Oil Leak - Breather

[invstor17]

So I took my new to me 01 V11 Sport out for a ride to grab some fresh oil today and ironically came out of the shop to find a pool of oil on the ground below it. After getting it home and cleaning it up I discovered that the oil was coming from the bottom of the bellhousing which gave me a heart attack, the bike only has 400 miles on it and I literally just got it. New rear seal? Clutch seal? Etc, seemed like a major problem for sure. Anyway, after reading some very helpful forum posts here I checked the breather tube and it was completly falling apart at the neck mount, the top of the engine had a light coating of oil all over the area at the top of the bellhousing, so I'm really hoping that hose is the culprit allowing oil in there. I was hoping to get some tips from those who have replaced this tube, on how to do it, I'm ordering a factory replacement tomorrow and I can't imagine how I would get to that upper clamp, it's blocked by a mount. The lower one looks like it would require a very long screwdriver to reach as well. Any help, tool tips, or walk through info from someone who has performed this operation before would be GREATLY! appreciated, I don't have a workshop manual and can't even figure out how to remove the tank to get a better look at this point.

 

Should I do anything to the bellhousing knowing that engine oil has gotten in there? Should I avoid washing this area knowing anything can seep in there now?

 

Thanks so much in advance!!!

[raz]

It never got inside the bellhousing, it just poured down the sides. Cleaning it up should not cause any problems either.

 

It's a tight job. I did it long ago so don't remember it all but I guess you have to remove all screws from that front subframe except the frontmost ones that you just loosen. Then you can pivot it down/forward. If you don't have the extra engine support right between engine and bellhousing, you need to support the engine underneath.

 

I recall having no idea how I would get to it, but just patientally removed stuff until it was possible. It's at least a two beer job.

[Baldini]

That hose does tend to perish. Sounds like the bike has been standing long time?

 

I also replaced long time back & don't recall what I removed but no real problems either. There are threads on this site relating to tank removal, try search, although I can't seem to get much sense out of search facility since recent site revamp. If you have problems ask again.

 

Raz, are you sure oil from breather couldn't enter bell housing? On Tontis, if hose leaked it could run down metal return pipe through gap where it goes thru top of housing. I used to seal with silicon. Aren't 6 speeds same? Anyhow I think even if it did that, it would just run down inner face & out bottom without necessarily contaminating clutch plates.

 

Anyhow, if clutch is working fine, just replace hose & I don't worry about it.

 

& welcome, invstor17, to the involving world of Guzzi - your bike is just doing this to test & encourage your commitment: if it can draw you in, it knows you'll be there for life! Given you didn't throw a fit & scuttle it back to the vendor straight off, sounds to me like it's got you hooked in already.

 

KB

[luhbo]

I had to replace this hose on my bike in 2004 (or was it 2005?), at Jaap's first meeting in NL. The job can be done with onboard tools. Of course the tank had to be removed, and the engine should be cold

 

Hubert

[Tom M]

I replaced mine this past winter. It hadn't failed but since I had the tank off and the jugs off I figured it was a good time to get it before it failed. I have no special tips on replacing the hose but I would advise you to locate the bullet connectors for the sidestand switch and make sure they're nice & tight and don't any have tension on them when the bars are turned as long as you have your tank is off. Lots of people here have had starting problems due to intermittant contact at those connectors.

[invstor17]

Thanks for the advice guys, Hubert it's encouraging to know that it can be done with onboard tools in an emergency! I searched for tank removal and found nothing but after scrolling through the how-to section I spotted it, must have been using the wrong term. Seems like two rear fittings and it's free, so I'll try that and see if removing it makes it easier.

 

Thanks for the tip on the sidestand, I didn't know it even had a switch, after hopping on the other day I went to pull off and noticed that it was down waiting to pogo me off 5 feet later, bike in first gear engine running. is the switch only on later models? my other bike has a suicide stand and I'm afraid I'll forget to put the v11 stand up at one point because of that, can you retrofit?

 

Thanks again!

[Tom M]

The sidestand switch is supposed to prevent you from taking off with it down. Since you were able to take off with the stand down someone must have disabled it (at only 400 miles?). There should be a switch where the sidestand attaches to the engine with wires running up under the tank. Some people disconnect them under the tank and attach a jumper wire between the harness wires so the bike will start regardless of sidestand position. If you can hook it back up again you won't need a self retracting stand.

 

Here's how I pull the tank on my '02 Lemans. It's a little different for the post 02 bikes:

- Close petcock

- Pull the seat then remove the tank bolt

- Loosen hose clamp on gas supply line and slide it off the petcock

- Disconnect fuel level sensor

- Loosen clamp on gas return line and slide it off of fuel pressure regulator

- Lift rear of tank and pull back until regulator hits side cover

- Lift front of tank and slide it forward so regulator will clear side panel

- Lift back of tank about 8" high, reach underneath and pull vent hose and overflow hose off

- Lift the tank off

 

Something else you might want to look at when the tank is off is the one way tipover valve on the drain hose. If it isn't oriented and clamped verticle it can cause tank venting problems. Search on "tank suck" for details.

 

Good luck!

[raz]

Raz, are you sure oil from breather couldn't enter bell housing? On Tontis, if hose leaked it could run down metal return pipe through gap where it goes thru top of housing. I used to seal with silicon. Aren't 6 speeds same? Anyhow I think even if it did that, it would just run down inner face & out bottom without necessarily contaminating clutch plates.

I assume you're right it's possible, I wasn't aware of that. But there's no reason to expect the worst: My hose made a complete mess on the outside but when I later replaced my clutch there was not a trace of oil inside. And like you say, it shouldn't cause much harm anyway.

 

Some people disconnect them under the tank and attach a jumper wire between the harness wires so the bike will start regardless of sidestand position.

I did the opposite: My pre-historic V11 didn't have the switch from factory. As I was 100% sure it would bite me some day, I retrofitted one. But the kit did not include a neutral relay so I couldn't run the engine on side stand at all. This was more annoying than I thought it would be, so I just retrofitted the relay too (actually I did it yesterday!) using the V11 schematic.

[invstor17]

Just a follow-up thank you to everyone for their advice! Fairly simple change out, Seems to have fixed the problem.

 

As far as the side stand, it turned out to be missing a bolt that actuates the cut off switch, a 5mm bolt and nut to cinch it down was all that it needed, now when the stand is down the bolt trips the switch and kills the engine when it's put in gear.

 

Thanks again!