First of all I'd like to thank everyone who takes the time to post helpful information on this site. I'm a new member with my first bike '03 ST1300 at age 54. I can fix lots of stuff, but auto/moto mechanics is my least favorite.
I bought this bike about 3 months ago. I knew there was some oily stuff on the engine, but I was hoping (ignoring) that it was from a brake cylinder that was replaced. I cleaned up the engine, took it for a 1000 mile ride (that's another story with only 500 miles riding experience) got back home and the engine/oil pan was covered with oil. There was no oil reaching the ground, and the site glass read very little loss. I could not live with an oil leak on
my new bike! I dove into ST-Owners.com and the factory manual I downloaded. I pulled all the tupperware, I cleaned up the engine again. Started it up on the stand and in 1 minute saw oil dripping down from the square hole.
I saw and smelled no coolant. Nothing was dripping from the round hole. I read everything I could find about leaks and with info from "playfair" "Igofar" "dduelin" and others I thought odds are the oil is leaking from the Mystery Plug or Galley plug.I ruled out water pump seals because I figured there would have to be coolant or coolant/oil mix leaking from somewhere. I pulled the radiator (no oil in coolant). I pushed the thermostat aside and saw and felt the oily "V"! I could not comfortably get to the Galley Plug from the front. I pulled the gas tank, air box, and throttle body, which was probably the toughest and most nerve wracking part of the job. thanks to
dduelin for the pic with the pry bar. I used this method with a 2x4 and lubed the rubber with teflon (o-ring safe) spray. WOW still stuck on there good! No way I would have kept trying without the help of you guys.:bow1: I pulled back the mat and got a look at the Oily "V". I saw no oil on the valve covers, so I ruled out a pinched mat in the gaskets. I was aware that it could also be the alternator O-ring or the Oil pressure sensor switch threads. I agonized a bit and considered pulling and repairing that stuff too. I decide I did not want dig any deeper and I'd go with the odds, seal the mystery plug and get the hell out of there.Why would Honda screw in an oil plug without sealing it or adding a gasket!!! Do all the ST1300's suffer from this or maybe just the earlier models. I used Permatex Black maximum oil resistance sealant. Not sure if that was the best choice, but the leak is NO MORE!!! SEE pics if your interested.
Thanks again
ST Owners.com
I guess I need to make a donation!!
I bought this bike about 3 months ago. I knew there was some oily stuff on the engine, but I was hoping (ignoring) that it was from a brake cylinder that was replaced. I cleaned up the engine, took it for a 1000 mile ride (that's another story with only 500 miles riding experience) got back home and the engine/oil pan was covered with oil. There was no oil reaching the ground, and the site glass read very little loss. I could not live with an oil leak on
my new bike! I dove into ST-Owners.com and the factory manual I downloaded. I pulled all the tupperware, I cleaned up the engine again. Started it up on the stand and in 1 minute saw oil dripping down from the square hole.
I saw and smelled no coolant. Nothing was dripping from the round hole. I read everything I could find about leaks and with info from "playfair" "Igofar" "dduelin" and others I thought odds are the oil is leaking from the Mystery Plug or Galley plug.I ruled out water pump seals because I figured there would have to be coolant or coolant/oil mix leaking from somewhere. I pulled the radiator (no oil in coolant). I pushed the thermostat aside and saw and felt the oily "V"! I could not comfortably get to the Galley Plug from the front. I pulled the gas tank, air box, and throttle body, which was probably the toughest and most nerve wracking part of the job. thanks to
dduelin for the pic with the pry bar. I used this method with a 2x4 and lubed the rubber with teflon (o-ring safe) spray. WOW still stuck on there good! No way I would have kept trying without the help of you guys.:bow1: I pulled back the mat and got a look at the Oily "V". I saw no oil on the valve covers, so I ruled out a pinched mat in the gaskets. I was aware that it could also be the alternator O-ring or the Oil pressure sensor switch threads. I agonized a bit and considered pulling and repairing that stuff too. I decide I did not want dig any deeper and I'd go with the odds, seal the mystery plug and get the hell out of there.Why would Honda screw in an oil plug without sealing it or adding a gasket!!! Do all the ST1300's suffer from this or maybe just the earlier models. I used Permatex Black maximum oil resistance sealant. Not sure if that was the best choice, but the leak is NO MORE!!! SEE pics if your interested.
Thanks again
ST Owners.com
I guess I need to make a donation!!
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