Blowing (not burning) oil?

[rfbatman]

Anybody got any ideas?

My 81 XS1100 Special is blowing out about a quart of oil every 150-200 miles. It is visible from underneath the cover.

I put on a new valvecover gasket a few months ago thinking that would fix it. But I am seeing oil by each of the rubber spacers (if that is what they are called) between the fins. As you can tell, I am not in the least bit mechanical so the description of the problem area is not so good. It is happening only on the right side of the engine (thats from the "on the bike" view).

I spoke to my mechanic and he indicated blowing oil is a much better problem that burning oil.

Does anyone have any suggestions before I give it to him for service that would give him a starting point? The bike is running great, but this is a pain.

The knowledge base on this site is awsome so I know your suggestions on how to correct will be a great starting point for my mechanic.

Thanks in advance,

Rick

[sambodie]

Did you replace the half-moon rubber gaskets when you replaced the cam cover gasket? I would try that and also check the breather tube to be sure it isn't blocked.

[Ken Talbot]

Try running a finger over the rubber plug in the end of the camchain slack adjuster. If you get even a slight trace of oil there, that is probably your problem. Under way, any oil seeping out there can get blown back to the rear of the motor and look like is coming from all kinds of places.

[rfbatman]

Blowing (not burning) oil

Thanks Sam and Ken. I'll pass both those suggestions to my mechanic.....and no I did not replace the half moon rubber gaskets.

[mitch]

How to find it

A friend told me this once , degrease the engine then let it dry good (overnite ) then take it for a 5 to 10 mile run . When u get back take some baby powder and spray it around the engine, hopefully you will see where the oil is coming from. Worth a try.......MITCH

[fusionking]

Now that is a good idea....definitely out of the box...thanks Mitch

[rfbatman]

Blowing oil from top of engine fixed.

Originally posted by sambodie
Did you replace the half-moon rubber gaskets when you replaced the cam cover gasket? I would try that and also check the breather tube to be sure it isn't blocked.

That did it. I ordered the half moon gaskets from Partsnmore.com for 2 bucks apiece and that did the trick! Drove the bike 40 miles today and not a trace of oil on the engine and the oil level did not drop.

Thanks to all for their suggestions.

Rick

[buffalo]

I say it's not leaking oil... just sweating horsepower!