oil leak from head not rocker cover???

[Turpin Crock]

Hi,

 

I just bought an 02 model V11 sport and it is leaking a little oil from around the rocker cover area behind the head under the tank. I haven't had the tank off as I only discovered that it wasn't the rocker cover last night after replacing the rocker gasket and not curing it.

I'm new to guzzis and haven't got a comprehensive manual but there seems to be some pipes behind there among which might be the culprit. I won't get a chance to do anything about this for a week or so as I'm away with work. I'm very curious as to what it is.

 

Anybody got any ideas?

[Guzzirider]

There is a stainless oil feed pipe to the back of the head- is this secured properly?

 

Guy

[Murray]

There is also an allen head plug under each rocker cover that allows acess to the inside head bolts it is sealed by an o-ring. They are often overtightened at the factory and can leak.

[Guest ratchethack]

Turpin, if this is wot it sounds like, I had the same thing a couple of years ago. It's not a serious thing, and it's evidently not common enough to be well understood in the V-11 community. My inquiries here along with a photo of the weepage with tank off -- it's on the inboard side of the head -- got responses suggesting casting voids as a possibility, but I'm nearly certain this isn't the situation. In my case, I had eliminated the internal o-ringed "covers" that allow access to the inboard cylinder head nuts as a source. If these leak, there's no visible evidence possible on the outside, as they only seal off an internal oil gallery from the inside of the rocker box itself.

 

There are 8 o-rings, 4 per head, on the head studs that can evidently seep a bit under certain conditions. Mine weeped a few times (as opposed to a seep ) on the left head, only on a few longish trips on really hot days, and hasn't leaked since, so I let 'er go.

[Turpin Crock]

It sounds like the oil feed at the back of the head will be the first thing to check when I get the tank off next week. It seems like that is the location where the oil is coming from and I have eliminated the rocker cover(I hope).

[Baldini]

...internal o-ringed "covers" that allow access to the inboard cylinder head nuts... If these leak, there's no visible evidence possible on the outside, as they only seal off an internal oil gallery from the inside of the rocker box itself....

 

Not sure about that. If same as old bikes, that cap simply covers access to centre top head nut which is open to atmosphere. No oil galleries. But I haven't opened a V11 so it may be different?

 

KB

[jrt]

Not sure about that. If same as old bikes, that cap simply covers access to centre top head nut which is open to atmosphere. No oil galleries. But I haven't opened a V11 so it may be different?

 

KB

 

Could be. I've never seen that particular nut (cap) leak, but they are always over-torqued.

 

Turpin, did you put a thin film of oil on the new gasket before installing it?

 

Also, don't be too quick to decide where the oil is coming from. Oil migrates easily and it can be hard to find the true source. Give the entire area a good cleaning then put a thin layer of talc on the area. Drive the bike some, until it starts leaking again. The talc will soak up the oil and allow you to pinpoint to leak. That's a trick I learned from this board, I think.

[Guest ratchethack]

Not sure about that. If same as old bikes, that cap simply covers access to centre top head nut which is open to atmosphere. No oil galleries. But I haven't opened a V11 so it may be different?

 

KB

Keith, this opening to atmosphere in the heads of the round-fin motors doesn't exist on the square-fin motors. When I re-torqued my heads, I had the rocker assemblies out and o-ring covers off for access to the socket-head cylinder head bolts (or is it socket-head specialty cap nuts of some kind? Can't recall.) No matter. The covers do NOT seal off to atmosphere. This was confirmed by Greg Field in my post (with photo) on this question.

[Turpin Crock]

Jrt,

 

Thats a clever trick with the talc but would you need to use something to make the talc stay on the metal like a light film of clean oil or something?

[mike wilson]

Jrt,

 

Thats a clever trick with the talc but would you need to use something to make the talc stay on the metal like a light film of clean oil or something?

 

 

Exactly not. 8-) Enough talc will stay on the clean metal for it to hold the oil. If you oil the metal beforehand, you won't be able to distinguish that from the leak. Or, rather, weep. This will only work with those very light, hard to track leaks that we all know and love. Don't try to find the oil leak from your Bonneville rocker box with this trick. Unless you have access to industrial quantities of talc.

[jrt]

Unless you have access to industrial quantities of talc.

 

How far to the cliffs of Dover?

[Turpin Crock]

This is not one of those genteel weeps. It would make a triumph primary case (never mind the rocker cover) look as tight as the door of the space shuttle (maybe thats not a good example )

 

I had a couple of Triumphs in my youth. As they said it was a good sign if they leaked oil because that meant there was oil in em.

[pete roper]

There are six studs that hold the heads and barrels on. if you stand beside the bike with the rocker cover off and look down on the top of the head/rocker gear there are the four long studs that come up through the rocker carrier that are held on with 17mm nuts there is one just underneath the spark plug on the first shorter stud and then there is a sleeve nut underneath a plug on the opposite, inboard side of the head. The plug itself has a 10mm hexhole in it for an allen key and you have to remove this to get at the sleeve nut.

 

The plug itself is sealed by an o-ring and these can leak. If oil is gushing out though it sounds more likely that the problem may be the crimped end of the oil feed hose to the rockers has come loose and is leaking. try undoing it and seeing if the fitting on the hose will spin. If so it's almost certainly where the leak is coming from. If so replace the hose. It may just be that the hose has come loose though so check that first.

 

Pete

[neville briggs]

Unfortunatly I had a simalar problem with my 2000 V11. I bought the bike with very low milage and the problem should have been fixed under warrenty. The previous owner had been fobbed off with various band aid fixes like oil line replacements, gaskeys ect.

I rode it for a couple of thousand klms before I got peeved off with getting oil down the side of the bike and on me.

I handed the bike over to my trusted Guzzi doctor and what was found was not for the faint hearted.

Down the oil return hole there was a huge bubble in the casting, which in it's self wouldn't have been to much of a problem had most of the area around it not been pourous. Gulp.

The oil return hole was drilled out slighty the hole was filled with glue and an aluminium tube was shrunk in to create a new oil return hole.The head was bolted back on and the bike taken for a ride. It still leaked though not as much as before.

The whole cylinder head was then posted off to a specialist mob who force some type of glue into the pourous parts of the casting I think under a vacum making it oil tight. Again the Head was bolted back on and bingo no oil leak. A very happy chappy though not too happy having to shell out on what should have been fixed under warrenty.

It's a complete bummer in this day and age that someone can get it so wrong. It used to happen years ago and it's still happening today. However as long time Guzzi owners you tend to get on with it and sort out these niggles cause as we all know when the bike is running well and your on a great peice of road nothing else comes close.

 

Neville Briggs