oil drip from head cover bolts

[Jharpphoto]

My 2013 RT (which has had a myriad of troubles) has a very slight drip/leak of oil coming from what I believe is the head cover bolts. This bike just had it's 24K service a week ago at the BMW service department. I haven't been on the bike in 3 days since it's hotter than Africa in GA now.  I called the dealer/shop that did the service and sent them the photos  attached here.  There advice was to bring the bike in  (in a week)to ensure the head bolts were tightened to spec. I am more than a little annoyed at having to take time to go back to the shop for them to check something that should be done while the bike was having it's 24K service. It leads me to wonder if the head bolts are not tightened to spec (if that is what is causing the drip) then what else did they not do to spec while they were doing the valves, oil, final drive etc?  Judging from these photos do you think @dirtrider bolts out of spec are the curlprit causing the oil drip?

[Hosstage]

It could be leftover from the service. Put a wrench on them and give them a little twist. Clean up all the residual oil, take it for a nice ride and see how it goes. 

[Jharpphoto]

Does anyone know the torque spec for those bolts?

[Skywagon]

I’ll look it up when I get home but it’s not much. Very careful as many folks have stripped them and that’s a big deal

[duckhawk64]

Looks like 10nm

[lkraus]

Back it off, carefully re-tighten by hand. When you feel a sudden increase in resistance, STOP.  The "little head" of the bolt is in contact with the head and cannot tighten further. The gaskets and bolt seals should be compressed enough to prevent leaks and keep the bolt from loosening.  Further tightening only stresses the threads and will not seal any better.  If it still leaks, there may be dirt trapped under the seal or you need a new bolt seal.

 

[Jharpphoto]

Perfect thanks

[dirtrider]

7 hours ago, Jharpphoto said:

My 2013 RT (which has had a myriad of troubles) has a very slight drip/leak of oil coming from what I believe is the head cover bolts. This bike just had it's 24K service a week ago at the BMW service department. I haven't been on the bike in 3 days since it's hotter than Africa in GA now.  I called the dealer/shop that did the service and sent them the photos  attached here.  There advice was to bring the bike in  (in a week)to ensure the head bolts were tightened to spec. I am more than a little annoyed at having to take time to go back to the shop for them to check something that should be done while the bike was having it's 24K service. It leads me to wonder if the head bolts are not tightened to spec (if that is what is causing the drip) then what else did they not do to spec while they were doing the valves, oil, final drive etc?  Judging from these photos do you think @dirtrider bolts out of spec are the curlprit causing the oil drip?

Evening  Jharpphoto

 

Just make sure they are not loose, the ones in the pictures above look tight. Do not tighten past just snug as they STRIP VERY EASILY.

 

Personally I would check for not being loose  (just a light tightness check), then clean them up with some WD-40 & a clean rag. Then just ride it for a while. 

 

When the dealer removed the covers more than likely the bolts were then loose in the valve cover holes plus there was still some oil in the covers.

 

So the tec's usually set the covers down  with the bolt heads down, that allows oil to run along the bolts & into that cup washer that retains the rubber gromets. Then when they bolt the covers back on that trapped  oil seeps out for while. (nothing serious just looks bad) 

 

 

[Jharpphoto]

great idea. thanks for sharing.

[The Fabricator]

A 10 yo bike with ORIGINAL? seals will probably need new seals.

With age, the rubber hardens, looses it's elasticity and hence, compressive force.

Once removed [for valve inspection] and replaced in a slightly different position, it could leak.

[6speedTi]

29 minutes ago, The Fabricator said:

A 10 yo bike with ORIGINAL? seals will probably need new seals.

With age, the rubber hardens, looses it's elasticity and hence, compressive force.

Once removed [for valve inspection] and replaced in a slightly different position, it could leak.

My 2012 valve cover gaskets are still good. They are reusable. I've had them off multiple times when checking my valve clearances. I have over 100,000 miles on the clock.  I must admit those are some well designed reusable gaskets. The price reflects the technology into those gaskets.

Expensive! 

 

FWIW  according to the service manual the valve cover bolts are torqued to a value of 10nm, 88 inlbs or 7 ftlbs. First time I installed the bolts back in using my calibrated torque wrench the bolt bottomed out or fully seated and the torque value was never achieved. That is what I do everytime since. No torque wrench needed.  So as Dirtrider said just snug until it stops. 

[lkraus]

50 minutes ago, The Fabricator said:

A 10 yo bike with ORIGINAL? seals will probably need new seals.

With age, the rubber hardens, looses it's elasticity and hence, compressive force.

Once removed [for valve inspection] and replaced in a slightly different position, it could leak.

My original 2006 valve cover seals and gaskets are still quite flexible.  It's really more of a plastic material than rubber.

[Etienne Lau]

I've had similar leaks with my 2010. Cleanliness of the head and valve cover is important. Also position of the valve can shift to cause a slight leak.