Oil Leak??

My bike seems to be leaking oil from what I think is the crankcase?? It's not a lot just some drips. So i believe it could just be a gasket problem but I need to get the correct gasket. I assume I would need to do an oil change after replacing the gasket? It's only near the bottom left side of the motor if that helps.

 

Looks like it could be coming from the shiftier seal? Not too sure what is going on under the shiftier? Nothing coming from the top of the engine and working its way down?

As for the oil change, you would want to drain the oil before you start to take off the covers. So the oil change would be part of it.

 

Go to xj4ever site on upper right of page Chacal will have the seals start a PM with him.

 

Your petcock is set to prime in the photo?

Check the oil level also and make sure it does not smell of gas. If the oil gets contaminated with gas the thinned oil has a tendency to weep by the seals and can cause damage to the engine from lack of lubrication.

 

@Timbox nothing near the top of the motor. I word most of it off and it was only slightly higher than the shifter.

@Rooster53 my petcock only has "prime, on, and reserve."

 

^^^ correct. When set on prime the fuel flows freely so if you were to have an issue with a float or needle valve gas would fill up the crank case. Set in the on position fuel will only flow when the petcock is provided vacuum from the engine cranking or running.

 

@Chitwood thanks! I did not know that.

 

Not a problem. That's how they are supposed to work anyway. The petcock on the girlfriends maxim needs to be rebuilt or replaced as it flows fuel freely no matter what position it's in. May be worth checking yours if anything for peace of mind but definitely check the oil in your crankcase for fuel dilution. Sounds like you may be draining it anyway but you don't want to run it with fuel diluted oil

 

@Chitwood @Timbox Just got home and looked again. After cleaning what oil I could the other day, it does kinda appear to come from the shift lever. Not sure what that means but is there just an o ring or something that seals that off? Again it's just a small amount of oil and my petcock was turned to on today. Just saying.

 

Partzilla should be able to help you find out what you need. Not too sure what yr and bike you have but here is the start of the Yam bikes from their page.
http://www.partzilla.com/parts/search/Yamaha/Motorcycle/parts.html

Should be easy to find once you put the yr and bike in there.

 

Put the yr and model of your bike in your signature then everyone knows what bike we are talking about here...it is seal that you are looking at ....that probably needs to be replaced.....at the shifter lever where it goes thru the case.....drain your oil.....loosen screws.....pop cover off....knock out old seal....put in new seal

 

Ok so I put my bike info in my signature. Hopefully you all can see it now.

Ordering the part tomorrow, hopefully if get here soon. Also what oil should I use. I've read that the Shell RotellaT is a good brand and Autozone carries it. But what weight should I use since I live in NM?

 

My own personal preference is valvoline motorcycle oil 20w-50. Have had good luck so far with it in my maxim and my friends have had no issues in a cb400 and xs400 for quite a few seasons now. My local advance auto carries it

 

Nice update on your signature.

I run Valvoline Motorcycle Oil here in SoCal 20W-50....

It is all you need.....available almost anywhere......AutoZone

 

Good job on the signature update, that will help all of us. Any of the oils mentioned would work great. I use the Shell R T as well.

 

Just an update: finally got around to changing the oil. Everything went fine and I do believe I had some fuel in the oil as it was very thin and kinda smelled like old gas. Oil filter went on fine as well as the oil seal. Speaking of that, there wasn't a seal when I took my crankcase cover off!
So I don't see any leakage yet. Will check in the morning. However my battery is not fully charged and couldn't get her to start up to cycle the oil. The attached photo was me trying to swish the oil to show the color and how thin it was. Thanks for the help guys.

 

So unfortunately after testing my battery it seems to be going bad. When starting the bike it drops to 8v I just keep going down from there. So got to replace the battery.

However from where I put in the oil seal in, seems to be still leaking. Any ideas why? It seems completely sealed.

 

Did you put the oil seal in with the flat side facing out?
Did you clean the shift shaft and make sure that there were no nicks or burrs on it?
Did you also replace the shift cover gasket?

 

@k-moe yes the flat side was out and there were no nicks or burrs on the actual shaft. I didn't replace the gasket itself but it isn't leaking from the outer edge where the gasket is. Just from the hole where the shaft and seal are.

 

Did you notice any wear on the shaft at all? Was there a shallow groove worn in it?

Also check to see that the cankcase breather is allowing air to pulse out of it when the engine is running. Disconnect the hose from the airbox and rest your thumb over it (but do not block it off). If the breather is plugged, crankcase pressure will find a way to relieve itself, and the shift shaft seal is an easy pathway.

 

No none at all, the seal slid on pretty snug even with a bit of oil rubbed on it. Will check the breather after I get a new battery. Thanks for the help. Definitely means a lot to someone who's just getting into motos.

 

So installed new battery this morning and it fired right up. Breather is functioning well, IMO. Rode it to work and the shift pedal isn't returning to the "normal" position after a shift. I have to push it up or down to shift again. Idk what's the problem. It seems that after installing the oil seal there is no play in the pedal and it's very stiff. Other than that it rode very well. Any help is appreciated.

Also stock bars are officially going back on as there is way too much play in the throttle and it's cheaper than buying a new cable. Aka free.

 

Drop the oil and pull the cover back off. Something is not lined up properly, and that may be the cause of your current leak.

 

Gonna check the Yamaha store here and try to get the gasket before I do. Just cuz I'll have it off.