nagging oil leak

[Woody]

you can put dye in the oil. then check over the bike with a black light. i use to do this with my race quad to find those hidden leaks. when it comes to gaskets . i use a lil grease on both sides of the gasket. you would be surprised when next time you take it apart. the gasket will still be in 1 piece. and sometimes able to be reused. also remember things seal nice. when everything is clean clean clean.

 

[RaWarrior]

Believe me both surfaces were shiny bare metal...I spent probably 2 hours with my cheapo mini-dremel cleaning every last trace of gasket and RTV off the surfaces. Started with a mild wire brush to get the worst of the stuff off, then a firm foam polisher thing to shine it. Thing is when I took the clutch cover off, I spent maybe 30 seconds with a razor scraper getting the worst of the residual gasket material, put the new one on, torqued the bolts to what "felt right", and zero leaks. Not even a hint of residue...bone dry.

I'd heard vaseline did the same as dabs of grease...would hold it in place as well as make removal easier.

I'm not sure a dye would really help. I can see which spots are oily and which aren't, but as I said before it only seems to leak when the motor is hot, i.e riding it, and then the wind blows the oil everywhere making it virtually impossible to pinpoint the source.

I'm relatively sure its the stator cover. I sealed the stator wire grommet with RTV last time it was apart. The shift shaft is oily with windblown residue, but no actual wetness in that area so I don't think it's that. I suppose the middle gear cover could be leaking also, I wouldn't be able to tell.

 

[COP RUNNER]

i OIL LEAKS SUCK ! .. AND CAN DRIVE YOU CRAZY ! .. CAN YOU WHIP ON IT FOR SHORTER DISTANCES , BRING A RAG OR HAVE SOMEONE FOLLOW YOU IN A CAR WITH RAG & SOME BRAKE CLEAN , AND JUST KEEP RIDING SHORTER DISTANCES AND CLEANING IT OFF , ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD , UNTIL IT TURNS UP ? .. :confused2:

 

[tugla]

you should be able to get the same stuff as yama-bond/honda-bond at a reg parts store, its called moto-seal 1 its also grey. its designed to dry in non oxygen environment, when the parts are put together. permetex makes it

http://www.permatex.com/products/mo...cle_MotoSeal_1_Ultimate_Gasket_Maker_Grey.htm

 

[Rusty McNeil]

For anyone doing it this way, remember the little nylon washer the goes on the bottom center screw of the Middle Gear Cover or you'll have a leak there... The screw is open to the oil in the middle gear...

I think that should be a copper crush washer,at least it was on my 99...???

 

[RaWarrior]

Yeah from what I've found looking around other forums, "yamabond" is sold under dozens of brands, names, and applications, all essentially the same stuff. There's also tons of flavors of yamabond....3,4,5,6B,7,14.....some harden, some don't, some are for high-pressure, ect. Sounds like "4" is the traditional case sealant.

I'll head out later and canvas the three auto parts stores in this tiny ass town...we have an autozone, an advance, and a napa all within about half a mile of each other. See what I can find.

 

[gamorg02]

i know my local dealer has some if u want me to pick it up and mail it, just give me a heads up but may not be able to do it until next week.

you could probably even call them and have them mail it to you.

 

[RaWarrior]

Thanks Garrett, but the local Yamaha shop had tubes of the Threebond 1194 in stock...they said(as I had found elsewhere) that it's the exact same stuff as Yamabond 4....looks, smells, works the same.

None of the parts houses (autozone, advance, napa) had what I was looking for. Advance had Hylomar racing "universal blue" sealant, which sounded like something similar...a non-hardening flange sealer. Though it said for "frequently disassembled parts", so I'm not sure if it's really meant as a long term seal.

None had MotoSeal(despite having tons of permantex products). I asked about it at all three stores and nobody had ever heard of it. At napa they looked in the "big book" and couldn't find it, so who knows.

I'll re-use the gaskets I just put in(used vaseline so removal should be a snap), team them up with 1194 and hopefully be done with this.

 

[gamorg02]

cool let us know.

 

[tugla]

1194 will work just fine i think. have you had time to inspect for straightness yet? even on the case side with a metal ruler/straight edge

 

[COP RUNNER]

i SOMETIMES WITH PROBLEMS LIKE THIS , YOU CAN USE " DOUBLE GASKETS " TWO OF THE SAME , ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER TO ALLOW FOR WARP-AGE ! ... BUT STILL TORQUE TO FACTORY SPEC'S. !

 

[COP RUNNER]

i " RA " IF YOU WANT TO NO FOR SURE IF YOU COVER & OR SIDE CASE IS WARPED , GET SOME OF THE " PLASTIGAGE " AND PUT IT END TO END ALL THE WAY AROUND THE ENTIRE COVERS SURFACE WITH NO GASKETS AND TIGHTEN IT TO SPEC'S. , THEN TAKE IT RIGHT BACK OFF , IT SHOULD BE COMPRESSED EXACTLY THE SAME ALL THE WAY AROUND , THE AREAS THAT ARE LESS COMPRESSED ARE YOUR PROBLEM SPOTS ! .. GET THE THINEST THAT YOU CAN BUY ! .. http://www.google.com/search?q=PLAS...=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=c47ba9fccbc37ce6

 

[RaWarrior]

I had thought about doing double gaskets for that reason, in case there's any warping. I don't know how it would have gotten warped though...the first time I took it off and it was glued on there by the original 12 year old gasket I went very slowly and gently, being careful to not gouge the mating surfaces. When tightening and loosening I always go in a criss-cross pattern like for wheel lugs.

I won't be able to really give an update on this for like a week and a half...up at school in Potsdam again....bike is at home in Troy 200 miles away. Bike was at PCW tues-fri last week while I was home for spring break, took it apart saturday to fix the existing leak with cleaning and new gaskets, then found it leaking again when I went for a ride sunday...no time to really do anything about it.

 

[tugla]

i SOMETIMES WITH PROBLEMS LIKE THIS , YOU CAN USE " DOUBLE GASKETS " TWO OF THE SAME , ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER TO ALLOW FOR WARP-AGE ! ... BUT STILL TORQUE TO FACTORY SPEC'S. !

i know what you are saying, also know what you are meaning too say :rofl_200:

 

[tugla]

i " RA " IF YOU WANT TO NO FOR SURE IF YOU COVER & OR SIDE CASE IS WARPED , GET SOME OF THE " PLASTIGAGE " AND PUT IT END TO END ALL THE WAY AROUND THE ENTIRE COVERS SURFACE WITH NO GASKETS AND TIGHTEN IT TO SPEC'S. , THEN TAKE IT RIGHT BACK OFF , IT SHOULD BE COMPRESSED EXACTLY THE SAME ALL THE WAY AROUND , THE AREAS THAT ARE LESS COMPRESSED ARE YOUR PROBLEM SPOTS ! .. GET THE THINEST THAT YOU CAN BUY ! .. http://www.google.com/search?q=PLAS...=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=c47ba9fccbc37ce6

+1, good idea unk:

 

[RaWarrior]

i know what you are saying, also know what you are meaning too say :rofl_200:

Yeah I got that one too....the sex ed teacher said never to do that though lol

 

[COP RUNNER]

i MAKE SURE THAT YOUR CRANK BREATHER ISN'T PLUGGED OR KINKED SO ITS NOT BUILDING UP TO MUCH POSITIVE CRANK PRESSURE ! .. ALSO , WHY CANT YOU CLEAN EVERYTHING OFF AND JUST HOLD THE THROTTLE AT 4,000 RPM'S WITH IT ON THE KICKSTAND UNTIL YOU CAN POSSIBLY SEE THE LEAK ? .. :confused2:

 

[RaWarrior]

Fingers crossed...pulled it all apart again(gaskets came off easy as can be undamaged), cleaned the oil off the surfaces, gaskets, applied threebond to both surfaces, put the gasket back in, slapped it together.

The stuff seems to set up pretty fast....it says to allow at least 1 minute but otherwise unlimited "assembly time". Says it's sealed instantly and can be put back into service right away, no cure time. I had just tipped the bike onto it's right side with a paint can shoved under the right peg so I didn't have to drain the oil again.

Started it up, let it warm up(since it only leaks when hot), shut it down....I'll check 'er in the morning.

It's definitely not coming from the stator grommet(or the trigger coil)...there was no wetness around those. Gotta be that stator gasket. Hopefully the sealant took care of whatever nick/gouge/whatever it's seeping through, though when I looked it over carefully I only found one possible nick in the mating surface, and it was in the front top corner...otherwise it all seemed perfect.

 

[COP RUNNER]

i GOOD LUCK " RA " , KEEP US POSTED !

 

[sdt354]

i GOOD LUCK " RA " , KEEP US POSTED !

+1 tracking along. Hope it works for ya.
Steve-o #4227