| Author | Message | ||
     Fltwistygirl |
The Uly X has developed the unattractive habit of leaking a few drops of oil each day on the floor. It started after the last oil change. I feel it's doing it because it is upset that the XT is getting all the miles put on it AND got the cool topcase lights for Christmas. Greg thinks it's something way more logical, but has not had the time to give it a proper troubleshooting. He changed the o ring on the primary drain, but it is still dripping. Thoughts? Thanks in advance. BeLinda. | ||
| Desert_bird |
Primary gasket, or clutch cable where it enters primary case, or oil cooler fittings, or loose oil cooler, or loose engine oil drain plug? (I know, I know. I had to just put that out there). Probably just angry. | ||
| Hughlysses |
A photo of the drip location would be a big help in suggesting the source. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Thanks for the responses. The loose engine drain plug would have my name written all over it  . Fortunately he did the oil change. I moved bikes around in the garage (it's raining cats n dogs here now) and took a couple pics that he can upload later tonight or in the a.m. If they do not show enough detail, I can roll it out tomorrow and take more pics after my class. With the snowbirds here, it's his super busy season so his free time has been minimal and I really appreciate the input of those in the know. This little leak has not stopped us from riding it, but we are keeping an eye on the oil levels more closely than usual 'til the leak is fixed. | ||
| Griffmeister |
One other possibility is the rear rocker box cover gasket. I had the same thing happen to me, looked like the drain plug was always leaking even though I tightened it and even added thread sealant. The way that the back half of the engine is damn near impossible to see clearly and the path that the oil used to finally trickle down to the ground made this difficult to find until things got really sloppy. Even when I looked through the frame openings behind the air box I still didn't see any oil. Finally had to get my a** on the ground and shine a strong light around behind the rear jug and saw all the oil that was being blown around. Hope that's not it what with having to rotate the engine and all but just saying the symptoms are the same. BTW my leak started at 8K miles so it wasn't that old either. Good luck. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Yikes, Griffmeister. It does kind of sound like the same symptoms. The reason he changed that o ring was because that is where it appeared the leak was originating. The bike has 13 or 14 K miles, so not a ton of those either. Hopefully he has time to post pics this morning and if so, hopefully they help. How big of a PITA project is rotating the engine? After working on four Buells, and tearing his beemer down multiple times, he's generally pretty confident undertaking projects on any of our bikes. From the little I've read, it sounds like a cooler weather (now, not not mid-August in FL) project. Thanks! | ||
| Someday |
FTG, I'd check what Griff said. My '08 has 15K and the fan went. When I got everything apart I saw the rockerbox leak and that's why the fan went. One interesting thing was when I removed the old rockerbox gaskets they were red in color and felt like silicon rubber. The new gasket set, which was dated only a few months ago, was black, didn't feel like silicon, but felt stiffer. Don't know if they updated them but there was a difference. Regards, Don | ||
| Arry |
I don't have a lot of experience,(new owner myself)but I'm hearing that you need to keep the oil near the lower level, or you'll get blowby out the vent. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Ok, here's pic(s) of the leak.      | ||
| Desert_bird |
Sure looks like its coming from that lower primary cover hex bolt. I'd check the tightness on that bolt, wipe all that oil off good and clean, then ride it a bit to see if it keeps seeping from there. | ||
| Griffmeister |
Ah, clean, I think that's what got me in the right direction. Once everything is wet you can't tell where it's coming from. Spray everything with brake clean or other fast drying solvent and wipe dry with rag. Then you can start with a short idle and look right away. If the leak is somewhat aggressive you will start to see a trail, the slower the leak the more run time you need. Once it gets all wet again you're back to square one. I agree that the picture makes the lower cover screw suspect. The gasket seals that screw so if it leaks now then the gasket needs to be replaced, tightening is a temporary fix at best and won't work at worst, especially if the screw isn't loose to begin with. What you could do to test the theory if it's tight and still leaks is remove the screw, clean it and the hole, and reinstall with some silicone sealant. This should hold back the oil for a little while and can be cleaned off fairly easily when the gasket is replaced. Good luck and let us know where you see the trail. | ||
| Ratbuell |
My money's on clutch cable fitting...there's oil in FRONT of, and ABOVE, the primary cover screw. | ||
| Etennuly |
Do not use brake cleaner on any of the powder coated parts. It will melt into and stain the coating. Use a dish detergent or water base cleaner like Simple Green or Purple Power, but they need an immediate rinse to not stain powder coat also. I usually put a little RTV sealer on the threads of the plug bolt when I do mine. Just a small amount will act as a thread locker sealer that will unscrew easily, but you will not have to fear it coming loose from vibration because you did not over tighten when you installed it. Do not let any RTV sealer get on the inside of the cover though. At over 50,000 my clutch cable weeps a little bit, but not enough to drip. Since your problem started after the oil change I would suspect the plug. | ||
| Griffmeister |
Sorry about that, my '08 doesn't have the black cases and seems to tolerate cleaners just fine. My clutch cable is leaking now and there is no question about that, very distinctive. Looks like it's going to be search and destroy. With all the possibilities you may want to do the clean and check a couple of times just to be sure. Keep us posted. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Wow, thanks everyone for the info. We'll start with the simplest fixes first, and work our way into more complex stuff after that. He's not excited about it but is fully prepared to rotate the motor if it comes down to that. Thanks again and we'll keep you posted. B. (Message edited by fltwistygirl on February 12, 2012) (Message edited by fltwistygirl on February 12, 2012) | ||
| Zac4mac |
Get the motor clean and dry. Spray it down with Tinactin till you get a nice white coating. Oil leak will JUMP OUT at you. Clean off excess Tinactin and fix leak. Also, no Athlete's Foot for the Uly for a while... Z | ||
| Tootal |
Get the motor clean and dry. Spray it down with Tinactin till you get a nice white coating. Oil leak will JUMP OUT at you. Clean off excess Tinactin and fix leak. Also, no Athlete's Foot for the Uly for a while... +1. Best way to find a leak. | ||
| Sharkguy |
I'll vote it's the area where the clutch cable goes into the housing. Mine did that and a little tightening on the cable stopped it. Be careful though, it's easy to break that fitting off! | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Tinactin to find a leak? Never heard of that before, but will give it a try. Another item to add to the "bought to use for its unintended purpose" list. What'd I'd like to know is who came up with that as a leak finding solution and how in the world did that come about? Anyway thanks, zac4mac. Sharkguy-good to hear from ya, hope you are healing up! We'll keep ya posted. B. | ||
| Etennuly |
Baby powder will do the same.....and you know how it finds leaks!  |
