Triumphrat

Mancha · 04-21-2006

Hi All,

Little help please. For a little while now I have had a very slow leak of what I assumed to be oil. I occasionally found droplets under the bike in the morning, and, on visual inspection, would find a drop hanging off the bottom of the oil filter.

Recently this leak has either sped up, multipled, or now involves more than just oil. Suddenly in addition to finding this fluid collected at the bottom of the oil filter, I am also finding it hanging from other parts of the bottom of the bike, including most prominently the kickstand stopper and the rear caliper.

Given the rear caliper fluid, I'm wondering if I now have an oil leak AND a brake fluid leak.

The more likely alternative, I recognize, is that I am now losing enough oil for it to splatter onto other bottom surfaces, including the caliper and kickstand stop.

So back to my original oil leak: the drops hang from the oil filter but it's hard to tell if this is where they originate from. I don't see obvious oil streaks from other parts of the engine, but I'm not sure they would be easily visible except where they collect and drop off. I also don't find oil around the oil filter itself. In other words, it doesn't seem to be coming from where the filter screws into the engine.

So here's the real question: Is it likely that the oil filter would be shedding oil on its bottom side, where the bolt is???

Tomorrow morning I intend to clean up the bottom up, and then run the engine while watching the filter. I hope this will pinpoint whether the oil's coming from the filter or not. But your impressions until then would help.

Thanks.

Mancha

1409 · 04-21-2006

Just had mine fixed under warranty! The counter sprocket shaft seal was leaking! I found oil in all the spot that you describe.. Put your hand under the gear change cover under the sprocket cover, if there is oil on your hand It's coming from the seal...

Oh, this happened to the bonnie.. Dealer was awesome to deal with, got the bike a week later... They even put fresh oil in her...
Keith..

[ This message was edited by: 04blackbonnie on 2006-04-21 22:34 ]

1409 · 04-21-2006

Oh, pull the sprocket cover off and take a look see! I bet you find oil.. I was in denial that it was leak there, but it was!! I thought it was coming from the oil filter, but I was wrong!

Keith..

Mancha · 04-21-2006

Quote:

On 2006-04-21 22:32, 04blackbonnie wrote:
Just had mine fixed under warranty! The counter sprocket shaft seal was leaking! I found oil in all the spot that you describe.. Put your hand under the gear change cover under the sprocket cover, if there is oil on your hand It's coming from the seal...

Keith,

I remember when this happened to you. I once had some streaking from under the sprocket cover onto what I assume is the gear change cover and I though this was a sprocket seal leak. I cleaned it up though and haven't had the same streaks. In fact, I sort of visually inspected the sprocket when I last had the cover off and it doesn't seem unusually oily. Finally, I don't see any oil coming out from that cover, and I don't find any oil dripping down that side of the oil filter.

That said, if it's unlikely that it's the bottom of the filter leaking, then it would make sense that it's the dreaded sprocket seal leak instead. I hope it isn't though because my dealer is 200 miles away.

1409 · 04-22-2006

I spent allot of time cleaning oil then I saw on the engine case, those cavities under the sprocket had some engine oil sitting in them.. It was driving me mad, but the dealer replaced the seal and 100 miles later I have no oil leaks now.. 200 miles to a dealer, man I got 3 with in 40 miles..
Clean her up, go for a hard ride and take a good look under the sprocket cover.. Your still under warranty Right?

Keith...

[ This message was edited by: 04blackbonnie on 2006-04-21 23:09 ]

Mancha · 04-22-2006

It's really is the oil filter itself. I cleaned everything up, pulled the sprocket cover (no pooled oil there), started the bike, and revved it. Sure enough, a drop of oil is forming on the filer. Hard to tell if it's actually COMING from the filter though. So I turned it off, cleaned it up again, wrapped a paper towel around the filter, then started it up. Another drop of oil. I watched it squeeze out around the nut. I pulled off the paper towel from around the filter and there was no oil on it. I'm pretty happy as this means an oil change will fix it. I'm off to buy parts. :-D

rodburner · 04-22-2006

So,would that mean the nut on the bottom of the filter[K&N] can be tightened up enough to damage the filter? :???:

Mancha · 04-22-2006

Quote:

On 2006-04-22 10:42, rodburner wrote:
So,would that mean the nut on the bottom of the filter[K&N] can be tightened up enough to damage the filter? :???:

That's what I'm guessing. However, I wonder how it got so bad all of a sudden? I wonder if the mechanic who bled my front brake line put it up on a lift, with the support right under the filter?

I assume that nut on the button of the filter is there to tighten the filter, right? Would it be better to use one of those filter wrenches instead?

By the way, I don't think I have a K&N filter, although that's what I'll be buying next time. I'm about to use the search engine to figure out exactly which filter I need (the kid at the local motorcycle parts shop seemed dismally ignorant, although he eventually came up with an answer).