Topic: Help!!! oil under cb750 alternator cover????

[kopptl]

so i took off my alternator cover and a bunch of oil poured out.... then the coil fell out and busted my catch pan and oil oozed all over.. anyway, bad seal?? how hard to replace?
thanks-tom

[Steve F]

Oil in the 750's alt. cover is normal.  What do you mean that the coil fell out?  Did you take out the screws from the center of the cover that hold it in?  I had one helluva time "trying" to remove mine and never could (seems like they used red Loctite or something).  The coil is supposed to stay with the cover, and you only need to remove the outer screws.  I hope you didn't scratch off any of the enamel or shellac from the coil wires, that could be bad. 
Why were you removing the cover in the first palce? Just curious.

[kopptl]

i thought that oil under the cover was bad, and i possibaly had a bad seal. not the coils that stay bolted to the cover, its the coil thing thats in the center of the rotor. i just wanted to make sure of things, as the bike has been sitting previously for years!

[HondaMan]

That coil in the center is the Field Coil. It connects to the Voltage Regulator under the seat with it's 2 wires. You must have removed the 3 screws around the HONDA logo on the cover.

It is pretty normal for this gasket to leak if the bike has been sitting a long time, as the oil sits on it and slowly dissolves the waxy sealant Honda used on the gaskets (which interestingly does not happenif the bike is run more frequently). If the gasket is not broken, you can wash it in lacquer thinner, soak for an hour in Xylol, let it dry and reuse it with Hondabond #4 and it won't leak. Or, just get a new gasket...Jeff at Z1 Enterprises said they just bought a new laser cutter to make gaskets and will be offering them individually and in sets, soon.