'96 RT Oil Leak - Help ID

[dgrooman]

I am new to the BMW motorcylcing world (only had mine for about a year) and new to cycling in general (guess its been about 3 years since my first ride), so please excuse this question if it's supposedly obvious to others.

 

Question: I have an oil leak on my '96 R1100RT that appears it may be coming from the oil sight gauge or at least from that general vicinity. Are there any known issues with leaks on this side of the engine and what may be the fixes?

 

Here is a link with a few pics: http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VCFOJNQDLZ77PAG2VG4VVDQ2NY/album/albums/631611/detail/page/1

 

Thanks in advance for any help or guidance.

 

 

 

[Witch_Doctor]

I would suggest cleaning the oil off the bike, and get it as dry as possible. Once you do that, you can better determine where the leak is coming from. The sight glasses are known to weep when they get older, the rubber seal gets hard and leaks. Its an easy and inexpensive replacement.

[Shaman97]

Given the vintage of your bike, the sight glass would be high on my list of things to check and replace. To check, wipe away any excess oil around the sight glass really well. Go for a ride of about 100 miles to get things circulating.

 

Now, check to see if the sight glass has any oil 'weeping' around it. If so, you've found your culprit.

 

Very easy replacement, too. Takes less than 5 minutes.

 

Here's a link to the replacement video:

Sight glass replacement

 

[AndyS]

I have an oil leak on my '96 R1100RT that appears it may be coming from the oil sight gauge or at least from that general vicinity. Are there any known issues with leaks on this side of the engine and what may be the fixes?

 

Hi Dgrooman, From your pictures you indeed look as though you have a weep from the sight-glass. These have been known to pop out (sometimes with catastrophic effect - losing oil the oil before you realise it).

 

As I see it, you have nothing to lose. Just get straight to it and replace the glass. (the link is in the post above on 'how to'). If you still find oil misting, then you could look elsewhere (sometimes that oil delivery pipe weeps too, but that is not catastrophic).

So go ahead, clean the bike before work. Set into the glass for peace of mind.

Andy

[dirtrider]

Morning dgrooman

 

 

As mentioned above clean the engine up real good then watch it for signs of new oil appearance.

 

The picture shows the most common leak areas on your 1100.

 

I have found more than a few of those old 1100’s leaking at the banjo bolt holding the pipe on as well as pin holes in the pipe itself due to rust perforation.

 

Then other places are higher up, like cyl head gasket or the rear cam plug. (looks like some crud buildup under that area so look closely in that area).

 

 

 

 

[dgrooman]

Thank you all for the replies and advice. Dirtrider especially with that detailed diagnosis of the pic. I will certainly replace that sight glass right away and keep an eye on other possible leakers. Is beemerboneyard as good a place as any to find the replacement?

[OoPEZoO]

BeemerBoneyard is a great place to find used parts and things for general tune ups and maintenance, but for something like the oil sight glass.......I think you would have to order it from a dealer.

 

My local dealers are pretty crappy when it comes to what they keep in stock, but its always worth a try. When I know they won't have it or I don't feel like taking the time to run out there, I order all of my parts from maxbmwmotorcycles.com. They have the factory microfiche available online so you can figure out and order exactly the part numbers you need.

 

EDIT......the part number for the sight glass is 11118527546