My First Oil Leak

[Nihontochicken]

My first oil leak (I think, I hope!) just started recently, originating from the lower edge of the left cylinder valve cover.  I checked the bolts, which were not loose, but not tightened very well at the bottom.  I torqued them down, but no cigar, the leak continued.  Removal of the cover revealed the problem:

Close up of the culprit:

It appears that with the lower bolts not properly tightened, the gasket edge migrated away from the mating surfaces to the inside until a flow path was opened.  So this leads to a few questions.  If repositioning the gasket fails (which I anticipate), where is the quickest and/or cheapest place to get a replacement gasket, or would I be as well off to cut my own from stock gasket material?  Also, I noticed all the hold down bolts were the same size except the top rear bolt, which is markedly shorter.  Is this correct, or a Bubba mistake?  Also one and only one steel washer dropped free from one of the bolt seats.  Should all, some or none of these Allen head hold down bolts use washers?  TIA for any and all enlightenment! 

[footgoose]

New gaskets are in order. MGcycle has them BUT, wait for someone else to chime in with that type/brand of better gasket. I can't remember it, but I need to get some too.

[Lucky Phil]

34 minutes ago, footgoose said:

New gaskets are in order. MGcycle has them BUT, wait for someone else to chime in with that type/brand of better gasket. I can't remember it, but I need to get some too.

these are what you need. Don't waste your time with anything else. These metal core/base gaskets are light years ahead of anything else even fancy silicon gaskets thats why modern engines all use them where gaskets are required. May as well take advantage of new technology such as it is them being around for like 20 years. 

Ciao

[80CX100]

Do yourself a favor and pick up a couple of pair of Valopini valve cover gaskets & you should be good for life.

Pete and other guzzi gurus have been singing their praises forever; it took me a while to line up a supply of them, but I like them so far.

They are the heavier material black ones, that I think are reinforced with wire or metal in the core. They should be available from MGCycle or AF1 possibly other suppliers or shops near you.

I've used factory MG green ones,beige ones black ones, I even had a Griso that came with a set of Real Gasket ? silicon (PO had over tightened); they all leaked at some point of time.

If you're handy and have the material, you could certainly make up a set to keep you mobile. 

I've had trouble before with the gaskets moving around on installation, a few dabs of grease helps hold them in place for me, I've also found tightening them too much and crushing the gasket can cause leaks.

Good luck

Kelly

[80CX100]

3 minutes ago, Lucky Phil said:

these are what you need. Don't waste your time with anything else. These metal core/base gaskets are light years ahead of anything else even fancy silicon gaskets thats why modern engines all use them where gaskets are required.  

Ciao

Hey Phil; I was typing as you were posting.

                Tks for getting the right spelling, lol

[stewgnu]

Duuude you broke your v11 oil-cherry!

mine’s misting a wee bit all over the place apparently-  rust be gone!  Haha

[stewgnu]

But seriously, where the hell is it coming from... I was looking today and it seems to be coming from higher up, I changed the top hose... 

[docc]

6 minutes ago, stewgnu said:

But seriously, where the hell is it coming from... I was looking today and it seems to be coming from higher up, I changed the top hose... 

Check, also, the O-ring and seal the mating surface of the distributor blanking plate . . .

You can always clean it all up and apply a coating of foot powder to see what gets discolored first.

[Nihontochicken]

Thanks for the responses so far.  Again, are all the cover bolts supposed to be the same size, and do any/all utilize washers?  Inquiring minds want to know! 

[docc]

11 hours ago, Nihontochicken said:

Thanks for the responses so far.  Again, are all the cover bolts supposed to be the same size, and do any/all utilize washers?  Inquiring minds want to know! 

Affirmative: all same length. And overtightening is likely to "squoze" the gasket out of the contact surfaces.

Someday (I'm pretty sure) I'll need to replace my originals . . .

[Scud]

If I recall correctly, the top bolts have washers, but the lower bolts, which go through the head guards, do not have washers.

[Chuck]

The Kid saved an early 1100 Spot a few years ago. For it's "shake down" run we rode to the Carolinas and camped/moteled for a week. It was the first time he really rode it in anger and it sucked the valve cover gasket inward. Cost him a t shirt to do a field repair at camp. When I asked Pete about it, he said that was common with the "factory" gaskets. You can see where it is sucked in between the bottom two screws.

 2017-06-04_01-30-18 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr

[gstallons]

IF you own a used bike , the valve cover gaskets may be wrong or improperly installed .  Do a proper valve adjustment and use the proper gaskets or a good substitute . I used a Loctite ( can't remember the part #  515 maybe ) anaerobic gasket maker on mine . Didn't have gaskets at the time .

[LowRyter]

I've had so many leaks now that I just carry an extra set of gaskets with me when I travel.  I've had the silicone ones have their ears eaten off too.

[pete roper]

Just get a pair of the Valpollini type. They work for any squarefin 2Valver.