Major oil leak - is it doomed?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ต.ค. 2024
- SO, I had a week to think about this - coming home I thought maybe it would be something simple. It appears that all of the bolts are seemingly tight and nothing appears out of place. Please take a close look this and see if there is something that jumps out at you. Lets open on the comments to a forum style discussion and solve this one together. Thanks is advance for your help. You arent going to hurt my feelings, but lets make this constructive and useful. Getting this back on the road is the priority.
Thanks so much - Mike
What is the oil level at ? Has someone overfilled the bike for storage and never drained down, has the previous owner just total filled the engine up with oil , dump all the oil and see how much comes out measure the quantity, I should imagine it should be around 3 US quarts ) refill back up in the middle of the sight glass it’s quite a common rookie mistake to look at the oil sight glass and think it’s low when it on a level surface if it’s overfull the engine will try and push out all the excess oil good luck I am enjoying your uploads
This was my thought as well......Verify oil level....then start looking at torque specs, and work back to cleaning it off and restart and look for seepage...Easy to troubleshoot when you don't have to do the work!😁
Thats actually a good suggestion. I'll check it out. Thanks so much
Thanks for the advice. Ill be looking into it later this week. Keep your eyes posted for updates.
Degrease everything and clean it up. Then run it again. That way, you get a good visual of where the leak is before taking it all apart. I bet it's just a bad gasket, man. Best of luck to you
Thanks for the advice - I will be doing this later in the week - stay tuned for an update. Lets hope thats all it is :)
I have 4 GS1100s currently. All of them required new valve cover gaskets and end cap plugs. While I was in there, I retorqued the head nuts. This is a cheap way to start. Once installed, thoroughly pressure wash the motor with degreaser. Then, run the bike on the center stand and look for additional leaks (driving it blows the oil everywhere). Hopefully, you won't find any. Best of luck with the GK!
Thanks so much, I hope to have time to dive into this later this week. Thanks for the advice.
@@ACECafeBikes You're welcome.
Replace top end gaskets. The bike has been sitting for long periods, gaskets have failed. Check piston clearance, replace rings and have the cylinders ball honed. Have the cylinder and head checked to make sure they're flat. Check all the valves. Reassemble torque everything to spec.
Sounds like you have been down this road before. Thanks for the tips/advice 🍻
Might possibly be the case that the previous owner/person who performed the rebuild scarred the mating surfaces on the head/cylinder. This would allow for oil to leak around the gaskets. All the same, best of luck with the build. Your willingness to venture into new "repair" realms is respected by all.
Ooooo, lets hope its not that severe. 🤔🤙💪❤
It's coming from the cam cover. The oil can run into the water drains and come out the front of the engine
I think you're right. I really studied it last night and it seems to be a leak on the right side on the back line by the carburetors. Now the task of take off the valve cover and inspect. Thanks for watching and commenting, staybruned for an update.
I think someone already mentioned it but, I’m thinking it was overfilled. I would try a complete drain and fill IAW manufactures recommended quantity before I would start tearing it down….good luck man! But I’ve got to watch your next video now😂
Thanks for the advice Sean, hope you enjoy the next one🍻
When i was a kid, I had a 1972(?) CB 350 that had a loose timing chain, and the chain wobbled back and forth and wore bad holes in the chain housing between the cylinders. It looks like your bike has an automatic adjustor, but if the adjuster is not working, or the chain or chain shoe is wore out so the adjuster can no longer adjust, and the chain is loose, or one of the shoes got crooked and let the chain rub the casing, that could be the problem.
If that is the problem, there will be a whole bunch of aluminum particles in the oil (filter!). Drain the oil, and if the bike has a filter, cut it open....
Whoa, that sounds really bad, lets hope that's not it, but good advice and simple enough to check out. Thanks so much for watching and commenting.
clean it up good , get some uv dye for oil and a uv light. if the jugs have been off it may need the long bolts retorqued
👍
Not sure if this will help you.
I was a Honda tech, got a bike in that had a leak right at the head gasket. Gasket was previously replaced 3 times and it still leaked.
Turned out to be a porosity linked pin hole to an oil galley.
How I found it.... cleaned the engine ... Spotless!!! And completely dry.
Shot it down with a good coat of baby powder and the pin hole was quickly discovered.
That is a great idea. Im hoping to look into this very soon. Thanks for the tip 🍻
I've owned a GS750, GS650 and GS425. The design of all these Suzuki GS air cooled engines is almost identical. A lot of oil moves through the head so if there's a gasket leak, it can look dramatic. In my opinion, it's likely that the cam cover gasket is broken or badly installed, running down from the cam cover onto the head. This is resulting in oil pooling around the spark plug for cylinder three and then running out of cooling ports further on down to where you see it emerge.
I seriously doubt you have a big problem here. The oil is fed to the head by channels around the outer most head studs. It drains back to the sump through the cam chain tunnel in the center of the engine. That means, where you are seeing oil emerging is not under pressure.
All my Suzukis had leaky rev counter (tacho) drives. The tacho drive is attached to the cylinder head cover (aka cam cover). It is located next to cylinder 3, counting from the left hand side as if you are astride the bike (that's how Suzuki number them). It's possible that the tacho drive is not properly seated in the cam cover.
Certainly, your next move is to remove the tacho drive from the cam cover, and then the cam cover itself, to check these two things. You'll want to check the valve clearances anyway so won't lose by doing this.
Good luck with your big GS. They are truly epic machines and practically indestructible. The only real weak point is the charging system: fit an aftermarket regulator-rectifier unit and reposition it somewhere where it can cool effectively.
And get a manual... 🙂
Wow - thank you for such a detailed message, great information here - and I will certainly start simple and look into this. Starting with tachometer cable and then cam covers. I'm sure there will be a follow up video in the days to come. Hopefully with something along the lines of success!
I do have a manual and will be looking at it very closely ;)
A new head gasket does not mean the repair was done correctly. If the head is warped it can leak from the cam chain channel like that with a new head gasket. It's a fairly common problem on air cooled 4 cylinder motors after about 10k-20k miles. I've resurfaced a lot of those heads and I can be of a lot more help if you have a Discord server or another way to chat about it more in depth.
Looking at this and trying to decipher what is wrong - I think that you may be on to something with the warped head. I plan on diving into this deeper tonight - update video to come shortly. I dont have any other way of communicating besides email. acecafebikes@gmail.com - but thanks for the offer Being a part of a strong community like ours is what makes this even more fun
I am in the process of rebuilding a GS1100 engine. In the front area where the massive leak is coming from seems to be where the RPM cable is located or it could be a bad seal in the head. The 4 outer head studs are the oil galleys for the cylinder head. If they aren’t sealing right, the oil will spew out between the head. Before I tore my engine apart, a lot of my leaks were coming from the valve cover gasket and the head gasket.
Thanks for the tip - I think I have pinpointed the leak and dreading taking the engine out of the bike. I think its just coming from the valve cover gasket - going to try and take that off without taking the engine out - wish me luck.
@@ACECafeBikesvalve cover can be taken out while engine is still in the bike. While you’re in there, might as well check valve clearances to make the bike run even better. Good luck!
@@fr0ilan Awesome, thanks so much!
You could use a little desinex foot powder spray to try to locate the leak spray it whare you think it is leaking and it will turn brown
Thanks for the tip
Is it oil soaked where the sparkplugs sit? If so the oil is running out the drain hole to the front of the engine. Simple valve cover gasket.
Oil is pooling in the spark plug holes - thanks for the tip
Work down from the top.. good fun!!
Isn't that the trurh
i am not super familiar with the old air cooled suzuki's. i am familiar with old air cooled kawasaki's. the kz's have a cable driven tach. the cable runs thru front, top of engine and seals with o ring. leaks are common from that connection. also if valve cover gasket was boogered up during install it would also leak there. i would degrease engine put carbs back on and run it again and pinpoint the leak before tearing it apart. you have a gusher! should be easy to spot.
I am very familiar with the KZ leaking tach o-ring. Mine wasn't THAT bad, but enough to spit oil onto the exhaust and then smoke, LOL. Had it replaced, and she was good to go.
Great advice - I'm a bit ashamed to say that I didnt think of that first - but sometimes when you are in front of it all you can think of is the worst thing. I'll definitely look into this scenario before going nuts tearing it apart.
Oil to cams flows through an o ring right there. They get old and crack, gotta pull head to fix it.
Ugh, lets hope its not that 🤔😉🍻
@@ACECafeBikes mine had same leak.
I would take the head gasket off, that model was prone to head gasket failure. I did 200.000 klm on mine when it let go. rode it all over Australia.
There is a plan for this - thanks for the advice - seems most people are in agreement. Australia - nice ;)
@@ACECafeBikes One of the best countries to tour around, watch out for Camels and roos.
@@petefranghis738 ❤
Where is the engines crankcase vent
Does it have one ?
I'll have to look
I’ve seen several big GS Suzi engines with leaky head and cam cover gaskets
Thanks - sounds like that is the direction that it needs. I'll check into it
Hopefully there’s a guru will chime in. I’m guessing you’re going to have to disassemble from the top and work your way down till you find the problem. Hopefully a bad gasket. I would think if it were a crack the motor would be noisy.
Thanks Marc, that sounds logical, just disappointing 😕
One thing we know the oil pump is working it could be the gasket. The guy didn’t get the proper gasket. I didn’t install it properly. I bought one. The guy did a bunch of motor work on it and I did tear it down. He didn’t do a lot of stuff, right all it cost me with some time and and gaskets it bothers me a bit that one cylinder is not firing
After removing the carbs again last night - I took a closer look and I missed cleaning the pilot jets as they were under the black rubber plug - have done this now, so perhaps that will solve something. Also, that plug looks like it may be fouled, I've given that a good clean as well so we are close to scrubbing the engine down and putting this all back together to see where that leak is coming from. Many people are saying that its a gasket issue - so lets hope thats all it is. I do appreciate your feedback and I'm looking forward to tackling this again later this week. Watch for an update!
Gravity, start at the top find the leak
👍
Gee, if it were ME? I'd take it to a shop and just hand over my wallet.
YOU? I'd suggest spraying it down with Simple Green and scrubbing it clean. Then, make sure it's not leaking when off. Then, start her up and see if you can spot where it's coming from. I'd put a camera close enough to hopefully see it as you start it, but not get oil all over the camera.
Barring that, I'd yank the engine and start replacing seals & gaskets. Good luck, man - I hope it's a simple & easy fix!
Thanks John - when ready, send your wallet :)
That is a great idea - one in which I think I'll do and see where the leak is coming from - most people are thinking that it is a gasket issue - so maybe that would pinpoint it. Even though this isnt something that I've done before, I'm not afraid of it - I just dont want to chase something with the "worst case scenario" if its something simple.
@@ACECafeBikes lol, I'll never be ready... so you're on your own :)
I always try simple first... because anything more costs me money lol
You wont find out till you disasemble.
Looks like a fun weekend ahead
you asked what I would do .....I would put all back together and RIDE the bloody thing!.....why do people worry so much about their bike. Try riding in Asia. NO ONE cares about unimportant stuff like that. That bike will continue to transport you PERFECTLY for the next 10 years! ......other than that....see a therapist.
Sounds like a plan ;)
Not sure why but I sent a few comments on the problem and what parts number you need but they don’t seem to post ? 2 o rings under valve cover on the cylinder head nuts are bad and need to be changed
Well , that sucks that it wasnt working - but I see your comment now - thanks so much
O ring is labeled 17 on the parts break down and goes onto the Cylinder bolt labeled 14
oh, this is great info to have - the manual that I have only shows 8 screws on the valve cover and I have 10 - do you have the actual book or is it electronic - can you send me the link if its downloadable?
Thanks so much
Mike
Partzilla or any website you can get parts from will help. You tube not letting me post links.
@@fancool10 Thanks bud