Mystery oil update

I removed the engine heat shroud (a LOT of work) to get a better view of the oil leaks.  To me it appears that three of the four cam plugs are leaking.  It also seems someone already serviced the fourth cam plug.  The oil on the water pump is most likely a leaky seal around the water pump letting oil by from the engine.  I haven’t taken that apart yet.  Going to wait until I have o-rings to replace the broken bits inside.  Well… maybe not.  I might get adventurous.

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2 Replies to “Mystery oil update”

  1. Looks a lot like mine did before I cleaned it up. What was your problem and how did you fix it. I plan on taking the cam covers off and reseal the mating surfaces and the cam plugs. I have had some advice from IPCRC group members. Some say do not take covers off just reseal the Cam plugs? I have been reviewing the shop manual and counted 4 ,10 mm long bolts. On my head I count 5 .Is this amount manual error like the torque error? Any words of wisdom or advice. I want to proceed this week and get the bike out on the road for some fall riding?

    Joe
    90 PC Ontario
    94 PC Florida

    1. Hi Joe,

      I took the head covers off, replaced with fresh rubber the cam seals, and resealed everything using high temp Hondabond. Be careful when you remove the head covers that the tappets might not stay in the engine head. If they fall out, you can lose a tappet shim or tappet into the engine itself. If that happens, you WILL be rebuilding your engine to find the stupid thing. I would suggest slowly removing the head covers with the assistance of some chopsticks or pencils so that you can get in there and make sure the tappets stay put.

      I don’t have a manual in front of me to tell you if it was four or five bolts I had to deal with. As far as I know, only the torque spec is wrong.

      I would recommend doing the full head cover job including replacing the cam plug seals. My oil leak remains even after replacing all sorts of stuff. I think I have a compromised seal somewhere on the lower left part of the engine. It hasn’t been a bad enough leak that I can’t deal with it on the road with a quick addition of some Hondaline oil. This winter if I have the time, I am going to tear into it and see if I can’t find the source of the leak and fix it once and for all.

      Cheers!

      Douglas

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