Oil leak

timmyC · Sep 28, 2016

Good morning to all,
I have had a chance to ride the bike a little, and enjoyed it very much

. I love the sound and feel of the bike, very different from my other bikes. While on a ride last Saturday I could smell oil burning and thought new bike new smells and sounds I will keep an eye out for any oil. Then I looked down and my left shoe and paint leg were covered in oil. I got the bike home and started to investigate the problem. I cleaned the engine and kicked it over a few time, but nothing. So I started, let idle and in less then a minute oil started driping from the left exhaust lockring /port. I didn't think there were any oil passages in that area of the barrels or cylinder head??

Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Thx Tim

brxpb · Sep 28, 2016

Hi Tim, the only time I ever had oil on my foot, I found my exhaust valve cover nuts had loosened, similar area, hard to pin point leaks immediately coz the oil blows all over as you're travelling.

brxpb · Sep 28, 2016

Just thinking, I also discovered a hole in the floor of my exhaust port, I put a photo on here and the members reckoned it was from a pilot hole being too enthusiastically drilled to insert the helicoils for the head studs which are directly below the port, it could be possible oil could weir up the hole if the head wasn't torqued fully, although mine doesn't, these holes must have been seen a few times because several members pointed me in this direction fairly quickly.

holy-exhaust-port-t20226.html

Onder · Sep 28, 2016

Check rocker cover and esp the gasket.
Check the plug and see if it is clean.
Finally pull out the exhaust pipe and see if the
earl is coming from the port.

concours · Sep 28, 2016

Cylinder head bolt may be loose.

timmyC · Sep 28, 2016

Thanks for all of your input. It seamed like there is a lot of valve / rocker noise, but new bike now sounds so I am not sure. I though I would check the valve clearance at the same time to make sure it's correct. I plan to spend some time going over it this weekend.

I will update you after I get I to it.

Thanks again!

Tim

timmyC · Sep 28, 2016

Onder said:
Check rocker cover and esp the gasket.
Check the plug and see if it is clean.
Finally pull out the exhaust pipe and see if the
earl is coming from the port.

Is "esp" a typo or did you mean RTV?

Thx

Danno · Sep 28, 2016

esp=especially

JimC · Sep 29, 2016

Trim the rocker cover gaskets to match the covers, especially at the bottom. Most gaskets extend past the inside of the rocker covers, making a dam for oil to build up.

timmyC · Sep 29, 2016

Thank for the clarification on esp and the tip on trimming gasket. I started reading this forum long before buying a Norton because it seamed like a great inline community of like minded of lovers of classic motorcycles.

Thank again for all the help!

Tim

DogT · Sep 29, 2016

Besides all of the above, I silicone the exhaust valve cover gaskets to the cover, and then spread a thin layer of silicon on the engine side and install the gasket. This can be re-used several times usually. The studs and nuts also leak so you need to address that with permatex or flats on the nuts with sealant. There are also solid silicone and neoprene gaskets, I think I had some neoprene (black) ones that didn't work, I can't speak to the red silicone ones, but I've heard they work. It's up to you.

htown16 · Sep 29, 2016

Good advice on the exhaust rocker covers. The end plates on rocker shafts also tend to leak. With the slant of the engine this can run down to the front of the head. Coat the gaskets with one of the bond cements (Threebond, Hondabond, Yamabond ect) . Tightening them is a bit tricky. Too loose they leak. Too tight and you can destroy the gasket or distort the plate especially stainless aftermarket ones. If the gasket starts to fall apart you will get a major leak as the rockers see high oil pressure on Nortons. BSA and Triumph tap the return oil line for the rockers.
Ignore the torque values in the shop manual. Just keep gradually tightening them until the leak stops. Mine leak on the right side and have never completely quit but I can live with a few drops.

timmyC · Oct 2, 2016

Thanks again for the replies. It has been raining for the past 4 days so I have not had an opportunity to work on the bike. Hopefully I will get a chance this week.

Tim

Oil leak

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