Primary Case Seal Driving Me Nuts

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swooshdave said:
Coat the groove as demonstrated in my picture. Insert seal making sure there’s no excess. Clean off excess RTV. Put outer cover on until RTV is dry. Thanks to my brother for those tips.
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Despite my best efforts I still have a leak. I don't know if I should dive back in or go with a $500 solution (belt drive).
 
That an expensive fix for $5 problem , then it is an upgrade .... will $500 really get it to your door all in ?
 
I paint the groove with Wellseal, let it go tacky then stick the the seal in, smear a bit of red rubber grease on the outer surface and tighten up.
 
swooshdave said:
Coat the groove as demonstrated in my picture. Insert seal making sure there’s no excess. Clean off excess RTV. Put outer cover on until RTV is dry. Thanks to my brother for those tips.
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I've never had to RTV the groove - I RTV the outer cover.
 
swooshdave said:
When you take off the outer cover the seal comes with it? Are you replacing the seal each time?
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The seal sometimes came out with the cover, but usually not. RTV sticks to the cover well but not to the rubber. The o-ring takes a "set" over time and gets flattened on the outside. I reused it until it got crushed enough to stop sealing.

That ^^ was past tense. Now I have Matt's e-start and belt drive and no mo' oyl.
 
I gave up, just live with oil all over the left side of the bike. Will fix it in 3-5 years when I replace the current engine with the Maney short stroke race engine.
 
gortnipper said:
That is how i have always done it, and my primary has always been tight.

Untill i started using ATF. Damned poor alternator grommit...
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I recently discovered that ATF is tough on sealants. I found all the adhesion was lost on RTV, and my RTV seal was swimming in the primary case. Gasgacinch failed where I had bonded a gasket between the sliding discs, and another Permatex product (some sort of high tack, number unknown) was in partial failure which I had used to bond the Atlas fat rubber band seal to the inner primary cover.

Permatex 81180 is especially formulated for use with ATF. So far so good, but too soon to know for sure.

Slick
 
swooshdave said:
Despite my best efforts I still have a leak. I don't know if I should dive back in or go with a $500 solution (belt drive).
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The picture you posted shows what sure looks like a chewed up O-ring and is set below the inner primary case groove at the 11:00 position over the stator, a stator that looks like it has borne some heat and a rotor that seems too deep; I'll freely admit that my eyes aren't what they used to be, but your advice seems sound enough.

When I have a primary open I always check to see if the center fixing stud is properly shimmed and make sure that the groove (inner case) is clean/grease free. When I install the O-ring I make sure that it won't be partially twisted and that it is clean/grease free and that the joint is on the upper run. Once in place a light coating of grease and that the outer cover is clean and flat. I check for flat on a large 1" thick glass plate and work the outer cover over 320 grit until a .002 feeler gauge will pass under any high spots tightly; you can get better, but I have not yet found the need. They don't leak after this.

Best
 
RoadScholar said:
The picture you posted shows what sure looks like a chewed up O-ring and is set below the inner primary case groove at the 11:00 position over the stator, a stator that looks like it has borne some heat and a rotor that seems too deep; I'll freely admit that my eyes aren't what they used to be, but your advice seems sound enough.
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What you are seeing is the RTV I put in the groove but not the O-ring yet.

The alternator depth seems about right, about the same as my other bike. The shadow may make is seem deeper. Coloration is due to the lighting.
 
Agree with shooshdave, rtv and make it fit. Just a slight smear of rtv on the outside of the gasket, works for me. Let it sit.
 
Just took a close look at your photo Torry , things do look amiss , as described above , also ,did you do a repair on your stator for broken wire , when I mined mine I re-epoxied where I had dug into it before it went back in service ....
 
Craig said:
Just took a close look at your photo Torry , things do look amiss , as described above , also ,did you do a repair on your stator for broken wire , when I mined mine I re-epoxied where I had dug into it before it went back in service ....
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Torry did not post a photo, that is mine. And yes I did address the alternator wire.
 
swooshdave said:
Torry did not post a photo, that is mine. And yes I did address the alternator wire.
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Beat me to it SD.
My SuperGlue in groove only method worked to place the seal. But subsequent rides have shown a pretty descent leakage of ATF. Im ordering a fresh seal and going to have another go. It seemed to hold extremely well last season using Hylomar on rubber. Maybe the rubber degraded as it seems mushy and won't stay in groove without SuperGlue. Im out of my 40 year old tube of Hylomar...
 
10drum said:
I've used this method on sealed electrical enclosures for 35 years.

Sometimes the o-ring is too long. You can cut it, fit it in the groove, then cut the excess off, and super glue the ends together. Be sure to make the cut(s) square, and put the glued seam at the top. I'd use Mystic JT6 grease, to help hold it in the groove.
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Did it yesterday. :cool:
 
It’s not that the O-ring is too long, it’s that it’s getting stretched too much.
 
Steves said:
I gave up, just live with oil all over the left side of the bike.
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My buddy George thinks the same. "It is what it is".

One day he called me to have a listen to some rattle noise coming from his primary. We pulled the cover to find that the o-ring was not seated in the groove. All the ATF had leaked out. Primary chain was rusty and stretched to the point of dragging on the inner chaincase. Just sayin'
 
After chasing primary leaks for far too long I was directed to Threebond White RTV. It’s specific for motorcycle chain cases. Not cheap but no more leaks.
 
Am I missing something. my O ring needs nothing more than a smear of grease to hold it in place... this also allows for the ring to move slightly if there's any alignment needed under clamping,
Does the O ring just not stay in the grove.... id rather lay the bike over to stop it coming out rather than applying any sealant to it
 
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