head gasket oil leak maybe not

[Mathh]

Silicon in the tube sounds to me like bad news. A bit of silicon can block your oil line or one of the banjo bolts. One of the two has only a very small calibrated hole. A blocked oil feed means no oil to the head. I would check if the engine / oil pump / sump / filter are free of silicon if I were you.

[speedlimit85]

I cleaned out all the silicon that I saw.

I changed out that metal return pipe and now it is leaking from the top and not the bottom.

Must be the metal tube. I ordered one from ebay. But they are all used with no guaranty.

[DiverRay]

Metal tubes were brazed, IIRC. You could try to de-grease one of the tubes you have, then solder the end that is leaking with some pipe solder. Yeah, it melts at about 375F to 425F, but the oil should NEVER get that hot. If you have a MAP Gas torch, you can braze it with that. Brazing rod with flux isn't that much money when the bike leaks oil.

[speedlimit85]

I was just told it is probably the surface of the round part of the metal tube is not flat. It can be repaired by sanding on a flat surface with fine paper. Then it will seal against the washers and the bolts.

[bikerphil]

Here's a thought, what about getting a custom braided line made at a hydraulic shop? They could duplicate it rather easily with the old one in hand. Then it would have brand new banjo fittings and should seal nicely.

[LAB3]

Here's a thought, what about getting a custom braided line made at a hydraulic shop? They could duplicate it rather easily with the old one in hand. Then it would have brand new banjo fittings and should seal nicely.

You could measure the length you need and get one dirt cheap on eBay too.

[speedlimit85]

This never happened to you guys right? I think it is rare that the surface gets disturbed.

The bottom one is from breaking the bolt and the top one was not fully tight for years.

So the 12$ one from ebay should work monday.

I want to sand one and try it so we can all learn a new trick.

[speedlimit85]

Now that I'm sanding it, I see a dent. It may be the cause of the leak and may be too deep to sand even.

[DEEBS11]

You will be better off with the used part that is coming. Also, you can pick up 4 new copper washers at an auto parts store. Just bring the bolt and one old washer to fit up.

[Mathh]

just to make sure you can also heat the metal tube to check it for hairline cracks as I had two of those tubes with hairline cracks over the years. When you heat it (does not need to be red hot) you can see some oil appear through the crack. Later I also swapped them for braided lines.

[speedlimit85]

50 mile run seems good. Thanks everyone.

[bikerphil]

That's good news, I take it you used the pipe you bought on eBay?

[speedlimit85]

Yea. I got 2busted tubes if anyone wants em.