Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Oil Leak

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can shed some light. I seem to remember someone on the board having a similar leak- I have searched but to no avail!

I have an oil leak from the ( chrome crank case?) on the drivers right ankle. It has 11 bolts holding it to the engine with the triangular triumph decal in the centre. I hope this accurately describes the area I talk of!

Oil appears to be leaking from one or more of the the top bolts. Is it a simple case of tightening up or, if my memory serves me correctly, could I do more harm than good.

The bike is also under warrenty- is this a common trait which the dealer will knowingly "nod" about?

It has just been serviced ( 1 year 3,000 mile check) would the mechanic have rooted around this area?

Thanks in advance

just to add, the gasket that holds the chrome to the engine appears to be leaking also, but from the bottom

There is no way they should have been mucking about there for your first service.

First try torquing all the bolts to 9nm. If that doe not work, you can remove the leaking bolts and wrap them with teflon tape and re-install. The last resort is to remove the cover, replace the gasket, and re-install...

Have the dealer fix it but be sure they replace the gasket, once they leak I have found that it is just a matter of time and they'll start again from the same places.
It's a pretty easy job for them. 1/2 hour at most.
Be sure to have them reuse your oil too if it's new. Don't get suckered into paying $50 for new oil to replace the new oil. (That they would most likely just reuse and charge you for anyway.)

Find a dealer who won't take 4 weeks to get the parts from Triumph to do the repair, thats how long it took for my dealer. Put the bike in April 7, they didn't get the parts and repair my oil leak until May 3. Still don't have my bike back, now they are getting a carb for it, going on 12 days for that part to arrive........................

I had a similar problem. My bike would leak a drop or two on the garage floor after each ride. Turns out the front sprocket seal was leaking and the oil would run down under the crankcase and drip off the oil filter (lowest point). I had to remove the sprocket cover and clean the area around the srocket then ride a few miles to confirm where the oil was coming from. My dealer fixed it under warranty. He says it is a fairly common problem and Triumph has improved the replacement oil seal.

Gooch I get a couple drops each ride too... I bet mine is the same. Mine is WAY past warrenty tho....

Thanks everyone for your help so far...

The bike does not drop oil- it's actually spraying back to the chrome air filter cover; it also gets to the battery cover that says "america" on it. This is all at speed (obviously!)

Would you say this problem is covered by the warrenty?

Hitting the chrome covers? U sure it's not leaking from an oil line leading to the cooler, or the cooler itself? Those fittings are fussy sometimes.

Rod,
Check the cam covers, they tend to leak too. This is definetly a warranty item too.

Hi RodYork,
Its definately a waranty issue, strange it started AFTER it was serviced. Did they overfill the oil? I dont think its overflowing, but it can cause excess pressure which can blow gaskets etc.
Get it back to the ealer ASAP.

Popeye

Im riding it again tomorrow and hope it happens again- this time I won't wipe the oil away- from there, I will show the dealer and see what they say.

I dont think it was overfilled as I checked the oil view glass and it was half full/empty.

The oil/cooler lines appear all clear and free from oil-

The cam covers ( im not sure where they are!- any help:)

The gasket and the studs seem the most likely suspects- as they had oil on them and it seems from here that oil is being flung backwards onto the air filter housing and associated parts.

I will keep you all informed- but thanks everyone for your help to date...if anyone could describe the cam cover location, I will chek those too

Regards

Rod York

Cam covers. Closest point between the engine and the tank. They are two domish lookin things (from the side anyway).

Rod York, I recently had an oil leak, it was caused by the Oil Down Tube,(chrome tube running between the cylinders in the front of the motor) being 1 mm too long, therefore the head and base gaskets can't be seated correctly and hence leak oil. It is a known issue and was covered under warranty. (Triumph approved the warranty claim, so they know its an issue) Hope this helps

If you decide to crack the case yourself, be very careful with the bolts. Those aluminum threads are very sensitive. I am still recovering from my initial foray into my clutch cover. On second thought, let the dealer handle it.

Good luck.