is my oil leaking?

[shinobi3432]

I seem to have found a bit of grim of oil building at the front of my bike. its not such a big blob as i believe it to be, but should i be worried about it being around the head gasket?

[mykat]

I imagine the proper thing to do is to tear the bike apart and replace the gasket, but for what it's worth, my 93 750 has a couple of very slow leaks like that and I don't consider it enough of a problem to warrant that much work.

Also, both my 92 camaro and my brother's 86 trans am have slow leaks like that, but we've been driving them around without problems for years.

I would wipe it and see how long it takes to get gummed up again. If it isn't dripping and it takes a week or two to get dirty, I wouldn't worry about it.

[MrBrant]

If you leave your bike parked for a week, do you have a small oil puddle under it?

[mammut89]

I would degrease that thing get it nice and clean and shiny. then let it dry and run the bike. see how much if any new oil is comming. if its just sweating a little I wouldnt bother doing anything with it because the cost of new gaskets alone is probably same as a complete engine from craigslist

[shinobi3432]

Ok, ill give it a clean and check how long it takes to gum up. There's no oil pools under it at all when Ileave it so Idont think its leaking that fast. What would you recommend to degrease it with? Or just wipe it down with a cloth?

[ygolohcysp]

Isn't that where the holes from the spark plugs leads to? It's to drain in case that space would fill up. I would check your spark plug boots. It may be time to tighten the valve cover, or replace just the valve cover gasket.

[Kreylyn]

Yes, the drain holes come out there for the plug wells

Krey

[hardlydangerous]

I agree. pull the plug wires and check for any signs of oil in the plug wells.
Thats where 95% of the oil leaks come from on most inline 4's