Uh-Oh. I See oil on my engine.

[robindean]

I'm worried.

While riding my (clean) bike home I noticed some oil on the engine towards the middle.

What kind of problem might I be looking at here?

 

[xschris]

Head gasket. As long as your compression is good and you keep the oil full I would not worry much. Is that the first ride you have done with the bike? Sometimes they leak a little after they have sat a while.

 

[OliverB]

Yep, have seen the same with my '80 XS400. Started late last year and continued into this season until I went on a long, hot ride with speeds up to 70-75 mph. After the ride, the leak has either disappeared or just about. Was planning a head gasket replacement this Winter. Don't know if I will get into it now.

 

[HoughMade]

Yep, I have a bit of seepage at the head...I mean my XS400 has some. You can always replace the head gasket, I I just keep it full of oil and keep riding- 2 full riding years with this and I'ts not been a problem. I just wipe it off every so often and check the oil for every ride just to be safe.

 

[robindean]

When she's running, I feel a nice strong pulse of pressure at the exhaust on both sides. As a newb, I'm assuming that this means I've got decent compression. Yes?

Without elaborate tools, what's the best way for me to confirm good compression?

 

[HoughMade]

If it's running fine, i wouldn't dig into the compression any further. If it goes south, you'll know.

 

[bcware]

Back-pressure from the exhaust is too subjective to mean anything. If your compression is low you'll either lose a lot of power, run on one cylinder, or it won't start, etc.

 

[jayel]

re-torquing the head bolts might help

 

[HoughMade]

re-torquing the head bolts might help

Correct. I did this and the seepage reduced, but was not eliminated.

 

[robindean]

See, now ... the re-torquing thing makes good sense here because it's actually part of the 2000 mile maintenance that I've NOT gotten to.

I changed the oil, checked the spark plugs, cleaned/lubed the chain, cleaned the air filter, lubed the cables ... but listed right there is "check cylinder head bolt torque" and that I have NOT done.

Anyone want to walk me through it? I can also just dig into the manual but I must say, the photos don't do much for me. Clear pictures with a little photoshop effort would definitely help

 

[bcware]

I can only speak in regard to my '78 and I am sure yours is different. On mine the cam cover needs to come off an the head bolt nuts are inside. Yours may have a gasket, but the older ones do not. I am not sure if you have the dohc. This can be done with the engine in the bike on the sohc; it is just 14 bolts (the cam cover). You must read the manual and follow the steps. You can warp the top end if you don't loosen and tighten properly.

 

[drewpy]

I can only speak in regard to my '78 and I am sure yours is different. On mine the cam cover needs to come off an the head bolt nuts are inside. Yours may have a gasket, but the older ones do not. I am not sure if you have the dohc. This can be done with the engine in the bike on the sohc; it is just 14 bolts (the cam cover). You must read the manual and follow the steps. You can warp the top end if you don't loosen and tighten properly.

... and in the right order

 

[robindean]

That makes sense. I'm a professional drummer, so cross-cranking to insure that a drum head is balanced comes to mind. Now, if only the screws on my engine would stop seizine/stripping on me. Annoying.

I'm going to have to replace some of them. My local hardware store has a pretty good array but are there any particulars to buying new screws? For example, and not that I have any idea what I'm saying or what this means, but do they need to be heat treated or galvanized or any other terms that I've never really learned the definition of?