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Why Would I Be Leaking Oil Here?


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This morning I went to back my bike out to go for a ride and saw2 oil dripping out of the fairings. On the right side of my 2005 VFR, I traced the oil leak to this spot in the pic.

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To get a bit of orientation to the location of the oil leak;

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I know that this is basically a drain for the center of the engine and I have yet to tear into it, but ideas? My oil is within the standard level and I just changed it, taking care to not over fill it. FML, I don't need any problems right now.

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  • Member Contributer

That looks like the signal generator wire seal on the clutch cover... needs some black RTV in conjunction with the gasket if you open up the engine here

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I pulled the airbox and fairings off. I looked everywere I could with a flashlight and aside from what Rush2112 said above, the only thing leaking is a small weeping leak from a coolant hose next to the two rear cylinders. If you look at this picture I borrowed from Bike Bandit, and you look at the little pic of the engine in the lower right , you'll see what I mean. But, that is coolant and I am leaking oil. I may have to pull the throttle bodies and that nightmare of vacuum hoses to be sure.

There is some substance on the bottom of the V of the engine that could be either coolant or oil, but I can't tell at this point.

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That looks like the signal generator wire seal on the clutch cover... needs some black RTV in conjunction with the gasket if you open up the engine here

Is this something that I would simply pull the clutch cover and throw RTV around and then replace the cover with the new gasket and RTV

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Felt like oil...

Chainlube is on the other side of the engine. I slightly tightened the hose clamp, as it was already tight. I also cleaned the area that I could see with the leak and I rode it some, but I can't see any leaks. I have the fairings off of the bike, so I'll look in the morning if there is any sign of it.

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  • Forum CEO

That weep hole is for the spark plug. Should you get water on top of the spark plug it's a drain to prevent it icing up and cracking your head. Most likely the valve cover gasket is not sealed around the spark plug cavity and it's leaking down on tip of the spark plug.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

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They all leak there. Only way to fix is as Rush said, remove clutch cover, remove the ignition pickup rubber bung, degrease, add some sealant to both inside & outside of cable sheath then add to rubber insert all around where it contacts the cover & the engine, replace cover & hope it did the job. Anyone that has one that does not leak is lucky, everyone I've ever looked at leaks there. It's a pumping loss pressure in the crankcase that forces tiny amounts of oil out through the cable gland, its so small it just causes the dirt to stick.

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I think the oil is coming from the cavity between the cyclinder heads. Like I wrote earlier a gasket.

Have to remove airbox to find it .

Roll On ...


If you want to eliminate the cluth cover or the sensor slot , just clean that area and plug the hole with ATV sealant or rubber plug.

If it returns its the cover or the rubber sensor plug , if not its in the cavity between the cyclinders.

Roll On ..

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Nah its the other way round, the oil mist collects in that void & when the bike is on side stand it collects in the Vee leading to that water drain hole which is there to allow water from washing or heavy rain out so it does NOT pool in the Vee which would corrode the cases badly !

I've cleaned mine up many times & last time i have the clutch cover off I sealed the gasket face, then ran the bike without the lower fairing only to find the mist was coming out of the cable sheath. Clutch cover will come off this winter for refurb, so will seal the cable then too !

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Nah ,

I think the oil is coming from the cavity between the cyclinder heads. Like I wrote earlier a gasket.

Have to remove airbox to find it .

Roll On ..

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I have removed the air box. I spent about an hour looking for places it could be leaking. I had the fairings off and spent quite some time with a flashlight trying to find where the leak could be coming from. Aside from pulling the throttle bodies and really digging into it, I don't know what else to do, as I couldn't find any source. I cleaned up as much as I possibly could, so I am going to ride it a bit and see if I can find where it is leaking. It's not a big leak, luckily, although that would be easier to find.

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I think you are asking how long does it take? I have ridden it some this weekend, so I'll check it in the morning and get back to ya. I cleaned everything I could reach with Q Tips and electrical contact cleaner to get the area super clean to make it easier to tell.

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Another thing I thought about was too much piston blow-by. If the crank case has too much blow-by the crank case will pressurize and cause problems. That mite cause the oil leak at the sensor rubber plug. You would also have oil in the airbox.

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It's one area the VFR is definitely old tech, the inter-crankcase half breathing vents are quite small. If you imagine our 180degree crank should be well balanced as far as crankcase pressure is concerned, with 2 pistons going up & 2 down at any given time. The problem is the breathers between each side of the cases are small & thus the pressure does not balance as quickly as it should. so some pressurization takes place in the cases at higher rpm.

Still convinced its mist from the ignition pickup cable gland. Do a search on ebay for VFR engines & all will have dirty oil residue there, even if the rest of the engine is clean !

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So, if it is just weeping oil from this spot, what's the recommended fix? New clutch cover gasket and some extra RTV around the grommet?

Yeah should do it. Just clean well before installing new gaskets, check the rubber plug for cracks and holes.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I saw this on VFRworld as well. I have the same oil leak and took it to the mechanic. Here is my result:

Update: I took mine to the mechanic and they called after a few days (took a while to get to I guess!) and they said nothing major and that a bunch of the crossing hoses and clamps for the coolant were going. They also tore it down to the throttle bodies and are replacing those hoses (not sure why or if it's because they had a bunch of coolant on them or what, will find out when I pick it up). The did not have to crack into the engine as spark plugs and head gasket tested fine. Overall about 6-7 hours of labor and 40-50 bucks in parts. It's going to be expensive, but not nearly as expensive as a new head gasket or engine or bike.

Hope yours is just a simple. Good luck!

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Early on in this thread I did find a coolant hose that was weeping. I tightened the hose clamp a little and I have yet to see anything come from it. I'll keep a eye on it and if the hoses need replacement, luckily I can handle that.

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