Help Oil leak.

[TvTech2711]

Hi all Just joined. I just got a xs last week. I got a really good deal on on a 79. Bike is in mint condition. Runs great. I don't even have it plate on it yet. I got it with a oil leak coming from the air cleaner. I haven't had a chance to go out and buy a repair book yet. I have oil coming from a port on the bottom side of the air cleaner. Is there something missing from this spot or should that not be open?

[Czekus21]

You may want to check your crank case breather tube and make sure it's not pluged.

[prometheus578]

Check to see if you have too much oil in it. Too much oil causes the engine to push it up the crankcase breather into the airbox. Check the oil with the bike on the centerstand, not the sidestand
Just had another one at work. New owner checked the oil level with the bike leaning on the sidestand. Obviously, there was no oil to be seen in the sight window... so he put in 2 more quarts! Same symptoms that you describe.
If you overfilled it yourself... might as well admit it, we'll all have a good laugh and then move on. We've all been there.
Welcome to the club

[TopCatGr58]

Welcome,

Congrats on your find, however, the carbs and petcocks are notorious for developing leaks when left unattended/used for some time due to aging rubber and such! So....before you start it up again, dip a stick into the oil thru the main crank case filler spout....right side clutch case cover. Then pull it out and put a match/lighter to it, IF it catches fire, then you've got GAS in your oil due to leaking parts mentioned above....DON'T RUN THE ENGINE ANYMORE, until you change your oil, and find and fix those fuel leaks, cause they will leak thru the carbs and get into the engine, contaminating your oil....causing it to be in an overfilled volume and very thinned out, will burn up bearings very quickly that way! Sorry for the alarmed post, but want you to be able to keep riding your new machine for many years to come!
T.C.

[Ken Talbot]

When I picked up Tsunami many years back, it was leaking a huge quantity of oil from the airbox. The previous owner bought it from another guy, never rode it or got to know anything about it, then sold it to me. Before I went down to look at it, he thought he should at least check the oil. Not knowing any better, he filled it until the level came up to about the bottom of the oil filler plug hole, much like you wold do for a Briggs and Stratton lawnmower. That resulted in about 4 or 5 litres too much oil, and it spewed out all over the place. I discovered the sight window on the lower right hand side, and siphoned out enough oil to bring it back to just full.