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Valve cover oil leak

zopilote

Just got it firing!
Joined
Jul 11, 2012
Messages
3
Location
Sweden
Hello,
I have a problem with my Griso 850 -06. Last autumn i did a large service to the bike, including setting the valve clearances. Of course i put new gaskets on the valve covers (bought on ebay, not oem), and made sure the mating surfaces was totally clean. Last week, the bike started developing a small oil leak from the left valve cover and a few days ago it started leaking from the right cover too (quite large amounts of oil). When i removed the covers today, it looked like the gaskets had collapsed INWARDS on both covers... Anyone that have any idea what could have happened? I have tried blowing compressed air through the breather hoses, and they do not seem clogged. Anyway, i figure that a clogged breather would have blown the gaskets out and not in... New gaskets are ordered, but i would need to know if there is something else that might ruin them before i put the new ones in.
Thankful for all help!
 
Reccommend using Indian Head Gasket Shellac on both sides of gasket.
 
cwarriba said:
Reccommend using Indian Head Gasket Shellac on both sides of gasket.

I don't think so. That stuff gets hard as a rock. Getting the cover off again would be difficult. Just use quality gaskets. I haven't used that product since the 1960s on farm tractors when it was just about the only game in town.
 
Zopilote,

if these are the same as the big block rocker cover gaskets, order some from an 1100. My Sport 1200 had this problem with the correct gaskets - switching to the 1100 gaskets solved the problem - in fact they are on their fourth install (i.e. re-usable)
 
Oz1200Guzzi said:
Zopilote,

if these are the same as the big block rocker cover gaskets, order some from an 1100. My Sport 1200 had this problem with the correct gaskets - switching to the 1100 gaskets solved the problem - in fact they are on their fourth install (i.e. re-usable)
... and put split washers on the screws.
 
Stock original square fin tappet gaskets, thick & green in colour are only $6 each in Australia from a dealer.
Used multiple times, never replaced. Same deal with sump gasket.

Bella had thin black gaskets on it when I purchased her, they shit 'emselves just like yours.
 
That's the ones, Wayne, the green ones - the part number should be available on the 100 parts list.
 
Got my new gaskets in the mail yesterday from the ONLY descent Guzzi Tech in Sweden.
Unfortunately they were black, but seemed a little thicker than the ones i used before. I used CRC stripper and a plastic scraper to get the surfaces totally clean, wiped them with brake cleaner and used a very small amount of gasket silicone on both sides. Crosstorqued the bolts to 10Nm with some blue (non permanent) threadlock.
Since i am on call until monday night, i have not been able to take a test drive, but a few minutes of idling did not show any signs of leaks. While i was already there, i also adjusted the valves that was a little loose. It seems the engine quieted down a bit from that :)
 
I`ve only ever used OEM gaskets, but this year i used Blue Hylomar gasket compound to make the gaskets stay in place. Never having used anything other than a little dab of grease to hold them in place i found that after 5000 miles the gaskets moved inwards a little and an oil leak developed. This is the second time this has happened 5000 miles after refitting the covers with new gaskets, so, I used the stuff Rolls Royce Aerospace use and hopefully there wont be a problem again. It seems though that many people suffer gasket failure just before the service is due, is this Moto Guzzis way of letting us know it`s due for a service? :cool:
http://www.hylomarsealant.com/
 
my 1100 had this problem since day 1 on the left side only. Nothing I did/no type of gasket worked.

I tried scoring the surface lightly with a file to give the gaskets some more grip

I tried polishing the surfaces

I eventually tried milling them back to stock (when I had my heads off years ago trying to solve my pinging problem), only 6000 miles on the engine)

Tried gasket sealer (non permanent)

Tried less torque

Tried more torque

Nothing worked. Absolutely nothing. I then sold the bike and bought a 1200 and yes, It leaks oil too.
 
I had the same problem on my '07 1100. Right side cover leaked. I could get about 6,000 km on a gasket, at most. Left side never leaked. Finally replaced both with silicone gaskets and haven't had a problem since. The silicone ones were about $20 a pair from realgaskets.com, so not much more than the paper OEM gaskets.

Eric
 
Hey Spaceclam, did you trade your bike at GP Motorcycles in San Diego? I bought my used 07 Griso there. It has been puking intermitantly from both covers. At first I thought it was because I might have overfilled adding oil, but it kept happening at the correct fill level. I can find no blockages in the crankcase vent system. It seems to happen after I have wound the bike up close to redline. It appears I am getting a negative crankcase pressure at high RPMs. Anybody have any ideas (besides getting a new bike or riding slower)?
 
Ive never had troubles with the stock paper gaskets leaking but I dont get when people tell me "oh just re-use your gaskets for valve adjustments." Mine are like GLUED to the head every time, they tear apart and I have to scrape them off. They seem to be a temporary thing. At least they are cheap.
 
Ive never had troubles with the stock paper gaskets leaking but I dont get when people tell me "oh just re-use your gaskets for valve adjustments." Mine are like GLUED to the head every time, they tear apart and I have to scrape them off. They seem to be a temporary thing. At least they are cheap.

Coat the upper side with grease. It will stay on the head, but the valve cover will release.
 
If you use the Green gaskets you will see one side is shiny(ish) and the other is matt. Fit the shiny side to the head. The matt side will stick to the cover , much easier to clean the gasket off the cover.....eventually. After fitting new gaskets let the bike go through a few heat cycles and then nip up the screws again. Even when re-using gaskets I give them a nip up a coupla days later. I don't see a need for any type of gasket goo , in this application except maybe grease on the shitty black gaskets , what happens to the excess gasket goo that gets squeezed out?
 
If you use the green gaskets you will see that one side is smooth and the other matt, fit them shiny side to the head. The gasket will stick to the cover making it easier to remove ....eventually. After fitting new gaskets and indeed re-using old ones , let the bike go through a few heat cycles and nip them up again. There is no need for any gasket goo except grease, and you would only put that on the cover. When you want to remove the cover, remove the screws and give the cover a tap with a soft hammer.
 
So I got the oiled left boot yesterday from a leaky valve cover gasket from my Griso 1100. Ordered new stock gaskets yesterday, stripped the old one off and adjusted the valves last night because I just couldn't wait. (intake was .13 and exhaust was .18)

My ordered gaskets are not coming in for five days so today I'm thinking on making the 30 mile round trip to the dealer to get new gaskets. I'll keep the others as spares.

I noticed an old black gasket was on the cover that leaked, I had to use an inertia hammer to get the cover off then plastic scrap, green plastic scour pad & brake cleaner scrub the head. The not-leaky side had a nice green gasket that came off easy. The old black gasket had moved a fair amount.

I think I'll use high-tac spray on the head side of the gasket if the dealer only has the black gaskets as an experiment. Maybe the new gasket won't move around as much.

I'll probably order the Real Gaskets today ----- it's a Boy Scout thing.
 
I use the silicone gaskets from Real Gaskets. I have never had one leak. But, in fairness, I never had the stock gaskets leak. But at the first valve adjustment I did (the dealer did the 600 mile check) I used the silicone gaskets.
 
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