Forum

[Peter 53]

Good day all,


I have had an intermittent leak from the left hand side of the ex. rocker box for a couple of weeks. It is a standard homemarket 500 Bullet from 1999. Is it at all likely that there is a blockage somewhere and oil is filling the box up instead of draining down from there? At first I thought it was because one of the studs holding the cover on was loose (thread stripped - I'm not lucky with these ALAN R) but then I started looking at the oil flow diagram. Has this happened to anyone else? In any case I will do an oil change at the weekend and see if anything untoward materialises. This may be related to some strange noises from the crankcase, which is also an intermittent thing? Any advice would be appreciated. 

[Beezabryan]

OIl drains down a big impossible to block hole to the tappet cover. Nothing more gasket replacement required or if no spare gasket lying around the judicious application of silicon snot to re-seal

[Norm]

 Not silicone please, a bit breaks off and gets stuck in a oil way and it's all over, if you don't have a gasket cut one from a piece of cardboard. It souldn't take much to seal as the oil up there is only splash with a bit of crank pressure

[Mark M]

Peter, I had a problem like this which was caused by one of the tunnels that the retaining screws live in (if you see what I mean!) having a casting blow hole  in it. I'd check the casting for porosity if the gasket isn't the problem.


REgards, Mark 

[Craig]

Hi pete,


Do you mean the top tappet covers?


"Warm the Bike up , Take tank and Tappit cover off , ten start her up,


You Should see everything Flowing & Working OK?...."


Till ya carb runs dry...


If All Seems Ok, Clean up the Cover faces a good wipe down should do, Wiipe down the Old Gasgit, a snear of Blue Hermite and assemble, Spanner £Carefull" Tight.


This is not rocket sience, and provideing they is some oil in the System no harm is done looking and playing at certain points in the oil route.


Q: So IF ITS Leaking How Much are you toping up?


if a Bit "dont worry"


Now purely off the Cuff (Teenage years ) remark of my youth on an old Brit Bike!:


If it leaks a bit, it shows there is oil in there and its getting up to pressure,toping up a cup full a week/month, gives it an extra oil change?


 


Cheers All Craig....


 

[Craig]

Hi Pete,


Just re read your Leter,


IF You really think you have a Top End Blockage?


Other Than Check top end running like i said...


Remover tappit adjuster Cover with Engine Running (Push Rod tubes)and you can see Oil Driping ,Flowing down (Never as Much as you think they should be)..And Do this check when the engine is warm or Elase you will be waiting (a seemingly) Long time till any gets Round..


 


All IMHO ;0)

[Beezabryan]

You know and I know Norm but I did say judicious.


Normally I would not use silicone but when needs must and when nothing else is available yes I have used it and with care.


The problem with snot of any colour is the way most people trowel it on tighten a joint & wipe off the mess on the outside without realising there is an equal amount squidged out on the inside.


My favoured is Welseal, expensive but a little goes a long way.

[simon]

They can need the mating faces resurfacing too. I had a distinct gap in mine which I removed with 100 grit wet and dry on a flat table. Also like all things silicone in moderation is the biz. Over use or anywhere there is petrol is disaster. 

[Norm]

 Hi Brian,


      I know you mentioned judicious but one of the problems with forums is it's not just the people you are responding to but there is always plenty of lookers not posters who think thats a good idea and go a dump heaps of the stuff around and end up in trouble. Best thing is to not use silicone on any part of the motor except the exhaust . And a lot of people wouldn't know what judicious meant. I must read up on it lol

[Alan R]

Hello Peter53 ------not your lucky day, is it mate ??Is this the same one you took off recently ??  Like Mark M I had a Bullet 65 that also leaked a small but annoying amount of oil from just the same place, which turned out to be a small blow hole in the head casting having made a connection between the push-rod tunnel and SPACE--the final frontier !!! Oh sorry, wrong programme. The oil in the rocker boxes is about to drain down a hole of about 1" diam approx and there are 2 off them so NO, not at all likely it's a blockage. ( This IS rocker science after all LoL). As the others are saying it's probally the gasket / flatness / tightness / uneven pull-down / curse on your first-born or}---  combo. of those. If you are going to try flattening the mating faces give some thought to the opposite side--ie the cyl head. You can't do one without the other. Wasn't there a song about that ?? Sod's law will be waiting for you to be 3/4's of the way up over those studs when you'll tear the gasket---so order some up anyway. Dammit all they're cheap enough and there's nothing worse than a 1/2-botted job (Moderated,  in case Cath is reading this-----).If you do use a gasket sealant remeber to de-grease all surfaces first. Wellseal is a non-setting compound and you MUST follow those instructions or it just won't work proprly ie allow at least 5 mins. in the open air before closing that joint. Just out of interest there's no such thing as "tappets" in enginering. It's a slang term for the cam followers. I agree with Norm's view on over application of sealants. Finally------I have a very reliable Tig-welder. Stops leaks --INSTANTLY.  Good luck