Troublesome Oil Leak After bolt falls out!

Hey guys. I went for a ride the other day (82 kz750 e) and after pulling the bike into the garage, I noticed a bolt on the driveway. For the life of me I can't figure out where this bolt goes. It looks like it may possibly be one of the oil pan bolts, though after a quick inspection they all seem to be accounted for.

I went for a ride today, and after a few minutes I noticed both my right shoe and right footpeg were covered with a fair amount of oil. I cannot figure out for sure where it is coming from and am hoping that one or more of you may have some suggestions for hunting down both the leak and the bolt's home.

Thanks in advance,

~Clutch

Oh! I forgot to mention that:

1. Oil leaks only when bike is running
2. Drain plug is accounted for
3. When on sidestand, oil drips off peg, but not from anywhere else that I can tell
4. I'm not 100% sure the bolt even came from the bike! :huh:

Pull off the countershaft sprocket cover, and I bet you will see where that bolt came from.

Since it's making your right shoe wet check the tach cable bolt,the clutch cover or the sending unit bolts under the carbs. How big is the bolt and maybe post a pic.

I'd say give the engine a nice wash, let dry, then give her a nice dusting of baby powder and start it up. Should be quite apparent where the oil is coming from, then.

Just repeating some advice I've seen here, already.

Ok, I found the culprit this morning. I decided to crawl back under and have another look around the oil pan...didn't see what I was looking for...

So next, I decided to put the bike on the centerstand and start her up. Within 30 seconds, I noticed a steady drip from the bottom of the timing advancer cover (not sure if that's the name of the cover). After closer inspection, I noticed a small round hole just forward of where the wire/cable comes out of the bottom. It looks like it should have some kind of plug or screw to prevent the oil leak, unless it's an overflow of some kind and there's too much oil in the bike. Anyway, it is the perfect spot for wind to blow the oil back onto my foot/footpeg.



Any ideas on plugging this leak???

ps: the bolt appears to be a motor mount bolt that I will stop by Lowes to replace the missing nut!

Ok...just went out to the other garage to look at the spar engine I have....same hole...no plug/screw.....any ideas? I'm really starting to think this IS an overflow and there is way too much oil in the bike (though checking the window it looks fine when running)!!!

clutch wrote:

Ok...just went out to the other garage to look at the spar engine I have....same hole...no plug/screw.....any ideas? I'm really starting to think this IS an overflow and there is way too much oil in the bike (though checking the window it looks fine when running)!!!

the oil level is checked with the motor off. also give the oil some time to drain down before checking the level. if you can see an oil level in the window while the motor is running then your way over filled.

oh BTW the timing cover should not have oil in it. you may have blown a seal.

hoghaterkaw wrote:

clutch wrote:

Ok...just went out to the other garage to look at the spar engine I have....same hole...no plug/screw.....any ideas? I'm really starting to think this IS an overflow and there is way too much oil in the bike (though checking the window it looks fine when running)!!!

the oil level is checked with the motor off. also give the oil some time to drain down before checking the level. if you can see an oil level in the window while the motor is running then your way over filled.

So...I'm guessing that I was correct in my assumption that the hole is some kind of overflow...which means that the previous owner put way too much oil in. It's a little strange that I hadn't noticed the leak before...perhaps I hadn't taken a long enough trip to notice much of anything.

Definitely time for an oil change then!

hoghaterkaw wrote:

oh BTW the timing cover should not have oil in it. you may have blown a seal.

:ohmy: Ok....guess I need to check that out too then!!!!!!! :ohmy:

clutch, I'm with hoghaterkaw on this.

The points cover has two groves:

1) As you have already noticed, one for passing the ignition timing wires and oil sending unit wire (at least that's what I see in my KZ650-B1).

2) The other very small one for venting and draining to counter the effects of condensation.

As you have been advised, there should be NO OIL in this compartment. If there is, it could be coming from one of two and ,less likely, three places:

1) The oil pressure sending unit. If so, check gasket or O-ring (don't remember which) and re-tighten. You may need to change the sending unit or plug it temporarily with a bolt.

2) Crank end oil seal. Change the seal (I have never done this so no advise here).

3) The upper and lower cases meet here too. Could be the gasket... that's a whole other animal (again, no advise here.)

The Vent





Best of success.