Will a different weight oil fix a seepage problem?

[shawman]

I own a 2000 classic 1500. I found some oil seepage coming from under the chrome head covers. I suspect it's due to my overfilling the oil. It's appearing on both jugs in the same spot (Right where the small dot is by the chrome). I read in a different thread that it's not that big of a deal and to use silicone.

I was wondering if changing the weight of the oil would stop the seepage and if so, what oil should I use? I don't want to start smearing silicone all over my baby.

[ndbigfish]

Must be missing something.....small dot by the chrome? ??? Cam plug maybe?

As Vulcans age they seem to develop oil leaks. My '99 Nomad (1500) began to leak oil from under the rocker cover. It required a new gasket between the rocker cover and the head. It sounds like you might need a gasket. The gasket was about $8 (USD), but the labor through the dealer was out of this world. They quoted as much as 18 hours @ $80 an hour. I chose to do it myself. The hardest part was finding a way to support the engine for removal.

The other spot that oil leaks from is the round cam plug under the edge of the rocker cover. The original seal is silicone adhesive. I have heard that some members have applied silicone to the outside of the plug and stalled the permanent repair. I would suggest obtaining a Kawasaki repair manual and review the steps to seal the cam plugs and replace the rocker cover gaskets yourself.

Doing it myself gave me the opportunity to replace any worn or damaged components and get my bike in tip top condition. I did things like rebuild the clutch slave cylinder, replaced the rocker cover gaskets, replaced the radiator hoses, replaced the radiator overflow hose, replaced the clutch spring, replaced the oil gear, installed Judge's clutch washer kit, replaced the coolant, replaced any damaged fasteners, etc.

As for selecting a heavy viscosity oil to reduce the leak. I don't think you would want any oil that heavy in the motor/clutch. It would only be trouble or damage the motor.

[ringadingh]

I doubt changing to a different grade of oil will help, the previous post had some good advice to cure the problem.
If it is leaking from the cam plugs you could try cleaning well and applying some silicone seal around the plugs.

[shawman]

Yes, cam plug. Sorry I was so cryptic on that info. I do not have a MOM, so I was looking it up on Kawasaki.com. The seepage is coming from the cam plug on each cylinder head.

[audiogooroo]

The cam plug on my rear jug started leaking in Mesquite at the rally last year. I used Perma-Seal high temp gasket sealer. Cleaned the area thoroughly with alcohol, let it dry, and then applied it. Hasn't leaked again since. I'm sure some day I'll replace them, but I'm hoping this temporary fix will hold for awhile. I really don't have the time to do it myself and absolutely refuse to let the dealer tear my bike apart.

[macmac]

No oil will stop this seepage. You can try what worked for Audiogooroo, or try swiping a bar of ivory soap at the leak, trying to get a slurry stuffed in the leak area.

The soap just displaces the oil.

In oil there is no such thing as 'weight' a qt will weigh about 2 pounds.. That 'w' means winter.

10w- 40 means 10 viscosity in winter, 10 being the viscosity cold in a muliblend viscosity oil.

Don't worry about me and my BS, just that this is a pet peeve, and you may as well call it weight, so long as everyone else does.

There is another product that may help, but it may also induce the clutch to slip, and I don't know one way or the other for sure. This would be Lucas oil stabliizer in either for syn oils or dino oils.

This has a high viscosity and will bridge certain gaps at gaskets and seals, with surface tension alone. This is the same way water bugs walk on water.

On cars with either auto trannys, or a dry clutch I have used this to stop oil leaks many times.

I am aware of one guy with a 1500 Nomad using a small amount of this product to stop a oil weep at the water pump seal/engine shaft seal at the water pump drive shaft.

It did seem to work and the clutch didn't appear to slip.

ALL of these are cheats, and what you really need is to lower the engine, and sneak the valve covers off, clean the surfaces to clean and dry and install new gaskets and can shaft plugs.

I have never yet done this myself, and so don't know how much exactly the engine must be lowered. What ever would stop the engine from being lowered enough, must be removed.

As ndbigfish has done, it is a wise idea to do any other services on the way.