Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Valve cover leak

Hi,

I believe I have a small oil leak from my valve cover on my 2006 America:



The leak is very slight; in the above image, it took over 1,000 miles to leak that much.

I am at 14,000 miles and did not do the dealer-recommended 12,000 mile service (I did do the oil, plugs, and break pads though). They said the cam service included in the 12,000 mile service would fix the problem. The full service is $600 and just the cam service is around $300.

Should I spring the cash for the 12,000/cam service? Or should I just tighten the cover?

Thanks.

I have the exact same leak on my 2006 speedy. I didn't realise the cost was gonna be that high. I certainly can't afford that.

More than likely the washers under the cover bolts are shot. They are rubber coated soft metal. Over time/heat they compress and don't distribute enough pressure on the gasket.

Be careful in over tightening the cover bolts. They are shouldered and should be torqued to 10 Nm. Over tightening could cause problem.

I'd replace the four washers. They are around $5 EACH. In all probability, the cover gasket is ok, but might require replacement as well.

Mine is leaking on my 2010 and will be getting changed this week on warranty. Triumph do have revised washers for the cam bolts though.

HTH,
H.

Fellows,

Pull the tank, remove the valve cover and reseal the gasket. The 4 retainer bolts that hold the cover to the engine cannot really be tighten.

I've had my cover off at least 4 times and still using the same gasket and sealing washers.

You should check the valve clearances at least at 12,000 miles. I wouldn't skip that part of the service. If you can do it yourself there's a good chance there won't be any shims changed.

It sounds like I can replace/reseal the cover gasket and/or replace the four washers under the cover bolts, or do the cam service part of the 12,000 mile service. Is $300 a reasonable price for the service? I honestly don't even know what all is involved.

In the meantime, am I risking anything more than a little oil lose?

Thanks.

It's been too long since I paid for one. Been doing my own (for good or for ill) since 2005.

Switch,
Going back to your original concern about the oil leak: There is quite a lot of technical information on some of the Triumph twin forums. Bottom line is the 4 cam cover holding down bolts have rubberised gaskets that eventually compress and you cannot get the correct torque on the 4 bolts holding the cam cover & gasket to the head. If I were you, I'd just splash out on 4 new washers. Rip off your tank, undo the 4 bolts, gently pop the cover a little & clean around the cam cover gasket. Pop on the 4 new holding down bolt gaskets and torque down to the recommended 10 Nm. Mind you unless you have a very accurate torque wrench you might not get down to he recommended 10 Nm. My automotive 1/2" drive torque wrench certainly can't get down to that range.
There's lots of very helpful helpful info on this problem on the web but I tried the el-cheapo route of simply trying to use my old gaskets with gasket goo and had no luck but when I replaced those 4 washers the cam cover gasket sealed right away.
Good luck and like FJ mentioned, don't neglect your valve clearance checks at the recommended intervals.

Machines , to personify 'em , are sorta living breathing things . They sweat , they drool , flatulate and get dirty . Look at is as sweat oozing out from all that hosspower .

Just get a rag and wipe 'em off if someone approaches . Sorta like yer grubby kids .

When I did my first valve adjustment I bought a micro-torque wrench from the Craftsman professional series.

I blocked out the memory of how much it cost. Same for the digital micrometer.

Sorry for the newbie question, but where can I buy/order the four washers and the cover gasket? I suppose we'll replace both while we're in there. Do I need to go to the dealership?

Thanks!

Stealership or the Bandit. Expect to wait 2 to 3 weeks if you order from the bandit. Go ahead and order a gasket if you want. Just to have for like 5 yrs down the road. Might as well order some oil cross over tube washers ( Item 10 is the washers ) and an o-ring. Order set of engine cover gaskets too. (The bandit has a flat shipping rate of $8.95. so ordering a couple of spare parts makes sense.)

Join the AMA first and get a 10% discount from the bandit too.

If you know what you want and want it from a dealer without the headache of driving there to order & pay, then driving there again to pick them up, order from Second Wind Triumph: Joe Liebke - Parts Manager. He'll fix you up.
603-598-2697

You don't need any gaskets pull the cover carefully remove gasket from cover wipe cover down and gasket put a small bead of silicon gasket maker (I used gray) in the channel where the gasket goes let it set for about 15min or till tacky lay gasket back in reinstall
What happens is the gasket shrinks over many heat cycles and the cover can only tighten so much dues to the way the bolts are so you can't crush the gaskets the gasket maker fills in a little space so the seal is tight again i did this to mine 15,000 miles ago and still no leaks I was told to do this by a triumph tech