Bought a nice blue 2004 pan 26k on her with a slight oil weep. Found the internal mat trapped under the valve covers both sides and sorted that with new valve gaskets and new valve cover bolts and made sure the mat wasn’t trapped on it. However still a very very slight oil weep off her out of the square slot at the water pump. Looks like it’s like this with a while from oil residue around bottom end. Read all the posts on this excellent forum and went after the oil gallery plug.After stripping the bike air box and throttle body to get to it I sealed it with thread lock. The gallery plug had no sealant on it but I don’t think this was the issue. I think the issue was the oil pressure switch. I found no sealant on the threads of the oil pressure switch with just a bead of silicone on top of it. it had evidence of oil leakage around it. I sealed that as welI. I thought I’d share this. I’ve been running now few weeks and happy to say it’s bone dry.
St1300 oil leak
- Thread starter Neil McCarthy
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2006
- Messages
- 9,682
- Location
- Jacksonville
- Bike
- GL1800 R1200RT NC700
- 2024 Miles
- 008131
- STOC #
- 6651
Welcome to the forum Neil.
Coolant mixed with road grime on the bottom front and right side of the engine is often taken for oil seeping out of somewhere but the common cause is coolant hose seeps. Every ST1300 that sees use eventually weeps, seeps, and finally leaks coolant down from the vee between the cylinder heads. As you found, there is a drain channel that brings leaks from above down and out the square drain hole. Coolant comes out of hose to metal joints and seeps past the sealing O ring of the thermostat housing.
Coolant mixed with road grime on the bottom front and right side of the engine is often taken for oil seeping out of somewhere but the common cause is coolant hose seeps. Every ST1300 that sees use eventually weeps, seeps, and finally leaks coolant down from the vee between the cylinder heads. As you found, there is a drain channel that brings leaks from above down and out the square drain hole. Coolant comes out of hose to metal joints and seeps past the sealing O ring of the thermostat housing.