OIL LEAK FROM TOP END?

Hi all,

What a welcome surprise to find this board. I just purchased a 1982 KZ550LTD and it runs great. One thing I did notice is a small oil leak. See the picture. I'm waiting for my Clymers to arrive but thought I'd ask the board and see if anyone has a diagnosis and whether I should not ride until I get it fixed.


Many thanks,
Kai

hey think welcome to the board,I can't see your picture very clear but from what i can see it looks like you're pointing towards the base gasket,is it dripping on the ground ?? if so,very bad ??? i guess if it's not leaking profusely keep an eye on it and ride it,i myself am a stickler for oil leaks,never seen one get any better,besides i don't like being tossed in the same category as a harley !!!lmao take a close up picture and post it for us so we don't miss diagnose the problem

Clean the engine with carb cleaner and spray it with powder deodorant. Start the engine and let it warm then shut it off. The place where oil is leaking will be pretty apprarant.

Oil leaking where you indicate can come from a variety of locations:

1. tach drive... oil will rund down the front of the engine to the lower side and drip
2. cam end plug... same comment
3. either left cam oil journal... these run along the outside engine studs. They seal with a copper crush washer. If the washers weren't annealed last time the head was pulled, they WILL leak and drain down where you indicate
4. valve cover gasket... the powder really helps here
5. head gasket... powder helps here as well

The KZ550 doesn't use any copper washers. It's like a KZ650 chock full of those wonderful rubber orings. Leaks on the side of the cylinder are caused by hardened rubber. Most likely leaking between the head and cylinder from a hardened rubber ring, less likely leaking between the cylinder and cases from a hardened rubber ring. Not a particularly fun job to replace these. KZ550/650 line notorious for oil leaks from all these rings. Between oil gallery plugs, cam end plugs, and all the other various rubber bits used, I wouldn't doubt 30 orings in all throughout the engine and all harden with heat.

My KZ750 LTD has what I believe to be the same leak at the same area. It is (I believe) from one of the o-rings at the base gasket joint (between the jugs and the cases). (My engine configuaration is very similar to your 550.) I did torque down the head bolts, and that helped a little, but that was over 5,000 miles ago, so it is now back to its usual minor leak. It seems to be more of a nuisance than a true problem. I plan on fixing it when I break the engine down for a rebuild (that should be in less than 5,000 more miles, when the bike turns over 100,000 miles). Until then, I just keep the area wiped clean after everyday's commute. It doesn't seem to be getting any worse, and is limited to a few drops every 25 miles.

Unless your leak rate is way more than mine, you can certainly continue to ride the bike until you have a reason to disassemble the top end (such as for new rings, etc.). If you have good compression, it would be a shame to take the engine apart to fix this minor leak. Now, if it is a big leak, that is another thing altogether.