaces well and just a little oil on the green gaskets and - viola! No leaks.

Thanks guys

 

[XSLeo]

Grease, oil, anti-seize all seal well, all let you get it apart the next time. The gasket doesn't get glued to either surface.
Id rather have a bit of oil seepage than glued gaskets.
I have made gaskets out of old cereal boxes. Cherrio's work very well. Coat both sides of gasket with afore mentioned sealers, install. get no leaks, be happy.
Over tightening those bolts can cause leaks. Over tightening can start to pull the threads. This leavers a ridge around the bolt holes.This ridge keeps the plate from compressing the gaskets. This can cause leaks.
You might want to check for these ridges. Easy way to fix is use a drill bit larger than the bolt holes. Turn by hand, no power drill, just by hand.
This removes the ridge without risking damage to the sealing surface. Using a file or something like that may cause sctatches or gouges that can leak.
Leo