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she weeps and now has a nose drip

Re:she weeps

RJVB wrote:
Heh, what do you do when you find your bicycle tyre somewhat soft one day after not using it for a week? Take out the tube to check for a leak, or Inflate it and ride a number of times before you resign yourself to bucket duty? ;)[/quote]

Well, for one the tyres on all my Guzzi's are tubeless so taking them off won't be much of a help.
I would not start a forum topic about it either but have it replaced ASAP.
 
Re:she weeps

Medium strength loctite (blue) would seal the threads if there was a leak. In any event, this is surely easily repairable.
 
Re:she has wept

Thanks, Kai, that was my impression too.

Status update. I went down to clean out everything as well as I could. Note to self: spraying brake cleaner fluid in a little hole like that really works. Stand back more next time.

After cleaning and drying, I fired up the engine, and revved it. Not too much nor too long (being 2 levels down in a parking lot), but no oil appeared immediately, even with the 'plug' (bolt) out. Probably quite expectably so - how long does it take for oil pressure to reach working levels, up there in the heads?.

Just one thing. Those bolts are indeed a bit too long IMHO. Screwed all the way in, they stick out just the thickness of the spark cover. Which does have a bushing in the bolt holes, but still. I could well imagine doing damage when tightening these bolts down too much - better to grind them down 2mm or so.
 
Re:she has wept

Well, I be damned. After some 90km of good flogging, got the bolt off (looked clean), stuck the allan key in, and took it out covered with oil over about 3-4mm. BUMMER. That probably means there's a small crack at the bottom, consistent with my remark above ... but is it going to be visible when I pull the cover (= when I find someone equipped and willing to give me a hand)...

About sealing with loctite: how to go about this in such a way that one can still remove the bolt afterwards? Blue loctite is something that one heats to undo a bolt, no? Then how well will it seal a leak in a place that gets pretty damn hot??
 
Re:she weeps

RJVB

Hylomar non-setting sealer is resistant to heat, oil and petrol. Comes in small tubes. Blue. Been using it forever. Never disappointed.
 
Re:she weeps

Thanks, Graham. I showed the issue to a neighbour here at the countryside, who's helping us out getting Anne's scooter going again (amazing story in itself). When I'd convinced this mechanic with 40 years of working on cars and bikes under his belt that oil shouldn't be travelling across metal ;) he suggested to put some *green* Loctite to hold the bolt and stop the leak. Never heard about this colour... but I like green B)
 
Re:she weeps

Rene, a simple solution would be to use PTFE (teflon) tape to seal the thread:


Click

This tape can be bought in any hardware store.

Later you can remove the valve cover and have the crack welded to solve the problem for good. The bolt securing the cover should be M5 x 16mm.
 
Re:she weeps

That'd be another (good) idea, indeed.

Yes, they're about 16mm long. For me, that's too long, as that means they're smug against the bottom of the hole they screw into, with the plug cover installed. If for any reason they get screwed in farther than they can normally go, you'd get a crack, like I apparently have right now.
 
Re:she weeps

I second the recommendation for Hylomar. Seals surfaces without locking things up, and it's easy to clean up years later when things change. Doesn't harden like Permatex and other sealants. I've heard that a similar product is Yamabond, or a similar name.

It can be hard to get in the US. I think it's made in the UK, if that helps. I bought my last tube from a Canadian. Perhaps their closer ties to England help their supply chain.

Joe
 
Re:she weeps

Klaas: I've been advised against teflon tape by that same neighbour/mechanic. He claims it might not seal enough, and that it might not even be as harmless as it seems. Indeed, I do seem to recall we had a leak along a bolt on a brake caliper on our simulator that wasn't settled with teflon tape. (But then, pressure was probably much higher there as it is in my case here.)

Green loctite would remain on the thread, and continue to do its work even after having removed and replaced the bolt?
 
Re:she weeps

The green (which has the unique property of 'wicking' into fasteners so you can apply it to fasteners that are already done up as a safety precaution) is really good for this application. It is also handy for sealing porous castings - much better than JB WELD or epoxy which will eventually flake off. It is a high strength locker so if the bond is steel to steel it will require heat to disassemble - if it is steel to aluminum it will have the same strength as the low strength formula (Blue) which doesnt. Brake clean works as well as loctite's expensive cleaner/activator.

they also do a special goo especially for plumbing with PTFE in it - also highly recommended for studs.

I've never liked Hylomar - not very sticky. I've always had better results either using a gasket and Permatex 99 non-hardening spray or RTV applied in a thick bead, use light contact with the parts to be sealed, wait a couple of hours and THEN tighten bolts.

ChrisR
 
Re:she weeps

AFAIK, the valve covers are cast aluminium, not so? But if not, are you saying I'd only get the plug cover bolt out when the engine is (still) hot?

Stickyness doesn't appear to be the main required property here, just something to keep the oil from getting out ;)

BTW, how to apply the stuff? A little dose (squirt) at the bottom of the hole and then screw in the bolt? I'd hate to glue the cover in place ;)

(promised, I'm learning! :silly:)
 
Re:she weeps

You wont glue the cover on with loctite. Spray copious amounts of brake cleaner in hole - clean as best as possible with Q tips - blow out with air if you have it and pour green loctite in. Screw in bolt. Getting the oil out is critical as the loctite cannot wick into a place already filled with oil.

Gasket goo which works differently than an anaerobic locker should be sticky IMO. That's what its there for. I know Rolls Royce uses the stuff but I am not fond of it. In most cases things leak because of excess pressure, poor design or warped surfaces. No goo will save you short of RTV which is ugly. This is a bit like having a favorite engine oil - logic does not really apply.
 
Re:she weeps

You wont glue the cover on with loctite. Spray copious amounts of brake cleaner in hole - clean as best as possible with Q tips - blow out with air if you have it and pour green loctite in. Screw in bolt. Getting the oil out is critical as the loctite cannot wick into a place already filled with oil.

Gasket goo which works differently than an anaerobic locker should be sticky IMO. That's what its there for. I know Rolls Royce uses the stuff but I am not fond of it. In most cases things leak because of excess pressure, poor design or warped surfaces. No goo will save you short of RTV which is ugly. This is a bit like having a favorite engine oil - logic does not really apply.
 
Updating this thread with something a priori unrelated but also causing oil weeping on the RH head.

For as long as I can remember, the area around intake to the RH cylinder has been oily. Oil has continued to spread around in time, but I never actually saw any getting anywhere else. From discussions with people here, it's a recurrent issue, a bad seal or connection on one of the hoses feeding oil to the cylinder heads. There appear to be 2 (which would seem logical :unsure: ), I'd suspect the rear one (most easily visible, closest to the oily bits).

Yesterday, I discovered a small swipe of oil running off the lower right fairing, clearly some residu being blown out of the fairing's vent (I've done almost 400km at highway speeds). It seems the fairing inside is fairly oily, which is probably what's been getting blown out. I've wiped the swipe off the lower fairing at 3 occasions, less each time (possibly due to decreasing intervals).
I do *not* see any oil that's clinging to the cylinder fins suggesting it'll drop off, but as the rest of the case appears to be clean, I don't see any other source. Nothing on my boots or pants either.

So, looks like another proof the Eminence is a true Guzzi, that I'm going to have to try and sort out. If it is indeed the mentioned hose, what are the options? I guess just checking tightness won't get me very far (if untight there's be far more oil, no?), and I reckon one doesn't undo the hose to replace whatever seal there's on it without dropping the engine oil?

I've got about 3000km to go until the next service, I'm kind of hoping I can leave it until then...
 
René, this is exactly my affliction. Nothing alarming, just oil mist collecting, especially after higher engine speed highway running.

I have checked external oil feed lines and the oil recovery hoses, they are perfectly dry. I have sealed the inner head bolt access plug with a new oring and three-bond.
I thought it was the engine temperature sender, but there is no oil gallery there. I checked the small allen head plugs used for plugging gallery machining, they are all dry.

Another thing I did was re-seal the intake runners to the airbox, the oil collecting in the air box would seep there and get the throttle bodies oily.

To me the problem is related to either the head gasket area, the inner bolt plug still not oil tight or oil from the LH side of the timing cover and oil pressure sender being blasted by wind to the inner RH jug (quite a longshot, I know...)

The sure way to track it down would be removing all the plastic bits and air filter, thoroughly cleaning and taking it for a good run and checking it out, which could easily be done in a day.

My riding season is running down so I might just do that pretty soon. It's such a small issue I just haven't gotten around to methodically solve it.
 
Hi Kai

Thanks for the note, exactly what I was thinking. I hope I'm as lucky as you (it's taken 36000 km to get the oil "down there"), but others here have more generous flows going on. Oh well. BTW, the reaction from my dealer's mechanic, when I asked about the misting after the 30k service was that it's basically hopeless to address the issue once and for all. Another thing: a guy I know here has an oil leak at the *base* of his RH cylinder. Go figure...

BTW: never got around to telling you, but we finally blew off the Canada project. A good thing in the end, as I've been battling a tough cold, and my mum has another spell of Lyme's disease. But still a pity, I'd have loved to give you an opportunity to show me around your stomping grounds :)
 
Sorry about that pesky nose drip Rene, pop on out here to Cathedral City for a week or so and I can guarantee the heat will cure you in no time at all.
Maybe you can help me chase down my similar but pesky oil leak as well. I was parked in a row of Harley's the other day and mine was the only rude bike that soiled itself. :oops:
 
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