Topic: PICS of oil on my header

[Klark Kent]

so i went out to change the old oil this morning and found that some of the oil had started without me.  whats going on here:


as always any help and particularly witty asides are appreciated.
-KK

[Gordon]

Any indication as to exactly where it's coming from, or does it appear to be leaking directly out of the exhaust port?  I also see that drip mark on the stator cover, is that related or something different?

[Klark Kent]

yeah, it appears as though the exhaust port is leaking oil???
either that or the gas tank, which is the only thing in a position to drip on the header, but has no oil.  i didnt notice that drip on the stator cover until i looked at the pictures and i am treating it as a separate issue, unless it helps confirm a diagnosis, it could be road gak.  lately i have been riding the piss out of her and it has been hot as hell.  when i got the bike the number two header had a hardened buildup that looks a lot like what this would look like if it kept happening.  it is baked on, not viscous at all. 

thanks for the followup Qs Gordon
-KK

[Tom Stark]

The first picture is cut off at the top, but I would have to wonder about rocker cover gasket.  I would not think it would leak out of the exhaust port itself.  If it were coming from the exhaust port, it would be easier for the oil to just stay inside the pipe and exit the muffler.  I don't know what would make it work past the gasket.  Also it seems to be coming from the top, so that would rule out any "repairs" having been done to the exhaust stud holes that may have "found oil" while drilling, tapping, helicoiling, etc.
What does the fin right below the rocker cover look like?  Also, do you have a neighbor that just wants to screw with you and pour oil on your exhaust to make you wonder what is goin gon?  (Like Bill across the street is about to wonder with his Gold Wing, leaves it parked out front at night uncovered the fool!  )   )
Tom

[Klark Kent]

the top fin looks pretty good.


and the bike is actually enjoying a garaged life as i am up in new york staying with friends who have a garage, and no fiendish neighbors that i know of.

thanks
-KK

[Gordon]

At least from what I can see in the pictures, that doesn't at all appear to be coming out of the exhaust port.  Seems like any fluid leaking out from that area would drip down to the bottom of the header and run down the inside of the pipe rather than running over the top of it as that would be the easiest path following gravity. 

Also from the looks of it, the leak occurred when the bike was parked.  Set the bike exactly as you found it, with the handlebars positioned the exact same way, and trace and imaginary line from the top of the header straight up and see if you can find anything above it that may be causing this. 

One possible culprit could be a leaking tach cable seal.  Now stick with me on this one!

A faulty tach cable seal can allow oil to be pushed up inside the cable sheath and leak out where it joins the back of the tachometer.  With the bike parked on the side stand and the handlebars turned to the left, this oil could drip down, possibly following other cables or wires, and end up on top of the #1 header. 

Anyway, just a thought, and possibly worth checking out.

[upperlake04]

KK - that hardened  guck has the same colour,  pattern and position as some crud I recently, with some effort, removed from a header although in my case it was only half the size.  It definitely did not come from inside the engine and I assumed it was either liquefied and dessicated road oil/tar or bug splatter.            Dave       
    -also, the spell checker suggests '#$%*' instead of 'guck'

[Tower]

When I first got my bike, it had a very similar pattern of splatter stuff on the pipes.  I used a little bit of rust converter / oven cleaner as a cleaning agent and with a little elbow grease, fairly easily, removed the gunk without damaging the chrome.  Indeed removed bluing also.  It has not returned since.

Chalk it up to foreign substances - not originating from the bike.

[number13]

Hard to tell from the pictures, but to me it appears that the
"stuff" is not coming from the engine. If it was coming from the
exhaust the splatter would be all over the frame and very
heavy nearer the exhaust collar. Could you have parked it
where the "stuff" could have dripped on it from high above?
Another possibility - a melting coil??

[Klark Kent]

it came off easily with nevr-dull and tin foil.  i too bought my bike with  a similar staining, but to the two pipe, and thought i would never see it again, let alone on a different pipe.  i guess it still bothers me that several of us have recieved headers like this from POs, but no one here has ever witnessed it happening or knows what it is. 

nothing dripping on it.  the bike still runs the same.  parked on the center stand- bars to the right.  i am sure it didnt come from the exhaust port, but that does me little good in explaining where it did come from.  road splatter would not confine itself to one pipe either.  i know there are some mysteries that we will never solve, but header stigmata, come on?

I'm thinking maybe a plastic bag i didnt see wrapped around the one pipe and liquified at speed sending the rivulets along that pipe only.  but i dont even know if that is what a plastic bag would do under such conditions.


thanks to everyone who tried, you did succeed at putting my mind to ease enough to clean her up change the oil and ride
-KK

[luvhonda750]

Its gotta being comming from the TAC cable like another guy said, or from a leaky head gasket, if you were to think its comming out of the exhaust, then excessive oil is in the cylinder, you can find that out by removing the spark plug.

[Klark Kent]

Gordons theory involved the bike on the side stand and bars to the left- the diametric opposite of how my bike spent the night (really only 6am-10am) in question.  And someone please tell me i am right in thinking that this could not possibly be a leaky head gasket. 

thanks for playing name that stain, please try again
-KK


edit- i also want to apologize for the pics in this thread- i am using my firends "digital" "camera", which has no display, just a non slr viewfinder.  and it only records SOME of the pics you take.   

[paulages]

it looks like your cofibulator valve may have blown a restigator seal.

[mark]

..  lately i have been riding the piss out of her ..as always any help and particularly witty asides are appreciated.
-KK

A piss leak? I couldn't find 'bladder' in the parts list. My '76 doesn't seem to have one. Was that a special option overseas?

Think non-bike substance anyway.

A buddy of mine had a white heater that kept getting these mysterious brown spots on top of it. Clean them off - they come right back. Drove the poor guy nuts.
Saw one of the kids spit on it and watch it sizzle..
A bit later, Jeff started a rant about those #@$% spots again.
I went over and spat on the heater for him. The look on his face was priceless. I hurt myself laughing.

Happy trails.