!$%@* oil leak!

[Katana1100]

Gettin really frustrated, replaced the valve cover gasket and spark plug hole gaskets and it still leaks(seeps) oil just enough to make a little puff of smoke when it hits the hot header. I cleaned and smoothed the head surface,strait edged the rocker cover,tourqued the bolts, and tada! still leaking.does anybody use sealer on their stuff? i'm alittle afraid to. any opinions out there in katana land?

[diverdwn8]

Is the gasket pinched?

[Katana1100]

no, it was in groove,tapped in with a plastic mallet

[md86]

You sure you know where it's dripping from ? Mine leaked from one of the plug well gaskets , and it dripped out the weep hole in the front of the engine .....

[jetmerritt]

I heard from someone that the Kat valve covers can crack very easy, is there any possibility it has a hair line crack in the edge somewhere?

J

[Katana1100]

I heard from someone that the Kat valve covers can crack very easy, is there any possibility it has a hair line crack in the edge somewhere?

J

i suppose anything possible,it coming out right by the cam chain in the center of the head,im pretty sure it moved since i replaced the gasket,guess i'll have to pull it apart again (sigh) and put rtv on it

[jetmerritt]

(sigh) and put rtv on it

Be really careful with RTV on bikes, oil passages are very small and from what I understand any little bead that squeezes out on the inside of the engine and falls off can block cam oil feed passages and so forth, something I was warned about once. I was advised never to use RTV on a bike engine, I don't know what other guys here would say, but I think it is good logic not to do.

I am auto tech and I know of fluorescent dye for oil tracing. You use a UV light to trace it. You put the stuff in and then start the engine and just watch the affected area. We were using it at GM for tracing porous engine blocks on the ecotech engines, they would seep oil right through the block on the rear of the engine. When you start to see a glow you can pinpoint the leak very easily, even if the area is already soaked with oil. I don't know if you know anybody with a UV light but I am pretty sure you can buy the stuff at any auto parts store in a single use tube.

As for the "cracked valve cover" scenario I presented, a guy I met with a bandit 1200 told me he cracked his valve cover with a spark plug hole grommet out of position. I am not sure of your exact engine, it was just a suggestion.

J

[HemiKat]

Lemme know what works, because I cant get mine to seal either. 2 gaskets and 3 installations, with and without RTV and it still leaks.

[Steveb]

I was advised never to use RTV on a bike engine, I don't know what other guys here would say, but I think it is good logic not to do.

I think it's good logic that the next stop after the oil pump is the oil filter.

[md86]

oil pump pickup strainer . I've found a couple chunks of RTV in there . My engine still runs at over 75k miles . Did a top end rebuild (new pistons , rings , & cylinder) , but not because of lack of oil .