leaking oil

[Sully]

My '97 R1100RT has been seaping oil from the heads, and it blows back onto the rest of the bike. Sometimes the smoking oil wafts up and out while I'm sitting at a stop light, and someone said to me "is your bike on fire?" It averages about a drop of oil a day on the garage floor, so I think it only leaks when it's hot....

I am going to pull the valve covers and adjust the valves this weekend; should I retorque the heads while I'm in there? Please share your comments and suggestions as I venture into oilhead valve adjustment for the first time.

Thanks, everybody.

Sully, up near Lake Ontario in central NY

[bmwmick]

My '97 R1100RT has been seaping oil from the heads, and it blows back onto the rest of the bike. Sometimes the smoking oil wafts up and out while I'm sitting at a stop light, and someone said to me "is your bike on fire?" It averages about a drop of oil a day on the garage floor, so I think it only leaks when it's hot....

I am going to pull the valve covers and adjust the valves this weekend; should I retorque the heads while I'm in there? Please share your comments and suggestions as I venture into oilhead valve adjustment for the first time.

Thanks, everybody.

Sully, up near Lake Ontario in central NY


First thing I'd do is clean it good with the fairing OFF. Spray some foot powder around the head-to-block junction and around the valve cover to determine if it's the head gaskets leaking or the Valve Covers. If it is at the head, you 'could' retorque following the service manual but be careful you don't overtoruqe. The
head gaskets were upgraded a couple of times since 1997.

Mick

[jingdog]

Sounds like valve cover gaskets to me. You may also find stripped valve cover threads also. Which can be fixed! (do the valve cover bolts torque? Not much torque!)

[bmwmick]

Sounds like valve cover gaskets to me. You may also find stripped valve cover threads also. Which can be fixed! (do the valve cover bolts torque? Not much torque!)


Yep, 8Nm max on the valve cover bolts and 20Nm +180 degrees on the head bolts with oiled nuts. No one recommends retorqing after the 600 mile re-torque.

[Sully]

I don't like the sound of "revised" head gaskets since my '97 was built. I don't imagine that a recall would cover warranty replacement.

Actually, I took it to my local dealer (85 miles away) last year and he noted on the service invoice that he saw a leak. Didn't do anything about it and didn't suggest a fix (that's another reason I'll do my own valve adj's).

8 nM torque on the cyl hds? Shoot, I should be able to get that with just yanking on an extension sticking out of the socket! It's a good thing I have a 100 in/lb torque wrench for those bolts....

I'll tear the side panels off and spread some baby powder over the gasketed areas after I adjust the valves and afterward spray carb cleaner over the area; I'm very leery about re-torquing the heads with 42K miles- if the head bolts are loose then grit has probably gotten sucked into the space during engine cooling while parked (re-torquing might make the problem worse).

This is a great bike (and makes my Harley feel like an old tractor), but I'm about ready to sell it and buy a Honda ST, considering my fears of impending rear drive problems.

Darn, I've loved Beemers since I saw my first Earles forks back in the '60s, but I won't tolerate dripping bikes in the garage (my Harley only leaks when it needs a new output seal on the tranny's mainshaft- once every 15 years!).

I've been unemployed for 3 years (currently a fulltime college student at 54 yo), so taking it to the dealer for head gasket R&R is out of the question; valve adjustment is ok for my skills but the idea of pulling the heads for gasket replacement is beyond my ability to commit the time for trying to fit that repair into my schedule (been there, done that- when facing a project staring at me in the garage). I've learned to pick my battles....

Thanks for your input, guys. I'll keep in touch as to what happens when I open'er up.

Sully

[AntonLargiader]

It's not all that uncommon to see an oily line along the seam between the head and the cylinder with the old gaskets, but it's much less common to see an actual drip. There's no way any grit got in there; the bolts aren't that loose, but retorquing probably won't fix the leak.

Replacing both head gaskets is officially 4.5 hours and parts will be about $85. The bike will not leak again; I simply never see leaks with the new head gaskets unless a stud has pulled out. While the job is fairly straightforward for someone who understands it, DIY gasket replacement seems to be problematic for some people; I know several who have messed it up and incurred additional expense for themselves by bending valves or having to send the bike to the shop to get straightened out. If you want to tackle it yourself, let us know.

As for torquing the valve cover bolts, forget it. It's much easier to feel when the bolts bottom out and then just stop at that point; no need to even snug them up. I have never ever seen a loose valve cover bolt. They are either properly torqued or too tight.

[lazywizard02]

I think its worth 1 try to re-torque the heads per the 600 mile technique. The early heads have a narrow pathway on the bottom near the front, which is where I found my leak. Since I did not try that you could be the experimenter.

However, new Gaskets are very doable and give one the assuarnce of good performance. The method is not difficult but be careful to get the right version. There was a change in mid 96.

Do a search for head gaskets and read the valuable suggestions regarding that process.

[corbster]

It's not all that uncommon to see an oily line along the seam between the head and the cylinder with the old gaskets, but it's much less common to see an actual drip. There's no way any grit got in there; the bolts aren't that loose, but retorquing probably won't fix the leak.

Replacing both head gaskets is officially 4.5 hours and parts will be about $85. The bike will not leak again; I simply never see leaks with the new head gaskets unless a stud has pulled out. While the job is fairly straightforward for someone who understands it, DIY gasket replacement seems to be problematic for some people; I know several who have messed it up and incurred additional expense for themselves by bending valves or having to send the bike to the shop to get straightened out. If you want to tackle it yourself, let us know.

As for torquing the valve cover bolts, forget it. It's much easier to feel when the bolts bottom out and then just stop at that point; no need to even snug them up. I have never ever seen a loose valve cover bolt. They are either properly torqued or too tight.

04 1150 Rt
I just noticed small amount of oil leak around upper valve cover bolt( 6mm hex)...
I checked and it is not tightning...I turned counter clock and and came out half way?

How do I pull this bolt out to replace the bushing???
How can tell if it is bottom out? If it is keep going around and what is the fix...

[breyfogle]

Please share your comments and suggestions as I venture into oilhead valve adjustment for the first time.


Just another thought nobody has mentioned: If you are leaking enough oil to actually drip, check the cam sprocket cover O-rings.