Head bolt oil leak question and pictures...help.

OK I have this new little leak and I am almost positive that it has been discussed here but I am including some pictures of my leak situation in the hopes that someone can confirm. I believe it has been described as 'oil migrating up the threads' and then whipped into the airstream. Said to be an easy fix but after studying the pics a I am not quite sure which bolt is my leaker.

Here are the pics....

Here is what showed up and started this adventure...



Here is a better view of the area with pipe removed. The question is...is the leak suspect the bolt directly under the exhaust port which is really an elongated nut (for lack of a real term)? Or is it the bolt to the left that goes down through a a set of holes in the fins on the front of the engine?



Here is a pic of the 'elongated nut'


Any help would be much appreciated.

Check your oil feed line on the head under running pressure. Oil can run undetected and collect where you see it and even smoke at the exhaust when you shut it down. This happens to many people and after removing the head they are left with much head scratching.

Sometimes it helps to clean it really good and sprinkle lots of powder everywhere to see the trail of tears.

My long distance assessment is,
no oil seen from feed line banjo area,
no oil seen at top of head bolts near plug or
the top couple of fins below that,
no oil seen around exhaust nut,
no oil seen from rocker cover area,
clean looking non-engine processed looking oil,
so implies not banjo bolt, not head bolts, not porous head >

I'd next look at fork seal for a wind blown oil issue to me.
Clean oil off, tie clean rag around fork seal, ride over bumps or practice braking, then get back with us.

hobot

The only two bolts that go into oil are the two front 5/16 inch studs.
I would think the oil is coming from something else. Jim

After removing the right (as you look at the bike front to back) nut that screws onto the front stud I find it oily. Also after closer examination the leak does not happen on any of the fins above this nut. I think oil is coming up the stud and then blown back. The traces of oil point to this. We shall see. In the meantime I will explore the fork leak idea and report back. Thanks for all the help.

Commando75 said:

After removing the right (as you look at the bike front to back) nut that screws onto the front stud I find it oily. Also after closer examination the leak does not happen on any of the fins above this nut. I think oil is coming up the stud and then blown back. The traces of oil point to this. We shall see. In the meantime I will explore the fork leak idea and report back. Thanks for all the help.

Click to expand...

Use high temp silicone on the theads where you screw the studs in the head. One of their holes has probably broken through into the pushrod tunnels.

ewgoforth said:

Commando75 said:

After removing the right (as you look at the bike front to back) nut that screws onto the front stud I find it oily. Also after closer examination the leak does not happen on any of the fins above this nut. I think oil is coming up the stud and then blown back. The traces of oil point to this. We shall see. In the meantime I will explore the fork leak idea and report back. Thanks for all the help.

Click to expand...

Use high temp silicone on the theads where you screw the studs in the head. One of their holes has probably broken through into the pushrod tunnels.

Click to expand...

I second that. Nearly all of the holes break through into the pushrod tunnel. I use blue locktight. Jim

Ah yes.....making sense now. I am a little unclear on the recommended fix though. Does it require pulling the head and barrels? I have a 200 mile day planned tomorrow so it may have to wait if I'm gonna have to get into it that far.

It requires pulling the head, but not the barrel. Once the head is off, you can unscrew the two studs in the barrel, clean them, and reinstall with your choice of sealer. As Jim said, Locktite works fine.

Ken

If you have a 5/16 extra length or coupling nut you can screw it over the stud and screw another bolt in to lock it. Then you can unscrew it without removing the head. Might even be able to double nut it and unscrew it but i haven't tried that. Kind of an awkward place to work but I have done it several times without pulling the head. Jim

Since I am taking off in the morning for a 200 mile or so trip I tried a stop-gap measure. I pulled the nut off and cleaned as best I could the stud and area around it. Then I gave the washer and the bottom of the nut a thin coating of high temp gasket sealer and put it back together and let it set up for a couple hours. 40 mile test run and zero leak. The stud is confirmed as the source of the leak and when I get back I will do the job properly. As of right this minute, I have a Norton Commando with NO leaks. I love that.

The other leak that was hard to cure was the kickstart shaft leak. I know...it's a MK3 but replacing the seal did not completely cure the problem. I ended up putting a smal o ring behind the standard seal and then two outboard with the lickstart shaft up against them. That did thre trick.

Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it.

Sounds like a repair that will probably hold till next time you need to freshen it up.
I have had kickstarter leak problems if I used the rubber coated seal there. I have had best luck using the plain steel seal and installing it after the cover is in place. That way I can wrap the splines with cellophane tape before I push the seal over the shaft. You need a light film of sealant in the seal bore before the seal goes in also. Jim