New XS in Idaho! Oil Leak concerns.

[lewkmiller]

Hello all,
I recently bought a 1978 XS 400 (2E?) off Craigslist for a video shoot I am doing to California. Seemed like a great excuse to buy a bike. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it! I drove 4 hours north of Nampa Idaho to Grangeville Idaho to steal her away for $800. What a cool looking bike. Plus she purrs like a kitten. I have hope and aspirations to restore her to all her 400cc's of glory. I stumbled across this site after buying the bike. It was great to see all the XS 400 lovers here and all the helpful knowledge in one place. I have already put new tires on, lubed a sticky clutch cable, and stretched her legs a bit. The only thing is that there seems to be oil leaking. At first it looked like new oil that might have been spilled by the previous owner. he changed it literally minutes before I bought it. then it started looking really black. I have included pictures and this my very first bike and I am not a mechanic (I take my cars to Oil Can Henerys to change the oil) but I am excited to learn and work on the old girl. Any help or advice would be much appreciated!

 

[xschris]

Looks like it might be coming from one of the seals on the oil filter cover. Not a hard thing to fix Good find and welcome to the forum

 

[lewkmiller]

I'll check it out! Thanks for the reply!

 

[HoughMade]

Congrats! Looks like a nice bike.

That oil leak doesn't look too serious. In fact, if not for your clean floor, the biggest priority would be checking the oil level regularly. I'm with XS, but it could also be the oil sump cover, a flat rectangular plate on the bottom of the engine. I'd get some carb cleaner or otherwise clean off the bottom of the engine and see where the leak shows up first. Sometimes when the oil is all over, the original source can be deceiving.

 

[drewpy]

i'd say the O ring has been damaged or worn.

if you get a Yamaha kit it'll have the 2 O rings as well as a new filter.

don't overtighten the bolt to compensate, you'll never get it off.

12lbsft max is the torque setting

welcome to the forum and don't forget to post the vid of the bike as soon as

 

[lewkmiller]

Thanks for all the help guys.... i got a super burly engine de-greaser and got most of the gunk off the bottom of the engine. now it is apparent that you are right Drewpy and HoughMade. I believe that it is that ring. Drewpy can you gimme a link to the "kit" you are referencing? I looked and found the o-ring but did not find a kit. Thanks guys!

 

[drewpy]

if you can get just the ring, you'd ok the kit is part # 1L9-13440-90 as I just got one off ebay for £3

 

[lewkmiller]

SWEEEEEET! thanks! would any on this page work?
http://www.partsnmore.com/parts/yamaha/xs400e/#product-14-0041

 

[drewpy]

SWEEEEEET! thanks! would any on this page work?
http://www.partsnmore.com/parts/yamaha/xs400e/#product-14-0041

yep, with that part # I gave you $1.25 is cheap cheep

 

[lewkmiller]

Shipping is $14! What the hey ho!?

 

[drewpy]

Shipping is $14! What the hey ho!?

cheeky feckers

 

[lewkmiller]

Guys
Totally spaced putting this video here. Here is the video I shot. Bike gets minimal love but hey.... it looked great!
https://vimeo.com/49252700

 

[lewkmiller]

bike is at approx: 1:27

 

[willem]

nice video and the bike fits in there well

 

[Norman1950]

Another Idaho bike. I live in Meridian, and hoping to buy my "xs360 frame project" home tomorrow.
Nice looking bike!

 

[lewkmiller]

Nice!!! We should compare notes sometime!

 

[lewkmiller]

Droppin' the new pics! Awwww yeah! Here is the latest on my xs400.

Chopped the back off and added new renthal bars.

Cracked into a little wiring, got a little over whelmed and pressed pause. I wish I had the cheat code..... up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, a, b, start...??? maybe?

Rebuilt the carbs and added new air filters from mikes xs.

 

[xschris]

Don't forget to put a filter on the crank case breather tube.

 

[lewkmiller]

xschris, do you have a recommendation? size?

http://www.mikesxs.net/product/15-0682.html

Will this one ^ work?

 

[xschris]

I have used the same one in the past. You just need the right size hose to attach it to the breather tube. Or use the stock H-pipe hooked up the way to sould be and put the pod air filters at the end. That works very well to