Oil leak top rear cylinder

[katitoy]

I have a VN1500 L1 FI. I noticed recently that there is a small trace of oil running down the rear top cylinder.

Is this a big concern? No way I can tighten the screw because of the bar on top.

Can I use an oil additive sealer to hopefully seal that small leak?

Any suggestions?

Thanks/Katitoy

[mikeyger]

Is it coming from you're cam plug or the little roung looking thing about the size of a quarter right under the rocker cover? I would not put nothing in the oil that could effect the wet clutch! If it is the cam plug there is a solution that works a lot of times. Post back,

[zoom45]

That's been discussed on here a lot. Some remidies are clean it and rub some soap on it to clean with brake cleaner and put black silicone over the plug. Mine is seeping too so I'll have to do something to it soon.
Zoom45

[MAS Tequila]

Do NOT put a stop leak additive in the oil. You will be replacing the clutch.

It is likely as was mentioned and the cam plug. Clean it as was mentioned and cover it with black rtv.

MT

[ringadingh]

I agree thats its most likely the cam plug, clean it really well and seal with silicone seal.

[macmac]

I agree with MAS, and would say you will kill all the other seals too. Seal conditioners eat seals to swell them and then they all go bad in a bit more time.

Use either soap Ivory, or clean the area well and smear it with a silcon sealer.

[katitoy]

Great guys! I believe you are all right. After inspecting it very well, the leak starts from the bottom part of that round thingy (cam plug) right under the top cover (rocker cover). Learning the right terms here.

I will do the fix as suggested.

Thanks a lot.

[mikeyger]

I used black ultra permatex!

[macmac]

That plug shrunk from old age and loss of oils in the plug itself. It's a ez fix once the engine is out or lowered enough......

The cheat you know... clean it up, scrap Ivory over it or smear silicon on. Get either as deeply worked in the seams as you can.

Ivory displaces oil, silicon builds a dam.

[mikeyger]

Mac I used black ultra permatex last summer and it is still not seeping.When I was talking to Bob (judge ) about a jog we got on the cam plug subject and he said the same thing about using soap.Mac my question is do you have to do the soap fix often? Curious! Like after rains or washing?

[macmac]

I don't know, since I only use soap as a temp fix for things. My Nomad has only needed tires, oil changes, and a ft fender so far. I added on a few gizzmo's, but that's the extent of my working on my bike. I used to be a foreign car mechanic, before were were called techs.

The time came when that word came to be and I resented it. I was and am a mechanic and can do full blown diagnostics in my head.

Sometimes i am giving in-general info, from other vehicals in my past and so make mistakes about what materials a part may be made off.

An example is the 1/2 round cam plugs which I hear are plastic, but I have seen in rubber, and assorted other materials, but all look about the same, varry in sizes, and do the same job, which is seal the casting at the usual valve cover gasket.

IMO all of these materials shrink in time, heat, and simple aging since the oils these parts are made of gas out.

Another example is windshield locks and door seals which in time grow smaller or shorter. Any one can look at these parts and see they no longer fit right.

I understand the problem in the topic is a easy fix, simply after yanking out the engine.

So that makes life a little harder, since yanking engines is a time consuming chore for a 10 minute instal of a 1/2 round plug and it's gasket.

The soap bit is a old fashion cheat dating before there was any silicon sealers. Back then when that stuff came out I hated it, since guys would use it on carbs, and it melted and blended with fuel and entered little orfices and gagged them up, like the idle circuits on Toyota carbs air cooled VW carbs and that sort of thing.

Getting that mung out of a orfice drilling less than 1/32nd inch was pure hell if it could be done at all.

If this was 30 years ago I'ld be saying to use the soap trick first, then when the job is done right to get a new plug and gasket and use Permatex Part B non drying sealer on the plug and gasket surfaces. You can still get that stuff today.

And today silicon and fuels are still a bad mix so far as I know.

One really stange thing about Nomads and me is that I was around, and working for Volvo/Saab in 1968 when the first Volvo came out with D Jetronic injection on the 122 Amazon car. That didn't really hit the market in 68, but it did by 1970 with the 140 series Volvo, and that D Jet spread like wild fire to Saab, BMW, and assoted other cars, and IS the same system on Nomads.

The parts look slightly different, but we share the very same means of operation and some of the parts in senders do the very same things. Sizes and theads per inch are meaning less in theory.

After that I saw L Jet, K Jet, LH Jet, and I got bloody well sick of these jets each few years and with mid year changes to improve Bosche experiments with the publics money.

Mistakes or no, I used to be a crack injection tech and back then we did diags in our heads.
I was acurate and fairly fast. At one point I could do a volvo clutch in 45 minutes and drive that car right out the door, leaving a heck of mess on the floor.

I could do a air cooled VW Beetle in less than 14 minutes and be driving out the door.

I long for the return to carbs and SU type 4 in particular. Neva' gonna' happen.

[katitoy]

Just finished doing the fix on the cam plug. Rode it for 2 days and still no leak. I scrapped the outer part of the plug well, sprayed with carb cleaner and contact cleaner (bottles I had already) and dried it well. Applied Permatex making sure I applied pressure. So far..good...

Next.. my leaking radiator. Just arrived today and will surely be working on it this weekend. Any tips on changing radiators?? What to watch out for? I intend to use the same 2 switches and tubes (still works).

Thanks guys!

[macmac]

When you handle the new rad place a blanket under the bike area where it goes, and still don't drop it!

Make sure the drain plug is snugg, in other words tighter than finger tight. Test this by trying to remove it with your fingers. Seems to me all Nomads come off the show room floor with less than finger tight drain plugs.

pull the lower left water pump bolt, to drain the pump. Smear some of that silicon neat that bolt head on the install.

With the rad in place and filling open the top left pump bolt to let air out. You might pull that bolt when the system is empty and smear on the same sealer so it will be there when you want to bleed the pump.

With the rad filled by eye and cold, place the cap on then squeeze the bottom rad hose hard several times, pull the cap and add more coolant. Maybe do that again, and last open the bleeder at the T stat housing.

Fill the rad so it almost over flows, then fill the rez, repeat the lower rad hose squeeze, with the hope to over come the cap a little and get the rex line filled.

Fire the engine to full warm, ck the coolant level in the rez. Go ride if you plan to, but the next time the engine is cold check the rez again and top it off cold only.

[Johansen]

I wanted to thank everyone for showing me how to fix my cam seal leak on the cheap. I did put 2 coats of the black silicon over the seals, then I cut a rubber/paper gasket to size that fit over the seal and with the same silicon, coated the gasket material and placed it over the seal. I rode it over the weekend on a 3 day trip with temperatures over 100 degrees and not not one drop of oil leaked out of those seals. Thanks Vulcan owners for saving me over 800 bucks. Ride safe!