NO leaks......

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o0norton0o

o0norton0o

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So,..... I rebuilt the crankcase of my commando many years ago. I didn't have the awareness of improved crankcase breathing modifications back then, but I have since modified my bike to breath better and the crankcase leaks have stopped. That led me to want to rebuild the gearbox and add the clutch rod seal to get rid of any gear oil leaks too,....... and finally I used a little bit of silicone with the primary gasket "wire" and I am pretty close to a commando with no leaks...

..... but WTF is with the copper washers on things like the drain plugs. Are they a consumable item that you have to replace everytime you drain the oil to make them seal properly?? Once I am this close to having a bike with Zero leaks, the tinyest leak is now more apparent because the bike is no longer leaking much at all...

Anyone have a totally leakless norton?.. how long have you had it that way? and did it coincide with your installing a breather modification ?

My bike is a '70 commando with the timed camshaft breather port. I'm stunned that it is very close to having no leaks after all these years...
 
I replace the copper washers pretty often, maybe after two uses for the solid type.
You could anneal them and get more life, but new ones are only pennies. Some of the copper washers I have used are the hollow ring type. These I use only once then chuck. They do seal nicely though(once)

My MK3 doesn't leak oil at all. Not my doing, it came that way. Stock breather setup.
Sometimes I wonder if there is any oil in it. It is British, it is old, it has to leak! But it doesn't.

Glen
 
Believe it or not I have had my Ms Peel and Trixie so oiless - a number of times - the dang steel parts of engine and chassis fasteners rust enough to stand out as slipshod poor maintenance owner eye sores. The 2 ways I obtained this is taboo to speak of here. Copper work hardens till nil comforming to seal so call vendors or shop on your own for Alu washers sold to solve the copper crapping out. Beware can shear off a head banjo bolt trying to nip down on copper enough to stay sealed. Blow ups and other issues unsealed my Combats though so best I can claim is some extended intervals of how it can be no matter the time spend in and over red line.
 
My friends used to say my Commando didn't leak any oil because it didn't have any oil in it! 8)

Seriously, careful assembly, updated seals and gaskets and good sealant and there should be little if any leakage.
 
I can put in a 600 mile day on my Norton and park it in the motel room at night and don't have to worry about even a drop. It's been that way for years. Jim
 
Hi texasSlick.
I have Dowty bonded washers on all my fittings but I do not have large sump plug (Combat).
If you tell me the OD of the plug shaft I can look it up from the catelogue in front of me.
Do you use the viton Dowty washers on the head as nitrile is not rated for those temperatures?
Ta.
 
My 74 850 has never leaked oil since i brought it new, yes they will get minor leaks here and there but are easy to fix when it does start to leak, nomaly when the valve covers have been taken off and put back on, other than that my crank cases have never leaked, copper washers should be replaced after being used but I nomaly get to reuse them a few time, but I also have a good copper washer kit in my workshop, same as O ring kit as well as a few diffrent sealants for diffrent jobs, my gearbox and primary don't leak at all as well, so it is possible to have a oil tight Norton as I have for over 40 years now.
As getting gear oil in your primary, don't over fill your gearbox is the esay way of stopping that one, I have never had that problem and I haven't got the clutch seal kit but I do put grease on my clutch rod, I don't fill my gearbox using the filler cube as a guide, I use a messure cup and fill the amount the manual says to put in, if the gear oil is at the top or over your kick start spring, it is over filled.

Ashley
 
Sort of like only dating a sheep once, first impressions last...
NO leaks......
 
Mine proudly seeps. Its like a badge of courage. I would be worried if it didnt mark its spot.
 
I have the usual leaks. Swing arm seepage, around the oil filter and all the hoses, nothing really noticeable from the cases or gearbox. I used to get some around the tach boss but since plugged for the E-tach, that's gone. I see dirt collect around the fork boots but no drip.

When parked after a ride, I will have 2 or 3 silver dollar spots if it sits for a week.

I take a rag and give it an affectionate wipe as if to wipe a chin after feeding an infant.
 
Humph after I got the original oil leaks solved neither of my two hard used Combats ever leaked a drop wet sumped or not - after the exterior oil from riding dripped off. Did have to become a swing arm greaser to stop that annoyance though. My SV650 leaks from trans shifter shaft after about 15k miles, twice now. Fun thing to do is leave a fake oil puddle gimick under and watch the reaction till trick discovered.

http://www.dougz.com/new-stuff.php?productid=29
 
texasSlick said:
I use Dowty seals wherever I can. A Dowty on the sump plug is a bit impractical (dunno if anyone even makes one that large), but one could use a Dowty on the smaller plug on one of those combination sump plugs (ex. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Magnetic-Sump-F ... 85&vxp=mtr)

Slick
Click to expand...

Look for 1inch bsp size if my memory is right thats what mine has on large sump plug. 3/4 inch bsp. is oil tank banjo i got some of those yesterday from a local hydraulic supply firm 6 cost only £4.
BSP is British Standard Pipe an older but widely used (here in Britain anyway) thread size. The size is the bore of the pipe so outside diameter or thread you quote when buying fittings is larger.
For example a 3/4BSP thread actually measures nearly an inch in diameter.
I don't have the exact size to hand at the moment but if you take some measurements you should be able to cross reference the sizes on the Internet. The TPI is not the same but all you need is the diameter as you are buying seals. If not available in your area then Ebay Amazon or similar should get what you need.
 
My '75 always has a little oil underneath. Of course it never leaks when its at my mechanic when we try to figure out where it leaks from
 
toppy said:
Look for 1inch bsp size if my memory is right thats what mine has on large sump plug. 3/4 inch bsp. is oil tank banjo i got some of those yesterday from a local hydraulic supply firm 6 cost only £4.
BSP is British Standard Pipe an older but widely used (here in Britain anyway) thread size. The size is the bore of the pipe so outside diameter or thread you quote when buying fittings is larger.
For example a 3/4BSP thread actually measures nearly an inch in diameter.
I don't have the exact size to hand at the moment but if you take some measurements you should be able to cross reference the sizes on the Internet. The TPI is not the same but all you need is the diameter as you are buying seals. If not available in your area then Ebay Amazon or similar should get what you need.
Click to expand...

Hi toppy.
Thanks for those measurements:
Sump plug is then:
1", 3/4 BSP, 27.05mm ID, 34.93mm OD, 2.34mm height, mild steel, nitrile. Part no. in my book is SB027 (or 400-827-4490-41 at http://sealshop.eriks.co.uk/p/23950/400-827-4490-41).
Ta.

Only oil leak for years was at the swingarm o-rings but I have just refurbished and fitted a reinforced swingarm and cradle so this is now resolved (to be confirmed with the passage of time).
 
Just for the record, my Atlas sump plug hollow copper seal, part # 06-7680, measures 1 3/16" ID / 1.5" OD (30.2 x 38.1 mm). I supposed Cdo's were the same.

Slick
 
They really shouldn't leak.. I bet most that do leak are from lack of maintenance like not replacing the grommet on the inner primary cover that the Stator wire goes through.
 
That was one of my goals when rebuilding my bike, but I didn't do a good job sealing the crank case flanges and that's where I'm getting leaks now. It wasn't bad when I had SAE50 in it, but now that I've put the 10W40 V-Twin syn in it, it leaves a pretty good sign. I didn't do the breather mod either, so I really should just pull it apart and re-do that part of it, I could probably do it in a week, with a few hours a day. I was just too confused at the time about the breather holes with everything else going on. That would give me the opportunity to put the JSMotorSports light weight pistons in it too. I'm just a bit concerned about the valve setup with that system.
 
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