Oil Leak - Help Needed

[el gato]

Hi all,

Need some help with what I hope will turn out to be a small problem.
After going for my first spring ride and putting the bike in the garage for its' spring oil change I noticed a small streak of oil on the right side panel just below the valve cover.
Changed the oil, re-torqued the 3 VC bolts, went for a half day ride, came back and noticed an oil streak in the same place.
I assume (and you all know what that means ), that this means I need to replace the valve cover gasket. Aside from the time to remove the tupperware, this seems straightforward and I've already hauled out the manual.

Anyone else have, or heard of this problem?
Am I correct in my assumption that this is the fix needed?

Any help/advice would be appreciated. :bow1:

Thanks
Mark

I know I have a tube of Yamabond around here somewhere...

 

[Mellow]

Not sure why it started leaking but many times the leak is because high temp sealant wasn't used on the valve cover after a valve check. You only use it on the half-circle area of the gasket, the rest of the gasket doesn't need any. Remove that side tupperware and pull/clean the gasket then apply sealant to just the half circles and put back on. The 3 bolts have a very low torque setting so you could have over torqued them.

 

[Blrfl]

The bolts also need to be torqued in the proper order. The two bolts at the front are marked with a triangle and need to be torqued first.

--Mark

 

[el gato]

MELLOW & BLRFL:

Mellow: Thanks, I've run into the half circle thing before on my old Nighthawk.
Are you saying I can re-use the old gasket? I always thought a new one was called for.

Blrfl: Thanks for the torque order heads up. I didn't catch that in the manual. I need new glasses!

El Gato Ciego

 

[Mellow]

Mellow: Thanks, I've run into the half circle thing before on my old Nighthawk.
Are you saying I can re-use the old gasket? I always thought a new one was called for.

No, you can re-use it, it's a rubber gasket and as long as it doesn't show any signs of heat damage or cuts then it should be fine.

 

[el gato]

Mellow:

Gracias tanto senor. Usted me ha guardado mucho dinero!

El Gato Loco

 

[Mellow]

Mellow:

Gracias tanto senor. Usted me ha guardado mucho dinero!

El Gato Loco

Well, Taco Bueno Al Pacino to you too sir...

 

[Rick77]

Make sure nothing gets caught under the valve cover when you put it back on. (Rubber flap behind cover)

 

[DannoVT]

Easy to overlook, but check that the o-ring under the plastic filler plug is not missing or damaged (damhik).

Dan

 

[el gato]

MELLOW: Yo quiero Taco Bell! (rrruf!) :eat1: Where did that cheewawa go?
You talkin' to me? There's nobody else in the room, so you must be talkin' to ME! ( si, si , mi amigo Al Pacino!) :bow1:
Rick/Danno: Thanks, it's easy to overlook the small details!

Mark illeak1:

PS: Just loosened the bolts and re-torqued them to spec, so far no oil streaks