Aaaaaaaaaaaargh!!! Oil leak!

[KitNYC]

I did not use any silicon/RTV/sealant on the cam cover gasket; the gasket stayed attached to the head when I pulled the cover, & I tend to operate on the "less is more" theory when dealing with goop like that. (I certainly would have used it if the gasket had not stayed attached, though.)

I had *an* oil leak(?) before, but *this* oil leak began immediately after I checked my valves & appears to be coming from the upper rear part of the head. (At least all my valves are in spec! )

I am looking for a used alternator cover to replace mine with, but I'm a bit short on cash after my vacation & haven't replaced it yet. (Ouch!!! Those seals & gaskets are pretty pricey too!) As far as the breather seal, though, there were maybe 2 or 3 drops of oil in my airbox last I looked. There is not a significant amount of motor oil moving through there.

Here's something: I noticed today that there's oil around the dipstick. I've seen it there before, but mostly wrote it off to being sloppy when refilling. But I've cleaned that area up & been careful not to be sloppy lately, & it came back anyway. Now that I'm thinking about this, I don't think there's an o-ring on my dipstick. I really don't know if that could account for all my oil loss, but maybe some of it?

Cheers,
-Kit

[KitNYC]

Okay, here's hoping....

I pulled the cam cover & gasket back off today, then put them back on with some RTV. I also replaced the o-ring on the dipstick & the air filter. (Air filter replacement is scheduled for 24k miles & I just rolled over 25k.) I sprayed the motor down with Formula 409, wiped it down, then dumped a gallon of water on it to rinse it off & took off for the Ear Inn for Tuesday bike night.

When I left the Ear, there were a few drops of oil under the bike. Definitely not like the puddles she had been leaving behind lately. Looked like some coming from the alternator cover, but it was also pretty dark.

Guess I'll see in the morning... Knocking wood!

Cheers,
-Kit

[frider]

I would be wary of using too much silicon on the gasket.
Don't you need it just on the half moon cutouts on the cam cover?????

( I once overused gasket cement,on my cam cover gasket when I was still learning, about two years later I found most of it in the sump ( oil pan) strainer on my GPZ900R!!!!!)

I'm just very wary of that stuff!, I'd rather pay big bucks for a new gasket!!

[ExKellick]

frider, true you need to be careful but I think the half moon seals pretty much need a little silicon. We used to use Hylomar in the navy on a lot of the metal to metal seals and it generally worked very well - you did find a bit though on the oil stainer gauze though. I am pretty careful because one blocked oil passage and catastrophic failure is likely to visit.

Keep at it Kit you should get this sorted before long. I would be a little suspect about the oil in the airbox though, if its more than a faint haze on the plastic there may be an issue somewhere.

Looking for a leak you may find it if you park over some white paper on the center stand you may find it easier to pinpoint and trace the leak.

[oldndumb]

I still use Hylomar, although not on a Sprint yet. One benefit of Hylomar is that the viscosity is thin enough to make it readily apparent if you should happen to apply too much.

Frider is correct, that the half moons are the only place that requires sealer. The rest of the cover gasket, and most other gaskets as well, are designed for a dry installation.