Oil in ignition cover

Recently I removed the ignition cover which now houses a Boyer ignition, to check timing. I noticed a small amount of oil in the side case where the cover had been removed. No oil was on the igniton plate or coils, nor was there any o the inseide of the cover as far as I could tell. Is this something to be concerned with or just normail - ignition works fine. Thanks

No worries mate', its a very good sign that you have a running Commando. Oil does not hurt electrical components unless so filled with metal dust it conducts.
Its just normal expected oil weepage and on the low side of normal at that you bragaert! More common is oil on floor under points area after parking Cam oil seal is in cover and can be renewed pretty easy with cone shape plug to ease it on w/o snagging.

Thanks Hobot - didn't think it was such a big deal - just waiting on my new Hagon shocks and getting tires mounted, then the only issue is the virtually useless front disc brake. Got new pads, no change, talked to Old Brits - seems the master cylinder upgrade has the most benefit. I took a freash cut on the lathe for the front disc, wasn't that bad though. Something else to play with.......

Camshaft oilseal going bad. Not uncommon. Should be a weep hole at the bottom of points cover to allow for some discharge.
Also, read up on reducing crank pressure.

Thanksk 960 - I assume camshaft seal is not a three hour tour as far as replacement - nothing leaks out right now - will check for weep hole .

Oakland850 said:

Thanksk 960 - I assume camshaft seal is not a three hour tour as far as replacement - nothing leaks out right now - will check for weep hole .

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Generally just a 1/16" hole on the bottom of the cover.

thanks for the picture - thought the cover had no bottom or top till now. A more general question - in a perfect world ( a place which is not inhabited by Nortons or people) should there be any oil at all in the right side cover?

In a perfect world, no. I have never had oil in the timing cover unless I put it there. Depends on how anal you want to be. It's a matter of pulling the timing side cover and installing a new seal and making sure you don't cut the seal putting the cover back on. I use rubber tape on the cam end to get the cover on (it's sharp), there is a tool for it too.

Dave
69S

On my 1st Combat, now Ms Peel. on 1st opening the point cover, with points, I saw a rag stuffed in there, after noticing the oil hole in cover, d/t the oil around it, Newbie me, thought, how clever them Brits, venting yet water proof entry for the humid conditions in England. Then my learning curve moved upward when oil puddle seen under it, I thought cheap ass design easy to fail. ugh.

oakland, front brake can be made to work dam good. The 12 or 13 mm resleeve makes most improvement, but even factory Lockheed can be made rather better but melting out the restrictor hole in the rubber-boot valve deep in mastercylinder, SS braid hose and maybe a RGM race lever. Combined to me are better than moderns except for advanced ABS.

Cam seal is real mechanics but straight forward accessible as it gets. Some time the cam shaft surface gets pitted/rough to weep past seal. If mine I'd JBWeld the area and fine sand and polish, but copper plate is more traditional.

I have the same weep from the points oil seal, and it's irritating because it was bone dry up until I removed the timing cover to restore the oil pump and check the camchain and tensioner. I used the tool to ease the seal over the end of the camshaft and was very careful. But now there is a dribble from the cover. I take it off every so often to make sure it is still just a dribble, but I have also cheated by sealing the points cover with silicone and turning it upside down so the little breather hole faces upwards. This way, it doesn't dribble on the ground. This is only to buy me time until the bad weather returns, when I will remove the cover and replace the seal, this time paying attention to the end of the camshaft where the seal bears on it, as Hobot has mentioned.

If you decide to replace the seal and it's your first time in there, give yourself some time because you might as well check the oil pump and camchain while you're in there. This is all explained well in the workshop manual.