| Author |
Message |
    
Bprigge
| | Posted on Friday, July 24, 2009 - 07:23 pm: | 
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Hello again from Minnesota.
I developed a really messy oil leak on the right side of my S3T today, don't really know if it's oil or shock fluid. The right saddle bag, rear foot peg, belt (outside only) and the top of the rear fender are all wet, as is the right side of the battery. I took the tank, front sprocket cover, seat and rear cowling off as soon as I got home. It's dry behind the front sprocket. The heads and oil pump and filter area are also dry. While I was taking it apart I kept hearing a hissing noise like maybe the rear shock was discharging it's pressure but couldn't find where it was comming from before it quit. Anybody got any ideas? I guess i'll wipe it all down and take it out and ride it, hoping I can isolate the leak.
I changed the oil a week ago and filled it to the top line on the stick. It's a little below that now. I also changed the battery a couple of days ago. Any help appreciated. I'm planning a cross country run the end of August and now I'm having second thoughts about it. I'd hate to be riding through the rockies with an oiled up rear tire that I didn't know about. Bruce |
Bluzm2
| | Posted on Saturday, July 25, 2009 - 12:38 am: |
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Bruce,
Lots of thing it could be.
However the first place to start is the oil tank. You say you filled it to the top line, that may be too much.
Most find that filling it to the bottom line or slightly above is the best.
If you over fill it, it has a way of finding it's way out.....
You also said you replaced the battery.
One possibility is you dislodged the tranny breather. It's located under the starter sort of..
Although this shouldn't produce the type of mess you are seeing.
It's also possible it's your starter gasket.
Best bet is to clean it up and go for a short ride and try to localize the source.
I'm in your area if you need help..
Brad |
Bprigge
| | Posted on Saturday, July 25, 2009 - 08:38 am: |
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Thanks Brad,
I cleaned it up last night and took it out on the same course that the leak appeared on. No leak. This is worrisome. I still have the rear cowling and drive sprocket cover off, will ride some more today. The oil level is about 3/4 of the way UP from the bottom line or a quarter of the way down from the top. After searching for info on the knowledge base last night I see that i'm checking the oil wrong and that lots of people have issues with the breather system. I've been checking the oil cold without a 'pre-start'. When I bought the bike in February of this year the oil level was just a tad above the bottom line. I wondered about that since the guy I bought the bike from was really into maintaining the bike. Maybe my Thunderbolt is behaving normally??? I'm going to work on it some more today. I'll correct the oil level and put some miles on it. I ride in 4th gear a lot (mostly) when not on the interstate and yesterday when the oil leak appeared I had just done maybe 5 miles at 3800 rpm. I don't usually run the motor that fast but wasn't paying attention. thanks for the help, Bruce |
Bigo
| | Posted on Monday, July 27, 2009 - 03:01 pm: |
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Bprigge-
Those S3 Buells are sensitive to oil tank levels it seems. I never had a problem until recently. And the mess you described was on the left side not the right. Inner surface of the hard bag was covered in a film of oil as was the top of the fender and under the seal and rear wheel. After taking a fairly long ride I discovered it. But I wiped off as much oil as I could. The ride back home produced less of a mess- almost no new oil on those surfaces.
I filled the oil tank up before the ride too close to the level that you described.
Looks like the old Buell just belched out the oil it did not want to have. I did nothing to solve the problem.just washed and hosed off that oiled mess.
It fixed itself it seems. |
Bprigge
| | Posted on Monday, July 27, 2009 - 08:36 pm: |
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Bigo,
I'm thinking that's what I have going on too. Mine was actually on BOTH sides of the bike. I haven't been able to find the source of the leak but it has stopped. The hissing that I mentioned in the first post that I thought might be the shock discharging it's gas turned out to be coming from the oil tank. I heard it again yesterday. When I heard it again I wiggled the oil tank cap/dipstick and could change the sound. Is this normal behavior for a tank that's a little overfilled? I still haven't lowered the oil level down to just above the dipstick but I'm going to. Maybe it's throwing the oil past the cap? Should there be any pressure in the tank?? Bruce |
Bigo
| | Posted on Monday, July 27, 2009 - 09:29 pm: |
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Bprigge-
Apparently this is a common occurrence with the oil tank. I too had oil coming from the filler cap for a while. It blew off once or twice. Seems like one has to keep the oil level on the low side.
Maybe that's one reason the oil reservoir was put in the swing arm on late models? (Probably not.) |
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