ST1300 fluid leak - failed head gasket?

Double oh nine · Oct 12, 2014

I bought this bike only a couple of months ago, its a 2003 with 17,000 miles. It runs like a dream I'm so very pleased with it.
I've embarked upon a full service, just to satisfy myself that everything is up to scratch. I've done lots of work on my bikes over the years, mainly Hondas, but with some BMW and Ducati experience too.
I've found 2 issues so far, a minor weep/leak from the water pump pee hole (I've read those threads), and this one which is potentially a bit more of a problem.
This is on the left hand side, what appears at first glance to be an oil leak from the head gasket. I'm not completely sure yet if it's oil or coolant. As far as I can see, there's no water in the oil or vice versa. As you can see from the pics, it is quite minor and the leaked fluid does not run far down the engine, which makes me think it's more likely to be coolant which then evaporates. Having only recently bought the bike, I don't know how long it's been there.
Do any of you experienced ST owners have any advice for me? I think my options are

(i) Do nothing, its very minor - nothing to worry about
(ii) Torque down the head bolts
(iii) replace the head gasket
I can't see that it could be coming from anywhere else.

I keep reading that head gaskets on these bikes DON'T FAIL, could I be the first???

I'd be grateful for any wisdom that might come my way.

Smallville · Oct 12, 2014

Best to clean the area and see where it's coming from and if it's still leaking. Could be something from the assembly process.

zooker13 · Oct 12, 2014

There's a drain hole from the spark plug cavity that exits around that area. If the cam tower o-ring or cam cover gasket were to leak it might look like your leak.

Al Gully · Oct 12, 2014

I've got a spot exactly like yours on the right side (passenger side).
Thinking it might of leaked down from the valve cover gaskets (front or rear) and pooled there.
Check the front and rear of your head and see if there is a trail to that area.
I cleaned up my area a few months ago and haven't had a chance to look at it again.
Also, I've never seen a drop oil oil on the ground in 4 years.

This is what I'm doing.
(i) Do nothing, its very minor - nothing to worry about

dduelin · Oct 12, 2014

Air whips around in there when riding and there is nothing I see in the pics to worry about at all. It might be a very minor coolant leak from the thermostat housing O ring or related hose clamps that finds it's way down the right side of the engine . I found similar on mine tens of thousands of miles ago and nothing more than snugging the myriad of hose clamps took care of it.

Do no harm.... clean it up and monitor.

Enjoy the new ride!!!!

BakerBoy · Oct 12, 2014

my vote ... "(i)"

You've already done a lot to pull the exhaust pipes!

That film isn't but a couple drips of something. Clean it and watch it for the next couple years.

RCS · Oct 12, 2014

My vote is 1. Not coming from head gasket. Looks like someone did a valve clearance check and had a minor and brief leak from the valve cover.

dwalby · Oct 12, 2014

looks like some oil residue directly above your main oil spot (at the valve cover gasket), but hard to tell how much from the picture. Perhaps you have a valve cover leak that is dripping down on the exhaust and getting splashed into that area. Or you could have a minor head gasket leak there too, since the area directly above it is oil-free. Hard to say for sure. But bottom line is if you don't have a full-on head gasket failure, as in oil/coolant mixing, the amount of oil leak you show there isn't worth worrying about.

970mike · Oct 12, 2014

Clean up the area and ride the ST that is nothing to worry about.

gsforster · Oct 12, 2014

Mine has exactly the same spots on it and has 92000 kms on it. I cleaned it off last year and see that it is just starting to return now. I think it may be the oring under the rocker carrier block starting to harden and dry out a bit. check the spark plug well for any signs of oil in there.

Double oh nine · Oct 13, 2014

A big thank you to everybody for the fantastic response, this really is a great community!

I've talked to a few experienced mechanics locally, including Isle of Man Honda, and folding in all of your responses on this thread, the current score is 16 - 0 in favour of "stop worrying and ride the thing". Which is exactly what I'm going to do...

I always seem to end up doing this whenever I buy a used bike, tear it down, inspect everything closely and build it back up with any adjustments or repairs taken care of. For me I think it's a psychological thing, helps me make the bike 'mine'.

You might be interested to know I did a valve clearance check, 13 of the 16 are spot on, but 3 of the exhaust valves are close to the edge of the tolerance range. I'll not make any adjustments this time, but will check again at the next big service. Two of the 3 exhaust clamps were corroded so they'll be replaced. I've yet to get onto the braking system but I don't expect to find any problems, they look good from the outside and work very well. And that's it...everything seems to be in order, not bad for an 11 year old.

Thanks again for your input, you've helped put my mind at rest.

gsforster · Oct 13, 2014

Double oh nine said:
You might be interested to know I did a valve clearance check, 13 of the 16 are spot on, but 3 of the exhaust valves are close to the edge of the tolerance range. I'll not make any adjustments this time, but will check again at the next big service.

Easy then, because if you do have to make a shim change, the cam covers will come off anyway, and there are orings that fit around the plug wells under the cam covers easy enough to renew when the covers ar off. On the other hand I've never done anything with mine and don't plan on it unless I need to make a valve adjustment.

970mike · Oct 13, 2014

Now go put some gas in the ST and go ride!!

Double oh nine · Jan 15, 2016

Just a quick update on this one - I've got the plastics off again so got access to this area. There is no sign of oil or other mess in this area, it's as clean as a bell. I'm no further forward in finding out what it was or how it got there, but whatever it was it ain't happening now. The bike has done about 5,000 miles since it was first seen, plenty of time for it to happen again if it was going to.

Steve D · Jun 18, 2020

Double oh nine said:
I bought this bike only a couple of months ago, its a 2003 with 17,000 miles. It runs like a dream I'm so very pleased with it.
I've embarked upon a full service, just to satisfy myself that everything is up to scratch. I've done lots of work on my bikes over the years, mainly Hondas, but with some BMW and Ducati experience too.
I've found 2 issues so far, a minor weep/leak from the water pump pee hole (I've read those threads), and this one which is potentially a bit more of a problem.
This is on the left hand side, what appears at first glance to be an oil leak from the head gasket. I'm not completely sure yet if it's oil or coolant. As far as I can see, there's no water in the oil or vice versa. As you can see from the pics, it is quite minor and the leaked fluid does not run far down the engine, which makes me think it's more likely to be coolant which then evaporates. Having only recently bought the bike, I don't know how long it's been there.
Do any of you experienced ST owners have any advice for me? I think my options are

(i) Do nothing, its very minor - nothing to worry about
(ii) Torque down the head bolts
(iii) replace the head gasket
I can't see that it could be coming from anywhere else.

I keep reading that head gaskets on these bikes DON'T FAIL, could I be the first???

I'd be grateful for any wisdom that might come my way.

Hello! I realize your problem was a few years ago now but I've got an identical situation and was wondering what happened in the end and did you m,manage to sort it or find out what what the problem was? Mines an A4 1300 with 58k miles on the clock. Thanks.

Igofar · Jun 18, 2020

Double oh nine said:
I've yet to get onto the braking system but I don't expect to find any problems

Double oh nine · Jun 18, 2020

Steve D said:
Hello! I realize your problem was a few years ago now but I've got an identical situation and was wondering what happened in the end and did you m,manage to sort it or find out what what the problem was? Mines an A4 1300 with 58k miles on the clock. Thanks.

Hi Steve,
This turned out to be a bit of a mystery as to the exact cause, but one thing I can say for sure is that whatever it was it certainly wasn't a failed head gasket. Along the way I took the rocker cover off to check valve clearances and made sure the cover gasket was seated correctly when I put it back on. I also removed the spark plugs for an inspection and did notice a little oiliness/dirt at the bottom of the recess, more than the front one. If you look closely at my pics, right hand lower exhaust port stud, just to the left of that stud is a drain hole - I think this is a drain which comes from the spark plug recess, so that if anything spills in there it has somewhere to go.
My theory is that the previous owner somehow spilled a little oil into that spark plug recess (perhaps when removing the rocker cover?), or possibly failed to clean the rocker cover mating surfaces well enough which then allowed a little oil to leak into the spark plug recess....which then escaped via the drain and swirling wind behind the fairing did the rest.
I just cleaned it off and have kept an eye on it ever since - the bike has now done 33k miles and it has never re-appeared. It's a non issue for me now, I hope it's the same for you.

Steve D · Jun 18, 2020

Double oh nine said:
Hi Steve,
This turned out to be a bit of a mystery as to the exact cause, but one thing I can say for sure is that whatever it was it certainly wasn't a failed head gasket. Along the way I took the rocker cover off to check valve clearances and made sure the cover gasket was seated correctly when I put it back on. I also removed the spark plugs for an inspection and did notice a little oiliness/dirt at the bottom of the recess, more than the front one. If you look closely at my pics, right hand lower exhaust port stud, just to the left of that stud is a drain hole - I think this is a drain which comes from the spark plug recess, so that if anything spills in there it has somewhere to go.
My theory is that the previous owner somehow spilled a little oil into that spark plug recess (perhaps when removing the rocker cover?), or possibly failed to clean the rocker cover mating surfaces well enough which then allowed a little oil to leak into the spark plug recess....which then escaped via the drain and swirling wind behind the fairing did the rest.
I just cleaned it off and have kept an eye on it ever since - the bike has now done 33k miles and it has never re-appeared. It's a non issue for me now, I hope it's the same for you.

That's excellent news! I've only had this particular Pan since September 2019, and this is the first time the sides have been off. (Zero miles accumulated during the winter!). The oil/whatever stains are in exactly the same place as yours were, and I think you could have a good p[point there as I also found a tiny smidge of oil in the rear spark plug recess. Anyway I'm going to whip the cover off again this weekend and have another look. Many thanks for your reply and observations. Good riding!

ST1300 fluid leak - failed head gasket?

Double oh nine

Attachments

Smallville

Scott

zooker13

Ken Zook

Al Gully

dduelin

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace

BakerBoy

It's all small stuff.

RCS

dwalby

970mike

Mike Brown

gsforster

Double oh nine

gsforster

970mike

Mike Brown

Double oh nine

Steve D

Igofar

Double oh nine

Steve D