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Leak from engine case? '95 R1100RSL


Christo

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Greetings!

 

When I had the bodywork off I noticed evidence of oil leakage around the front left lower part of the bike (see pic). So I did complete wash of the engine and then rode it, and noticed an oily area forming in the front middle lower corner. Is this a normal place to seep oil?

 

Thanks in advance!

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I've had a similar leak on an oilhead before. I wouldn't worry about it as long as it's not dripping and you're sure it's not coming from the sight glass.

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Looks like old age has successfully attacked that gasket. Best fix is to replace it. Don't just tighten the bolts unless you use a torque wrench. You could make things worse by stripping case threads.

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The Fabricator

 No gasket, sealer.

 

 To my knowledge, the only  gasket in an Oilhead are head gaskets.  Not counting O-rings.

To check bolt torque, back the bolt out, tighten again to torque spec.  7 ft-lbs.  I usually have my thumb on the allen wrench shaft with the torque arm laying across my palm to tighten.  It's not very much.  A lot of times those bolts can come out much harder than they go in.  This can be due to corrosion on the threads.

 

Probably needs to be re-sealed.  That means remove the cover, clean, seal, assemble.

 

Removing the cover is not too bad.  The pulleys for the alternator belt is the worst part.  The lower pulley also has the rotor for the ignition sensor, pay attention to the installation. Had mine off several times. 2000 R1150GS.  I take the front fender and front wheel off.  Nor necessary but way easier.

 

As an aside, I have seen oil seepage from crankcase mounting surfaces on 2 1100 engines.  I checked all the fastening bolts and found several under torqued.  After tightening to the correct torque, the seepage stopped.  Lucky.

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Thanks Beech and Tom! 

 

I didn't know the front cover came off without dissecting bike, but suspected it might based on open front design. I had just changed the alternator belt. Checked the HES wires BTW and they were perfect. Possibly replaced before I bought at 32k miles (at 51k now).

 

I will try to re-torque the engine case bolts being careful not to over torque as you say. And then read up on removing pulley and cover to gauge level of effort. If leak is very slow, I will probably will just leave alone for now.

 

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1 hour ago, Christo said:

I will try to re-torque the engine case bolts being careful not to over torque as you say. And then read up on removing pulley and cover to gauge level of effort. If leak is very slow, I will probably will just leave alone for now.

 

 

Evening Chris

 

I doubt that torqueing or re-torqueing will do any good as that front cover was originally put on using a 3 bond (gasket sealer) type product (no paper gasket). If it is now leaking then it has lost it's gluing bond & will probably seep no matter how tight you make it.

 

Looking at the  picture it sort of looks like some of the gasket sealer is sticking out so it's possible the cover was bumped/dragged on the engine case dislodging some of the sealer  when it was last installed.   

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Thanks DR! The little excess blobs or sealant are breaking off from age/wear in different places around the case, but just leaking there.

 

What would you all say the effort level is in removing that front cover and resealing, hours-wise?

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3 hours ago, Christo said:

Thanks DR! The little excess blobs or sealant are breaking off from age/wear in different places around the case, but just leaking there.

 

What would you all say the effort level is in removing that front cover and resealing, hours-wise?

 

Afternoon Chris

 

I can't give you a time frame to complete the work as your 1993 is old so that adds time & frustration. 

 

Basically the time to do that front cover re-seal is during other work (that is what I used to do anyhow).

 

Basically the front exhaust has to be removed, alternator unbolted from the cover, belt & lower pulley removed, (I think your 93 has an oil line running across the front that has to be removed plus new copper gaskets when re-installed).

 

You will have to access the HES top plug to unplug the HES (you might be able to do it with the HES still connected at the top but you risk damaging the HES or wiring)  plus you really should remove the cover  completely from the motorcycle to clean the gasket surface COMPLETELY (it needs to be squeaky clean at the mating gasket surface).

 

o2 sensor will have to be unplugged & wire routing unclipped (if your bike still has an operating o2 sensor). 

 

On the 1100RS you might  also have to disconnect the rear of the lower control arm to gain enough clearance (at least I think so) & that adds work & complication to the job. 

 

On an old 1100 motorcycle you should probably also install a new front crankshaft seal  (the old ones tend to start leaking once you take the cover off & re-install).

 

If you are careful you can leave the HES attached to the front cover so you won't have to re-time the HES. 

 

If you already have the fuel tank removed for other reasons & the exhaust comes off without problems ( might not) then it really isn't a bad job but if you break something or can't get a bolt or nut loose then it gets more complicated & time consuming.

 

It's not rocket science but it can be frustrating on an older bike. If you break off an exhaust stud then it REALLY gets frustrating.

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Thanks DR for the break down!

 

It's a 95 BTW. I mistyped in the title. Hopefully that makes no difference.

 

I just changed the Alt belt which required the oil line removal like you said. All that went well. The exhaust studs are removable as I removed them to do the tranny swap. I like your idea of leaving HES attached and avoiding the retiming. Not sure what the crankshaft seal involves. Will look into that.

 

But with your instructions, I feel better about tackling the job! Will wait to see if the leak gets worse.

 

Thanks again!

Chris

 

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