Oil drip from front left sump bolt.

[Grim]

1 hour ago, Guzzimax said:

Where did you source your Roper plate kit from?

I got mine from @Pressureangle

 

thanks everyone, 

[Pressureangle]

Thanks guys, 

It's been more rewarding than I expected to be able to keep these plates available and keep the cost down. 

As for the leaky bolt, if it's one of the plate bolts it can only be as Lucky Phil says, I think all of the wide joint bolts are blind holes or outside the oil box. I wouldn't think warpage is a problem, but I just had the sump off my '89 Mille GT and the gasket surface was hammered by somebody who must not have known there were the 4 hidden bolts inside the perimeter. It took some time with a large mill file to get it flat enough to make me feel good about it sealing. 

Then I forgot to tighten those 4 inner bolts, and discovered so by finding one of them laying under the bike after the test ride. 

[Weegie]

Just to add to I think @Lucky Phil 's suggestion is also imginative and very cunning.

If it won't stop, get a crush washer onto it and that would do the job I reckon, that's real thinking outside the box.

I would have thought a copper washer would work too.

[Grim]

It's an idea that Yamaha went with on the xs650.. the various bolts holding the case together have copper washers on them, they are a great source of misery... But replacing the copper washers holds the oil in for a while.

[Grim]

Do you know what, I think there is a hairline crack where the bolt face is at a right angle to the sump plate..

I cleaned everything, smeared hylomar on the sump plate, new gasket, tightened in a star pattern from the inside to the outside, let it all settle. Filled with oil and..... Leak in exactly the same place. 

Maybe I need a new sump plate, or could I use some liquid metal epoxy stuff?

Oil can't run uphill, right? I covered it in talc and the watched it seep, it seems to start higher than the bolt itself. Not easy to get a clear shot

[Chuck]

I would think a good TIG guy could fix it. V it out with a die grinder, pre heat, clamp it flat and weld.

[Grim]

... now I don't know... I took the bolt out and cleaned it, and found a really embedded second washer... Is that normal, the other bolt faces are flush as far as I can see, this one may have been way over tightened at some point, pushing the washer into the metal?

I've clearly disturbed something by taking the sump plate off, as it wasn't leaking before, but it was hard to remove the plate as it was insta-gasket-ed on pretty hard.

I can't really see a crack here now it's all cleaned.

Edit: I've got the sump plate off again, I don't think there can be a crack, the inside is smooth and there's alot of metal there. 

The sump plate could be warped a bit? Maybe I should tighten that one first, or use a thicker gasket? 

[Pressureangle]

Let's have a photo of the gasket surface. If you have a good straightedge, or a good flat piece of glass, or even a surface plate to check flatness that would be good too. 

Your photo isn't clear enough after posting to see details, but I see what could be a crack. If it's flat and the gasket surface doesn't have any defects, you have to verify the crack- you'll need a magnaflux or dam it up enough to make a puddle and leave it sit with acetone in it to see if it creeps through. Not an easy task.

[Chuck]

Possibly wet above the sump in that picture?

[Grim]

39 minutes ago, Chuck said:

Possibly wet above the sump in that picture?

Good spot, but it seeped a bit when I took the bolt out.

 

Excuse the bits of gasket, here is the offending area

 

 

[Pressureangle]

There's no obvious defect in the photos. Consider the possibility that the threads in the upper portion have a crack or porosity. I'd have to find the root for peace of mind, but even if that's the case (no pun intended) I'd just use a high quality thread sealer like Gasoila, and let it ride. There is no pressure to speak of down there, and as mentioned above oil level can be a contributor. While the bottom is off, check your dipstick against the Roper Plate to see if you actually have oil standing on the joint at rest. On my '97 Sport, the high mark on the dipstick is actually just at the top of the plate, so I run at about halfway between the low and high marks.

[Chuck]

^^^^ What Pressureangle sez..

[Grim]

I had a thought, whilst I was scraping gasket of my middle sump plate, the big kickstand bolt (which is huge) is now a Roper plate further away from the smaller allen head bolt that centres the kickstand. 

I had a job getting it back in, and the bolt must now be at a slight angle, which would technically be forcing that corner up towards the upper bolt. 

That could be a culprit for opening the gap up where the lower sump meets it, making the gap the gasket has to fill slightly bigger there?

 

What did other people do?

[Pressureangle]

1 hour ago, Grim said:

I had a thought, whilst I was scraping gasket of my middle sump plate, the big kickstand bolt (which is huge) is now a Roper plate further away from the smaller allen head bolt that centres the kickstand. 

I had a job getting it back in, and the bolt must now be at a slight angle, which would technically be forcing that corner up towards the upper bolt. 

That could be a culprit for opening the gap up where the lower sump meets it, making the gap the gasket has to fill slightly bigger there?

 

What did other people do?

Mine was generous enough that it wasn't an issue, but what I'd do is take a round jeweler's file and open the small hole as necessary. 

[Grim]

I used a rotary tool to enlarge the lower kickstand mounting hole, this took a few goes to get to a point where the m6 bolt didn't squeak going in (I hate that noise). I also got a spare sump plate from Steve (on here somewhere!), I realised mine was warped, as holding the spare on a pane of glass there was no wobble, whereas mine could be rocked slightly from corner to corner.

Those 2 things together have stopped my leak, so I am happy. Now to go out for a ride!