Help please

[goldie]

I have oil leaking from the engine, (picture below) would there be a gasket there possibly letting oil leak through? If i need a new gasket, how would i go about changing it.

Thanks
Goldie

I got this picture from google as i dont have my own pictures to show at the moment.

[ribbit]

I'm no expert, but I'd say that's the head gasket leaking?

[goldie]

That's bad news right? I hope its easy to fix. Thanks for the reply

Goldie

[charlietbird]

Not a difficult job, but a lot has to come off to fit it. Never done one on the divvy, but it looks like an engine out affair. I' m sure someone will prove me wrong!

Charlie.

[goldie]

Thanks for the advice Charlie, I wouldn't mind taking it out and fitting new gaskets to it all. Lets hope that i wont need to though lol.

Goldie

[soggybiker]

Hi Goldie

I take it the bike is an XJ600s or N? How many miles on the clock and what year?
How bad is the leak? If it is pouring out then it is very bad news and will probably be cheaper to swap the engine out than fix.

Mine has weeped oil for the last 20,000 miles. I just keep an eye on the oil level and carry on using it. It has never lost enough to be a problem or to do more than mark it's spot when parked. If it gets bad enough to make the back wheel slippery I will stop using it until then it's not really an issue.

No doubt I will offend someones sensibilities but it is the 4th or 5th bike that's got a bit incontinent with age and high milage. None have broken as a result to date.

[goldie]

Mar 7, 2013 18:13:39 GMT soggybiker said:

Hi Goldie

I take it the bike is an XJ600s or N? How many miles on the clock and what year?
How bad is the leak? If it is pouring out then it is very bad news and will probably be cheaper to swap the engine out than fix.

Mine has weeped oil for the last 20,000 miles. I just keep an eye on the oil level and carry on using it. It has never lost enough to be a problem or to do more than mark it's spot when parked. If it gets bad enough to make the back wheel slippery I will stop using it until then it's not really an issue.

Hello , thanks for replying.
The bike is a 97 XJ600S 39k miles, it's not leaving a mess on the floor, it's not even leaking that much. The fact i can see it on the engine, where it has leaked for god knows how long, I'm just curious as to whether i will need to get the big tools out and change something major. I don't need to top up my oil at all. Bike runs great, so if you think i should just leave it then I'm happy with that.

[soggybiker]

I would suspect it has been thrashed at some point or the oil was over filled causing a slight weep due to higher pressure. If it is not losing oil just keep an eye on it and the oil level to assure yourself you don't have a problem.

[teejayexc]

Not nessacelery the head gasket. Where the carbs fit on the back is a common place for a weep that seeps around where you are seeing oil traces.

Either way, it doesn't sound too serious oil use wise, more a case of keeping your eye on it I reckon.

[goldie]

Thanks alot guys, I'll keep an eye on it. ;D

[rowlf]

You may find this helpful. A link to a service manual for free download.

www.carlsalter.com/download.asp?p=1342

An engine breakdown illustration and pictures should help you identify where the leak (or is that leek in your part of the world) is coming from.

Rowlf

[DahDit]

What lies beneath.........



It's not too difficult a job..........

[goldie]

Thanks Rowlf i've just downloaded it and will take a look tomorrow morning

DahDit, Thanks for the picture, im hopeless when it comes to jobs like this. To me it looks very complicated, but im sure with a little help i can try and do something with this. So thank you

Cheers guys

[showaddydadito]

Stop - don't undo anything until you've read this.

I get oil just there on my 1996 SJ600S - but it is dripping from above.

If some of the breather pipes get blocked you get oil in the airbox, which then drips onto the exact place you have indicated.

Take a look around the TPS and see if that's oily too. (that's the electrical gizmo vertically above the place, just under the side of the tank.)

If this is the problem then it is a whole lot less worry than a head gasket, and can be sorted very easily.

[max900]

Mar 8, 2013 8:34:27 GMT showaddydadito said:

Stop - don't undo anything until you've read this.

I get oil just there on my 1996 SJ600S - but it is dripping from above.

If some of the breather pipes get blocked you get oil in the airbox, which then drips onto the exact place you have indicated.

Take a look around the TPS and see if that's oily too. (that's the electrical gizmo vertically above the place, just under the side of the tank.)

If this is the problem then it is a whole lot less worry than a head gasket, and can be sorted very easily.

you beat me to it
i rememebr somebody having this problem a couple of years back
and it turned out to be a breather for some reason sitting up by the air box rather than routing through to the back and bottom of the engine get a torch and look up above the engine to see if theres any oil anywhere there if needs be get a can of clutch/brake cleaner and spray the area gets rid of whats there now then you can keep an eye on it coming back,
i had a similar problem a while ago and ended up using white bathroom sealant in lines to find my leak as there was no leak when stationary only when moving worked out it was the head gasket cost me about £60 for a new one from yamaha and i did the work myself not very difficult just time consuming and no the engine doesnt have to come out

[rowlf]

Goldie

Before you go much further check to see if it is in any way related to the discussion in this thread.

I have resurrected the relevant thread in Tech info for the 600. "oil from breather hose" or here diversionclub.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=600&action=display&thread=4894

I remembered, eventually (always a problem at my age about reading this in a post a while back and did a bit of searching until I found it. I might well need the information myself one day, now that I have a 600.

Good luck.

Rowlf

[goldie]

When i bought the bike, i was told it had only been riden 3 miles a day, which i knew there would be a lot of condensation build up in the engine. Caused all the white gunky stuff to make a pool on the floor and clog up my tubes, so i cleaned out the airbox, (which was 1 inch thick of white gunk) i also cleaned out the surrounding tubes. The bike is now in good working order, apart from this leak.

The weather is rubbish and i don't have a garage to work in, so when its dry i will have a look to see if i get a leak from above the engine.

Thanks alot guys

P.S. Loving the Haines ;D Thanks

[Stooby]

And that photo above is only half the picture... where he's pointing to is the head gasket and all that in the photo has to come off. And it's quite a big job.

But hopefully it's something as simple as oil from the breather or carbs as mentioned.

[CD]

The head gasket is where its marked up and the oil supply o-rings can leak if its been overheated in the past.

As said above if its just a weep ignore it and carry on. If its leaking badly, the job might be do-able with the engine in the frame but before you bother, make sure the engine mount bolts have not seized solid (very likely). If they are immovable, you may be better off not bothering because there will be another problem along soon that may well need the engine taking out.

Time, and short trips will kill bikes much better than actually using them.

[goldie]

Thank you all, it doesn't seem to be leaking anymore (Strange i know) I give it a good clean in the (slats? lol) Maybe it just looked like it was leaking when the bike was hot making it look wet? (Dry Oil Cold...Wet Oil Hot. The last owner really didn't look after the bike ONE BIT.

Cheers guys.

[CD]

Cillit Bang cleans engines really well.