| Author | Message | ||
     Mnscrounger |
I still love this bike, its been a Sisyphean effort trying to get my S3T on the road this year, it seems no sooner do I fix one problem and another rises to take its place. ( or is that the Hydra, either way...). Today was the first real ride since July when my brakes needed attention. leaving work I noticed a small puddle of oil on the ground. I checked the tank, and compared it to what was on the ground and calculated I could actually get home. (No side stops) there's still a bunch of other problems, but this one is the most serious. So for the experts here what is the most likely culprit to cause leaking under the cam cover? and how deep do I need to go to fix it?  | ||
| Hughlysses |
I am not an expert, but I have worked on a tuber and I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. There is a cam seal behind the timing sensor cover, but that would leak out of that cover, so it is not that. Behind the cam cover, it could be the cam cover gasket, the oil pump-to-case gasket, the oil pump internal o-ring, one of the oil hose connections to the pump, or one of the oil hoses. If the gaskets are original, they are paper, and are known to leak over time. Replacement gaskets will be rubber-coated aluminum which lasts indefinitely. The cam cover gasket is a pretty big job to replace. I have read you can rotate the crankshaft to a point where none of the lifters are under pressure, which makes it possible to remove the cam cover without bothering the rocker covers. I tried and failed with that and had to remove the rocker covers to take the pressure off the lifters so I could put it back together, which necessitated replacing the rocker cover gaskets too, which makes for a big job. If you do have to replace the cam cover gasket, it is a good time to install the upgraded bronze oil pump drive gear. The other things are pretty easy to work on. I suggest you clean that side of the bike thoroughly with degreaser, dry it off, crank it up and quickly get on the ground next to it and try to locate the source. Hopefully it will be a quick, easy fix. | ||
| Mnscrounger |
I just did a front isolator and front motor mount bolts last fall/winter. since most of the body work was already off I decided to leave it that way with the intention of painting. life got in the way so I put enough extra junk body part on it to make it rideable, but its been one issue after the other this summer. not bad but life this summer negated any real time to service properly so the bike just sat. Its an 02 with the upgraded bronze gear, but it is 22 years old with 55000 miles, it wouldn't surprise me if a seal or two has deteriorated by now. If I need to get under the cam cover, project creep might mean it also gets the upgrade to XB rocker boxes and so on and so on.. It might be down another year. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Well, if it has the upgraded gear, odds are it has the upgraded gasket and the cam cover is not what is leaking. Check the east-to-fix stuff before you dive into it. | ||
| Mnscrounger |
Thanks for the encouragement. I still have to fit it to a tight schedule but I should be able to at least do that wash n watch you recommend before the end of September. | ||
| Mnscrounger |
I pulled the shock and oil pump, cleaned the faces and replaced the pum with a fresh gasket. While I was down there i wiped everything clean. i fired it up while it was still hanging from the rafters, (no shock for clearer visibility), and it looks like the cam cover gasket. YUCK! I anticipate a fair amount of scope creep on this job. Since the rocker boxes are off and the pushrods out it makes sense to do the XB conversion. It also makes sense to go after the head gasket leak that's discoloring the motor and head. It looks like the bike will be down most of the winter while I find time to get that done. |
