To Attempt or Not To Attempt: Leaks O' Plenty

[Mdubbinit]

Hey all, new here to the forum with my recently acquired 1986 K75c with 34,000 miles. Did my research, inspected and rode multiple times before pulling the trigger, and was on top of the world... until I brought it by the dealer for a check.

Here's the issue: unbeknownst to me the bike has a few oil leaks, that apparently is the reason the seller put it on the market. We're looking at the "front engine timing cover leaking oil with the crank cover gasket." Sounds doable, except they are asking upwards of $2,000 to fix it. Purchased the bike for 2 and a half and am not about to throw in the same amount for a fix.

Is this something I can do myself? Asking because the seller was mechanically inclined and it seems that he didn't want to tackle it. Any advice is appreciated advice!

[TimTyler]

Post a picture of where the oil is leaking from.

[Mdubbinit]

Notice no accumulation in the belly pan. Seems to drip from the rear- will post better photo when I have time to take off the pan.

[Jumpin Jimmy B]

 The heck with that. Too many unknowns. Change the oil & filter & ride that thing! Wash off the mess & keep an eye on the oil level. When the year is up then re-visit the need to fix it correctly.

[Mdubbinit]

I like that attitude. What's a little oil loss anyway. For now I'm definitely on that train jimmy!

[Jumpin Jimmy B]

100%!! As long as it is not a safety issue just ride that thing!

 I try to keep my bike pretty clean, and it's been sweating that oil film as long as I have owned it since late spring of 2008.

One of the plus's of having the black drive train and mostly black engine.  Just wipe with an old cloth after washing and keep on keeping on!

[Mdubbinit]

 :2thumbup: Amen to that! Thanks for the words, I'm feeling more confident already. Taking the beautiful beast out right now as a matter of fact!

[Nantucket_Red]

Also, look at it like this. Its just an anti rust mechanism that is built into the bike lol

[jay1622]

Good morning. I am in the middle of semi-rebuilding a new-to-me 1988 K75s. The pics you posted were dead-on similar when I started digging in to mine. The timing chain cover leak is ridiculously easy to fix (remove old gasket, a little acetone, apply new gasket material and install the cover (redo the crank and valve cover too)) and the rear looks like it (maybe) a clutch cup leak, which can be from a split cup, or as I have learned from quite a few references, an out-of-spec clutch adjustment. Personally, I don't see how it being out of spec would matter since a properly installed cup is a sealed unit (well, kind of). I found my front leak at the bottom of the timing case where the previous owner laid her down; the slight impact against the left side of the engine case (valve cover) must have been just enough to break the gasket seal. The oil/water pump are easy reseal jobs as well; if your in there, you may very well find something there too.

The bottom seam of the engine to the intermediate flange and the intermediate flange to the gearbox are without gasket sealer; thus, if there's no residual oil in those seams, then the rear may very well be your clutch cup.

If you do remove and reseal the timing chain cover, ensure you follow the proper steps, i.e. properly resealing the valve cover and crank cover too. These (should) require removing the covers, cleaning the seals and applying gasket maker to a few spots; all of which can be found on this forum, which is awesome BTW, or other sources. Search for [k75 repair manual] and I'm certain you'll be surprised with what you find.

[552255]

+1 on the 'ride and forget about it'...until it drips oil on your garage floor and gets annoying, which could be long time.  Owning these bikes will likely turn you into a 'shadetree mechanic', or lighten your wallet considerably.  Luckily, the info to be successful at it can be found here. 

[Chaos]

crank cover gasket is a 10 minute job, and it probably not the gasket but the compression grommets on the bolts.  Stay away from dealers if possible with these bikes.  They're more interested in selling new ones and the mechanics that really understood old K's and R's have moved on or retired.  If it's just misting or an occasional drip, well, I do that too!

[johnny]

greetings...

the more you ride them the less they leak... getts on that motoheap and ride and ride and ride... when the oil goes 3/4 low on the glass put a little in there and ride and ride and ride... yeeeeehaaaaaa...

j o

[Mongrel]

Mine's been sweating oil film from pretty much every engine seal for the past ten years and it hasn't ever noticeably dropped the oil level. Someday I'll have to replace all those outer rubber engine seals, but even then, that's only a $100-$150 job if you do it yourself.

Just keep an eye on your sight glass and ride ride ride.

[TimTyler]

My rear main seal was leaking when I bought it @ 80k miles. Lived with it for about a year. Fixed it when I did a clutch spline lube.

Water/Oil pump started leaking oil a couple of years later and I had the water pump rebuilt. Glad I didn't attempt that myself.

It's nice not leaving a slippery trail or puddle where I park.

[Motorhobo]

Ride it till it's time for the valve adjustment, then learn how to do the valve adjustment and replace seals and cover grommets then. Valve cover has to come off for the valve adjustment anyway.

[Mdubbinit]

All great advice- considering the oil level has barely dropped il be riding every day until valves need adjustment and then it's time to get in and seal this bad boy up!

[stokester]

My rear main seal was leaking when I bought it @ 80k miles. Lived with it for about a year. Fixed it when I did a clutch spline lube.

Water/Oil pump started leaking oil a couple of years later and I had the water pump rebuilt. Glad I didn't attempt that myself.

It's nice not leaving a slippery trail or puddle where I park.

Did my water pump, not a difficult procedure but there are some updated parts you need to know about.

[TimTyler]

The thing with the water pump is that, if you goof anything, like put a seal in backwards because the how-to literature is lame, it will re-assemble fine and then leak and you'll need to start over with all new parts, oil and coolant. Glad you had success  :clap:

[stokester]

The thing with the water pump is that, if you goof anything, like put a seal in backwards because the how-to literature is lame, it will re-assemble fine and then leak and you'll need to start over with all new parts, oil and coolant. Glad you had success  :clap:

You got that right Tim. 

It took me two failed attempts following the procedures in IBMWR tech articles.  Not because I did it wrong but because the spacer bushing is a different thickness when using the new ceramic water pump seal.

If anyone has questions about this spacer let me know.  I did an update for IBMWR but it has never been added to the articles.

[bizzaro]

There are like a kazilliion vids on YOU TUBE on the water/oil pump replacement with the newer parts, just so ya know.  Mine was leaking when I bought the bike.  A lot! I found when I took it apart,  someone had "upgraded" it already.  They neglected to use a sealant between the housing and the engine! Leaked like a sieve. A light coating of ultra black rtv worked the magic. not a drop of oil now!

[JcJ TN K75s]

crank cover gasket is a 10 minute job, and it probably not the gasket but the compression grommets on the bolts.

X2
Those are shoulder bolts. Do NOT over tighten them. My 93 is dripping oil from the left side, and I have the new grommets. Next time I have the oil drained, I'll replace them. Till then it can leak a minute amount. 

I took my front wheel off and had a new tire mounted and replaced my wheel bearings last week. Apparently leaving the bike with 2x4s under the oil pan for a week created, or at least exacerbated to the point of notice, a bell housing transmission fluid leak.  Was gonna do a clutchplate/spline inspection this winter, so I guess I have something else to do while I have it apart.