Leaking Left Valve Cover Gasket...MY fault

Joined
Jun 17, 2011
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175
Location
Littleton, CO
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05 ST1300 abs
Last November I did a valve check @ 23,000 miles & all was well.

Buttoned everything up & put the bike away for the winter.

First ride this spring I got a burning oil smell all day,,,but thought it was just some residual oil, that seeped out from the valve check. 2nd & third rides, the smell got worse.

I then see the front left valve cover leaking at the corner. After pulling the fairing, I put a small socket wrench on the 3 valve cover bolts....sure enough, none were tight. Tightened them 1/2 a turn & the problem is solved!

Even though I try to check my work twice, little things like this occasionally happen. :eek::
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
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Fort Worth, Texas
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91 ST1100/06 ST1300
Happens....especially when you have a break in continuity on the job or just get in a hurry to finish.
When I picked up my 1991 last summer, the PO had lots of work performed at a non-dealership. Oil filter was just barely finger tight and one spark plug was loose. Good thing I decided to remove the plastic and give it a good cleaning and inspection.
Just a few months ago, I split my left side switch, cleaned and re-greased the turn signal switch contacts. The bike ran really rich for several days. Just before I decided to remove the carbs, I retraced my stpes and found the choke cable end loose from the switch and the cable clamped between the switch halves. I got in a hurry to ride.
 

SupraSabre

48 Years of SoCal Lane Splitting/Commuting-Retired
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000145
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Don't feel bad, I had a shop do that to my '05. I haven't had a shop touch my bikes since, except for warranty work!
 

Blrfl

Natural Rider Enhancement
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Fast Blue One
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After pulling the fairing, I put a small socket wrench on the 3 valve cover bolts....sure enough, none were tight. Tightened them 1/2 a turn & the problem is solved!
If you don't torque them to the spec in the manual, you may find yourself doing it again later.

--Mark
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2007
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Alief, TX, USA
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Are these bolts supposed to have Loktite applied at installation?
I know they require very little torque, or there is a risk of twisting them off.
 
Last edited:
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Apply a wrench only.

--Mark
Makes perfect sense, now that I think about it. Those bolts are quite fragile, so the specified torque is quite low - once that lower shoulder seats against the cylinder head the bolt isn't going any further, so it doesn't take very much torque to twist it off. I'm not speaking from personal experience, but know from several posts I've seen here that has happened to a number of ST-Owners. Applying Loktite to the threads on installation would only serve to glue them on so they would be almost certain to break the next time removal is attempted.
 

Blrfl

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Those bolts are quite fragile, so the specified torque is quite low - once that lower shoulder seats against the cylinder head the bolt isn't going any further, so it doesn't take very much torque to twist it off.
Yup. Those fasteners are fragile because there isn't a lot of room in the cylinder head for bigger threads. The torque you do apply plus the upward tension from the cover and the rubber donuts is more than enough to keep everything in place without extra help.

--Mark
 

Fortunet 1

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Gilroy, Ca.
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06 ST 1300
If you don't torque them to the spec in the manual, you may find yourself doing it again later.

--Mark
What torque spec (inch pounds?) do you show? (or use) And do you apply the heat type silicone to just the half moon rubbers only?
 

Blrfl

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What torque spec (inch pounds?) do you show? (or use) And do you apply the heat type silicone to just the half moon rubbers only?
Apply sealant to the cutouts in the cylinder head, torque the bolts to 10 N-m or 7 lb-ft (which is 84 lb-in. if you do the math) and make sure you do the ones marked with arrows on the head cover first.

--Mark
 

Fortunet 1

Fortunet1
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Apply sealant to the cutouts in the cylinder head, torque the bolts to 10 N-m or 7 lb-ft (which is 84 lb-in. if you do the math) and make sure you do the ones marked with arrows on the head cover first.

--Mark
Thanks Mark....will be doing that today if all goes smooth and i don't drop a shim into the abbiss . CRF
 

Norm

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Last November I did a valve check @ 23,000 miles & all was well.

Buttoned everything up & put the bike away for the winter.

First ride this spring I got a burning oil smell all day,,,but thought it was just some residual oil, that seeped out from the valve check. 2nd & third rides, the smell got worse."

As someone who has been a tech for over 50 years, I would like to reference your mistake. It is this kind of mistake which separates professionals from amateurs and shows lack of prior planning. In future, it is important that you have someone drop by while you are doing service work. In this way you will have someone to blame other than yourself which is the first stage in planning any project. No need to thank me, just learn from the error.
;)
 
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