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Oil leak between block and head. Head gasket?

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  • #1

    Oil leak between block and head. Head gasket?

    Put on several hundred miles this weekend on my '78 since I finally got it dialed in and purring like a mean kitten. A cheapy $12 digital caliper made extremely short work of the carb float issues. Thanks to tat2demon sharing a spare idle mixture screw, I got the old girl running great.

    Seems to be seeping oil at the joint where the head and jug meet tho. After about 200 miles, there is(was) oil spattered all over the clutch cover, starter cover and outer carb bowls.

    Head gasket?? I checked the torque on the head bolts and they are fine. Compression numbers are fine.

    Bonus:

    Here are some pictured from today's driving around town. All the miles this weekend, 3 states and I didn't take ONE picture.



    1) Fire up Internet Explorer
    2) http://www.yahoo.com
    3) type "www.mapquest.com" into the Yahoo search page.
    4) go about day as VP managing multi-million dollar financial contracts.
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  • #2
    There's no oil pressure there at the head gasket, so it's not coming from there. Most likely, it's either your cam chain adjuster or valve cover leaking. Wind blows it all over the place. Wind blows the oil through the head to drip off the carb boot and right onto the top cylinder fin. When you lean the bike on it's sidestand, the oil will flow around to the front left and look like a head gasket leak between the two.

    One thing you might want to make sure of is to pull the left and right side covers and make sure it isn't a crank seal leaking.
    Try your hardest to be the kind of person your dog thinks you are.

    You can live to be 100, as long as you give up everything that would make you want to live to be 100!

    Current bikes:
    '06 Suzuki DR650
    *'82 XJ1100 with the 1179 kit. "Mad Maxim"
    '82 XJ1100 Completely stock fixer-upper
    '82 XJ1100 Bagger fixer-upper
    '82 XJ1100 Motor/frame and lots of boxes of parts
    '82 XJ1100 Parts bike
    '81 XS1100 Special
    '81 YZ250
    '80 XS850 Special
    '80 XR100
    *Crashed/Totalled, still own

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    • #3
      Ok.. I replaced the CCT about 2 weeks ago... Thought I gasketed her up enough.. Will go doublecheck that area. Not sure if there was pressure at the head/block joint or not.
      1) Fire up Internet Explorer
      2) http://www.yahoo.com
      3) type "www.mapquest.com" into the Yahoo search page.
      4) go about day as VP managing multi-million dollar financial contracts.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Diskman01 View Post
        Ok.. I replaced the CCT about 2 weeks ago... Thought I gasketed her up enough.. Will go doublecheck that area. Not sure if there was pressure at the head/block joint or not.
        hopefully U used shorter allen bolts with the swap, plus, have seen some head castings where there is a casting edge that'll catch the auto tensioners and you think it is pulled down tight. Somethin' you might check also.
        81H Venturer1100 "The Bentley" (on steroids) 97 Yamaha YZ250(age reducer) 92 Honda ST1100 "Twisty"(touring rocket) Age is relative to the number of seconds counted 'airing' out an 85ft. table-top.

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        • #5
          The area around the CCT is dry as a bone. It's the ends of the block/head that are seeping oil. Valve cover gasket is dry too....

          Odd..
          1) Fire up Internet Explorer
          2) http://www.yahoo.com
          3) type "www.mapquest.com" into the Yahoo search page.
          4) go about day as VP managing multi-million dollar financial contracts.

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          • #6
            My first XS11 I thaought I had a head gasket leak. I pullled the head (gasket was fine) put it back togeather and bent a valve (did a lot of things wrong). Found that the leak was comming from the inner part of the valve cover and running out the air pass through holes (not sure what they are called) in the head.
            Ty

            78 XS1100E - Now in Minnesota
            80 XS1100LG - The Punisher
            82 XJ1100 - Current project - The Twins
            82 XJ1100 - Wife's Bike - The Twins
            82 XJ1100 - Daughter's Bike
            72 Suzuki TS125 - Daughter's Bike
            72 Yamaha Mini JT2 - Youngest Daughter's bike (She wants a bigger one now)

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            • #7
              Check all around the valve cover, it's probably leaking on the inside between the cams.

              Those are drain holes so the spark plug wells don't fill up with water........
              or oil. They drain just above where the head meets the cylinders, where the head gasket is.
              Greg

              Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

              ― Albert Einstein

              80 SG Ol' Okie;79 engine & carbs w/pods, 45 pilots, 140 mains, Custom Mac 4 into 2 exhaust, ACCT,XS850 final drive,110/90/19 front tire,TKat fork brace, XS750 140 MPH speedometer, Vetter IV fairing, aftermarket hard bags and trunk, LG high back seat, XJ rear shocks.

              The list changes.

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              • #8
                Nice bike!
                1970? Honda Z50... gone
                1974? Yamaha 100 Enduro... gone
                1974 Honda CB200... gone
                1981 Yamaha Virago 750... gone
                1993 Honda Shadow 1100... gone
                2008 Honda VTX 1800F
                1982 Yamaha XJ1100J w/850 final, Raptor ACCT
                1979 Yamaha XS1100SF "Chewey" Raptor ACCT

                http://www.johnsoldiron.com

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                • #9
                  I had a leak on one of my 78's near the contact of the head to the jugs. It was an annoying seep. I think it may have had something to to with an oil return passage. I cleaned it with carb cleaner and applied some RTV Black and the seep stopped. It was on the right side at the rear. I don't know, but I think there is a plastic sleeve for the head bolts and if that one is broken, maybe that is the source of the leak? All I can say is, the RTV did the trick.
                  Skids (Sid Hansen)

                  Down to one 1978 E. Stock air box with K&N filter, 81H pipes and carbs, 8500 feet elevation.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by skids View Post
                    I had a leak on one of my 78's near the contact of the head to the jugs. It was an annoying seep. I think it may have had something to to with an oil return passage. I cleaned it with carb cleaner and applied some RTV Black and the seep stopped. It was on the right side at the rear. I don't know, but I think there is a plastic sleeve for the head bolts and if that one is broken, maybe that is the source of the leak? All I can say is, the RTV did the trick.
                    All oil return is through the timing chain tunnel, oil going to the head comes only from the metal line that runs up the rear center of the cylinders. So the only leaks possible are from the valve cover, banjo bolts on the oil line, cct, or a bad head gasket at the timing chain.tunnel (unlikely though).

                    Or I guess if there was a crack in the head that hit one of the pressurized passages that flow to the cam journals, but I don't see that happening.
                    Nathan
                    KD9ARL

                    μολὼν λαβέ

                    1978 XS1100E
                    K&N Filter
                    #45 pilot Jet, #137.5 Main Jet
                    OEM Exhaust
                    ATK Fork Brace
                    LED Dash lights
                    Ammeter, Oil Pressure, Oil Temp, and Volt Meters
                    Green Monster Coils
                    SS Brake Lines
                    Vision 550 Auto Tensioner

                    In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.

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                    • #11
                      Torque

                      Check the torque on the head bolts.
                      mack
                      79 XS 1100 SF Special
                      HERMES
                      original owner
                      http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps6932d5df.jpg

                      81 XS 1100 LH MNS
                      SPICA
                      http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/ad305/mack-055/2.jpg

                      78 XS 11E
                      IOTA
                      https://youtu.be/wB5Jfbp6SUc
                      https://youtu.be/RaI3WYHSuWA



                      Have recovery trailer and shop if you breakdown in my area.
                      Frankford, Ont, Canada
                      613-398-6186

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                      • #12
                        oops

                        Missed that on your first post. Sorry, disregard.
                        mack
                        79 XS 1100 SF Special
                        HERMES
                        original owner
                        http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps6932d5df.jpg

                        81 XS 1100 LH MNS
                        SPICA
                        http://i946.photobucket.com/albums/ad305/mack-055/2.jpg

                        78 XS 11E
                        IOTA
                        https://youtu.be/wB5Jfbp6SUc
                        https://youtu.be/RaI3WYHSuWA



                        Have recovery trailer and shop if you breakdown in my area.
                        Frankford, Ont, Canada
                        613-398-6186

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