Leaky oil fill plug

[macx]

Seems I've read a post or maintenance tip article some time ago about stopping that seepage.

When I changed plugs today, I even found some oil in the plug well, although just near the outside end.

But still creates somewhat of a mess.

Didn't I read that there's a thicker O ring that can be put in there? Have looked at a couple of regular
hardware places but only saw the standard O rings.

Any tips appreciated!

[hawkdad]

I just finished a 5400 mile ride out to the west coast and back over the last two weeks. Had the exact same issue. At constant highway speeds... 3500/4000 rpms for hours... (getting across the midwest in search of mountain passes) seepage past the the plug... and the mess. In Eugene, OR (at the folks' place) went to a shop called Christopher Seals.... they are a industrial seals/rings shop. Rode up with the bike walked in with the plug in hand and explaine the situation. The guy there helped me fit the seal/o-ring. He said it was a Buna... made for higher operating temps. The whole 3k back... not a drop leaked out. best 2 dollars spent on the whole trip. That and the SO's elastic hair tie I swiped for a cruise control.

[macx]

That's quite a ride! Last year wife & I have driven (car, not bike) from central MO to central CA and back,
we couldn't have begun to handle all those hours on a bike! Yup, lots of nothing but miles and miles before
you get out into central CO, or a ways into WY. From there out, lots of gorgeous mountains.

Eugene's beautiful country, been thru there several times back when I had a small over-the-road outfit and
when I was working along the Columbia River a few miles west of Umatilla (Boardman) on a power plant
project and my wife came out for a long weekend and we toured Oregon.

ANYWAY, yes am familiar with Buna-N type material, incl O rings. Just don't have any industrial places
I'm aware of locally to walk in and get a fit. Was hoping to find an exact size - thickness would be the key,
I can measure the dia (guess I can with the thickness, too, for that matter - I've got dial calipers come to
think of it, huh?) then look in McMaster-Carr, they're sure to have something.

Was hoping somebody would chime in with "go to XXX and get such and such a size and thickness" but I
guess that would be too easy!

I hope to retire in E central CA in the Sierra foothills in a couple years, our older daughter has a business
out there in a beautiful town at the 4,000 ft elev between S Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. In the meantime,
another trip out there next spring. Have you been thru E Utah on I-70 coming out of CO? Interesting,
rugged landscape. A couple of my favorites, though, is I-70 thru Glenwood Canyon in Western CO, or the
road between Lolo Pass (SW of Missoula MT) and Lewiston ID - spectacular scenery and bike roads!

Cheers!

[owldaddy]

Wiping the O ring and the seat in the valve cover with a paper towel to get them totally dry helps. It should stop leaking. Quick way to get rid of the mess while out on the road.

[bimrluvr]

There are 2 gaskets that need to be wiped off and reseated, preferably after smearing them with blue Permatex gasket sealer. The O-ring on the cap is the easy one. The other is on the outside of the filler neck seating against the valve cover. If you can, pull the entire filler neck straight up and out of the valve cover and wipe and reseat that O-ring as well. Either pull by inserting a finger and pulling straight up, or remove valve cover and pop it out that way. Both O-rings should be replaced at some point anyway but wiping and smearing with the blue stuff goes a long way.

[macx]

Thanks for those helpful hints.

There are usually rational, inexpensive ways of defeating this
"buy a new custom one for $50 to $70" mentality.

[hawkdad]

Sorry about not having the correct size... but yeah... got to Moto -Techniques and buy theirs for 50 bucks... The ride thru Kansas... well... let's just say it wasn't like the passes thru OR, CA, UT and CO...

[toolinalong]

how many miles on the bike?

At some point you have to replace the plug and it's insert, as they warp or something with age, and even new gaskets don't fix the problem (at least that is what happened to me, and what I remember others saying).

I put a metal one from A & S in this season, so at around 80k miles. others have put theirs in sooner, I seem to remember maybe around 60k or so.

[macx]

I got it later last summer with 25k on it, now it's about 31k.

I took a longer than usual drive the other day, about 90 miles
round trip, and noticed it the most later in that trip. There was
even a small bit of oil puddling around the fill plug.

I usually haven't noticed that on my mostly 30 mile and under trips.

[toolinalong]

yea. that is too early to have to replace the whole thing, you just need a new o-ring.

the whole thing can be replaced for under $10 though; filler pipe, o-ring, oil cover lid, o-ring..

http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/ ... spid=47984

I did the metal one simply for looks being as I am so vain.....

[ProductUser]

If you don't get all of the oil off the cap o-ring and the seat, it will leak again. I've been down this road quite a bit. Use brake cleaner or some other solvent that will not dissolve the o-ring to completely remove ANY traces of oil. So, spray some brake cleaner on a paper towel and remove all of the oil from the plastic insert. Take the cap and its o-ring outside and spray it down. Also, do this when the bike is cold. I have been using the same o-ring, cap and insert for some 60k miles.

PW

[CycleRob]

"I have been using the same o-ring, cap and insert for some 60k miles."

Same here. Yes, it did weep a tiny amount when I first got the bike and was documented by me here about 8 years ago. After cleaning the O-rings and getting a tiny leak again, it all got taken off to see, under a high power magnification, exactly what was causing the leak. Easy to find!! The black plastic parts are made by casting in 2 semicircular molds. The top fins, O-ring channel and quarter turn lugs on it dictate that's how it must be made. The seam where they come together leaves a small ridge called "flash". That flash exists inside the O-ring channel. It's very slight, but it's there. It's like slamming your seatbelt in the car door. The gasket can't and won't seal. Using a sharp blade, I scraped the flash away with the blade almost perpendicular to the surface without going below the surrounding surface. Easy does it. A nice, all flat surface now.

Align and tap the outer ring into the valve cover with a like diameter 1/2" drive socket and rubber mallet sets it into place. No more leak!!

[kantuckid]

Sorry about not having the correct size... but yeah... got to Moto -Techniques and buy theirs for 50 bucks... The ride thru Kansas... well... let's just say it wasn't like the passes thru OR, CA, UT and CO...

Let me get this right; somebody from Iowa is complaining about the "ride through Kansas"? That's interesting! I guess if you like cornfields better than vista horizons and the 265 days a year of sunshine that Kansas offers, you are legit...

[snowprick]

There are 2 gaskets that need to be wiped off and reseated, preferably after smearing them with blue Permatex gasket sealer. The O-ring on the cap is the easy one. The other is on the outside of the filler neck seating against the valve cover. If you can, pull the entire filler neck straight up and out of the valve cover and wipe and reseat that O-ring as well. Either pull by inserting a finger and pulling straight up, or remove valve cover and pop it out that way. Both O-rings should be replaced at some point anyway but wiping and smearing with the blue stuff goes a long way.

This is the correct solution.