Oil on case

[Hadabadachada]

2004 R1100S 58k

Noticed oil on LH side of my engine looks to be coming from the cylinder, at the base.

 

had a hard time finding mobil 15w 50, so I changed to Dino 20-50 Castrol this last time. 
now I’m seeing moist oil around the bottom of the cylinder. 

So wondering if I can loosen and retorque the big bolts under the head cover to fix this?

I guess I already messed up changing the oil, can only assume that has something to do with it. Not seeing it on the right side at this point. 

 

[dirtrider]

46 minutes ago, Hadabadachada said:

2004 R1100S 58k

Noticed oil on LH side of my engine looks to be coming from the cylinder, at the base.

 

had a hard time finding mobil 15w 50, so I changed to Dino 20-50 Castrol this last time. 
now I’m seeing moist oil around the bottom of the cylinder. 

So wondering if I can loosen and retorque the big bolts under the head cover to fix this?

I guess I already messed up changing the oil, can only assume that has something to do with it. Not seeing it on the right side at this point. 

 

Morning  Hadabadachada

 

My first suggestion is to clean it up best you can then positively identify exactly where the oil leak is coming from.  

 

Oil can seep down from above then run down the edges of the  cylinder base looking like it has a leaking base sealing. 

 

The only way to properly address that oil leak is to find EXACTLY where it is leaking from then make a game plan from that information.

 

Your switch to 20w50 oil probably has nothing to do with the leak as the 15w50 was more likely to leak. (unless you over-filled the oil level)

 

As far a re-torqueing the cylinder head nuts, that usually does no good as the base gasket is actually a sealer & once it starts leaking it has broken it's bonding. 

 

Added: another place to look is that your oil filter isn't leaking then the oil blowing back on the engine case. Did the oil filter gasket come off with the old oil filter or is it possible that your new filter is screwed on over the (still-stuck-on) old oil filter gasket (double gasket?) 

 

 

[Hadabadachada]

I will check the filter, I made sure the old gasket was on the old filter. 
 

im hoping it’s maybe the cam chain tensioner has made itself a little loose again  and it’s coming from there. I feel like ive had to tighten that a couple times. I just degreased everything. 

 

let’s hope it’s the cam chain tensioner.

[Doctare]

It’s not uncommon for the oil pressure sensor to leak. It’s very close to the fron of the left cylinder. 

[Hadabadachada]

Thanks, I noticed that had some good dirt deposits around it the other week, need to either replace or tighten that, cleaned it up and got my eye on if that’s the culprit.

 

 

[Hadabadachada]

55 minutes ago, Doctare said:

It’s not uncommon for the oil pressure sensor to leak. It’s very close to the fron of the left cylinder. 

Do you recall the size of the sensor? I need to get a deep socket for it, guess I’ll just buy a set vs the one size 

[Lowndes]

46 minutes ago, Hadabadachada said:

Do you recall the size of the sensor? I need to get a deep socket for it, guess I’ll just buy a set vs the one size 

My Clymer doesn't say or even show it and I can't even see it on my RT.  Sorry.  Best get the set anyway, you'll be glad you did.

[Miguel!]

11 hours ago, Hadabadachada said:

guess I already messed up changing the oil, can only assume that has something to do with it.

Chris Harris is an independent BMW mechanic that has been working on oilheads for the better part of two decades and has done a lot of YouTube video on repairs and maintenance. He says that the majority of the bikes he sees with oil leaks commonly use synthetic. I think this is the video where he talks about mineral vs synthetic oil. 

 

Miguel

[Hadabadachada]

I cleaned up the oil a few days ago, rode it a few times, didn’t notice anything new. 
bike sat for 3 days, started it up. Had the usual gas smell, that someone said could be a bad gasket on the quick connect. Which usually goes away after the bike is warmed up. Stopped at the gas station on the way to work, still reeks of gas, have a look around and notice a couple drips from the left side. 
have a look at where the oil leak was coming from, looks like what I had cleaned is back. Oil around the seam just on the rear and bottom, nothing on the front, nothing noticeable around the pressure sensor. 
Didn’t put gas, started the bike and saw some drips, from the left side kinda front/bottom of the cylinder. Put my hand out, it’s gas. 
hauled ass home and started ripping it apart.

I can’t find anywhere where the gas could have come from, all the hoses on the tank are solid, no cracks. Couldn’t see any real trails of fuel, say maybe coming from the right side, where the connectors are, nothing on the right side. Pretty weird. Can’t see too well Into the fuel pressure regulator, but do not see any residue distinguishable marks coming from that area. 
 

Then I thought maybe the oil leak around the cylinder was just a gas leak, nah, there’s oil. 
but now I’m trying to figure this fuel leak. 
 

guess I’m curious if anyone has had this scenario or heard of anything like it. 
 

guess I’m getting up into mileage where the repairs are going to cost quite a bit. 
probably not the best bike for a daily rider. Tho it does ride great. 

[Lowndes]

Hadabadachada,

 

There is a crossover tube between the two sides of the aluminum tank at the rear (on my '99 R1100S, anyway).  If this tube has developed a crack it could cause the gas drip on the left side.  About the only other source would be the high pressure line to the left injector or the connection to the injector.

 

There is also a breather tube from inside the tank and a drain tube from the gas cap port that exit down thru the center of the bike to end in front of the rear wheel, but not having just filled up it doesn't sound like either if these would be the source of your gas leak.  

 

If you have the black plastic quick-connects, they are said to crack so you might want to replace them with the brass units.  With either you have to be very careful as the O-ring seals can be easily damaged and leak.

[Hadabadachada]

No dice on these. As soon as I got home and took the left plastic off, I saw the cross over hose and figured; this must be it, coming from the left side, got the tank off, and all the hoses are in good shape. 
 

I replaced the white plastic disconnects that were on the bike when I got it with some new white plastic motion pro disconnects. Didn’t want to spring the 80 for metal ones. Haven’t had an issue with these. 
replaced all the hoses when I noticed fuel leaking from the “drain” hose near the rear bottom of bike. Was a Leaky, cracked internal hose. Replaced them, as well as the external hoses that attach to the disconnects. Only ones I did not replace are the pre formed ones linked to the pressure regulator, as it seems hard to do.

im thinking of cutting the battery/abs tray in half, to access the pressure regulator, as removing the abs unit would be a gigantic headache. 
 

I just couldn’t find any trails of moisture coming from anywhere. No spray marks around the throttles as if an injector gasket was bad.
So I’m stumped. Bike ran fine, just reeked of fuel, and now seems to be leaking drips. Probably was leaking before, because I’ve been smelling fuel on warm up for awhile. Leak was just not noticeable.

[Hosstage]

Could it be a cracked tank? Rare, but...

[Lowndes]

Crank it with the tank raised but connected.  Prop it up with a block of wood (or channel locks!!).   You've gotta find out where the gas is coming from.  Don't cut your battery tray.

 

   

[dave_a]

My left side oil leak turned out to be seepage from the cam chain tensioner. Oil would blow back to the cyl/case area.

To get it properly tight I had to remove the throttle body. In situ, I had limited access/swing room.

Once the nut was tight, it stopped leaking...Duh.

[Hadabadachada]

39 minutes ago, dave_a said:

My left side oil leak turned out to be seepage from the cam chain tensioner. Oil would blow back to the cyl/case area.

To get it properly tight I had to remove the throttle body. In situ, I had limited access/swing room.

Once the nut was tight, it stopped leaking...Duh.

I have had this happen to me twice, such a mission to tighten. Last time it happened I got a new crush washer and made sure it was cranked down. 
I thought it was coming loose again, but it’s dry. 
 

I may have found the issue, leaking fuel from one of the fuel hoses, causing fuel to drip to the left side, creating the moisture.

I hope anyway.

I fixed the leaky hose and cleaned everything up, now just giving it time keeping an eye.

guess I’m also hoping the fuel didn’t somehow seep in to the joint messing up the seal, causing it to leak.

[Dave P]

When I purchased my 1100RT it didn't have the quick disconnects for the fuel, just fuel injection rated hose clamps. I double them up (2 clamps where 1 would go), no leaks and really not any big deal to disconnect. I thought about getting the brass deals, but jeeze, 80 bucks!? Pass. My hose clamps work fine. 5 bucks worth of hose clamps could at least let you eliminate "quick disconnect O ring leaks" from your checklist. I mean, how often do ya have to take your tank off anyway? Dave

[Yorch - 1100RT]

Oh my... did my first oil change on my 01 1100rt a few days ago..... took it out

for a run and now I've got a leak.

The picture shows where it's coming down the face.  

Ugh.  

 

 

fwiw - 15-50 mobile1.

slight overfill, but top visible withing the sightglass, when cold.

fram ph3614 (p.o.s.) oil filter.  will see if it could be the issue tomorrow.

filter is a pain to tighten.   do not recommend.

 

no leak on the ground under filter after 2 days sitting there.

 

suggestions and prayers welcome.

[Michaelr11]

14 minutes ago, Yorch - 1100RT said:

Oh my... did my first oil change on my 01 1100rt a few days ago..... took it out

for a run and now I've got a leak.

The picture shows where it's coming down the face.  

Ugh.  

 

 

fwiw - 15-50 mobile1.

slight overfill, but top visible withing the sightglass, when cold.

fram ph3614 (p.o.s.) oil filter.  will see if it could be the issue tomorrow.

filter is a pain to tighten.   do not recommend.

 

no leak on the ground under filter after 2 days sitting there.

 

suggestions and prayers welcome.

You have hijacked someone else’s post. It should be in a new thread because the problem and solution may be different than the original posted problem.   My first guess would be to look at the small donut gasket in the spark plug tunnel on the valve cover. If it’s not sitting flat it will leak oil.

[Hadabadachada]

I used the PH3614 because Wally World didn’t have the Mobil one, I think they say the __3614 is on the list, the PH is the “next better one” I don’t know if that makes a difference, but I can say as well, the PH3614 is shite! Doesn’t fit in the filter wrench proper, and leaks, maybe the gasket is too thin, maybe it doesn’t line up right, I dunno, but Mine leaked oil. Get the Mobil1  102 whatever it is.

 

Change that filter regardless, but oil from the filter leaking wouldn’t get up there. 
Clean it all up, have a decent little ride, recheck. 
 

last time I did oil change, which is every about 3 months, I overfilled mine, was up to the top line, I didn’t feel good about it, so I took the oil filter off to drain a little. Wipe up and reinstall. 

[Miguel!]

I have a few of observations with caveats shown below*:

1. There's an independent BMW oilhead mechanic on YouTube by the name of Chris Harris. He's stated that the oilheads he sees with oil leaks are using synthetic oil rather than mineral oil more often than not. Sometimes going back to mineral oil has eliminated the leaks, sometimes not. He and the independent BMW mechanic I use for work other than electrical mods and fluid changes use Spectro 4 20-50 mineral oil. It's the original oil specified by BMW for the oilheads. Its available on Amazon for $30/gallon so cheaper than synthetic. Its' what I use without problems. I've found my bike runs and shift more smoothly after an oil change.
2. All mechanics I've watched really emphasize the fact that you need to make sure you got the old oil filter gasket out when you took out the oil filter. Sometimes it can stick in the oil filter cavity. Make sure its attached to the old filter when you take it out. If not, reach up in there and grab it. Otherwise you may get leaks and there's some danger of the filter coming off because the "second oil gasket" prevents the filter from catching enough threads on the oil filter nipple on the bottom of the engine.
3. Wipe out the oil filter cavity with a rag before installing the new filter.
4. Spread a little old oil, not new oil, on both sides of the oil filter gasket.
5. Check the oil level after you've ridden it so that bottom 5 bars show on the temp gauge
6. I go through about 1 qt of mineral oil every 3K miles or so. I think that's pretty common with at least the R1100RT. My independent BMW mechanic is factory trained with about 20 years experience exclusively on BMW bikes (tho occasionally, I'll see other manufacturers) and repairs all the local authority bikes. He told me to expect the oil usage and not to panic. I haven't.
7. When I change the oil on my R1100 RT, I use a full gallon. The oil level settles at about the middle of the site glass after the first ride.
8. I generally check the oil level after every ride and keep the level pretty much in the center of the site glass. I think it was Tri750 that told me the oil volume from top to bottom of the site glass corresponds to about 8 ounces of oil in the sump. I find I add about an ounce of oil every 200-300 miles. 

Hope that helps.

MIguel

 

* Caveat: I'm not a mechanic, have relatively little wrenching  experience and no deep knowledge base but I do have some skills. I suspect Chris Harris' methods and statements may be controversial but I've LEARNED tons watching his videos. HE hasn't steered me wrong yet. 

[dirtrider]

10 hours ago, Yorch - 1100RT said:

Oh my... did my first oil change on my 01 1100rt a few days ago..... took it out

for a run and now I've got a leak.

The picture shows where it's coming down the face.  

Ugh.  

 

 

fwiw - 15-50 mobile1.

slight overfill, but top visible withing the sightglass, when cold.

fram ph3614 (p.o.s.) oil filter.  will see if it could be the issue tomorrow.

filter is a pain to tighten.   do not recommend.

 

no leak on the ground under filter after 2 days sitting there.

 

suggestions and prayers welcome.

 

Morning Yorch - 1100RT

 

As Michaelr11 mentioned you have added you own problem on to someone else's thread (hikacked the original thread),  your motorcycle is different than the original posters 1100S so your issue might be (probably is) completely different. (especially seeing as you have a damaged L/H valve cover that has obviously contacted something hard).

 

PLEASE start you own thread on YOUR problem so we can keep the replies separate or this thread will get way off track. (it is not fair to the original poster of this thread & you could easily get the incorrect information about you own problem).

 

 

[Yorch - 1100RT]

Ok.   Please excuse the "hijack".  I did it on purpose, not seeing the potential negative.  While the original poster resolved his issue a few months ago, I figured that the considerable overlap in issues would help others to diagnose their problem, should they find themselves here.   I will create a new thread.   People: Please don't respond to my issues any more on this thread.