oil leak

[mikeyger]

My cam plugs started weeping a little when I went to syntectic oil I did as ringading said and cleaned them with brake cleaner and smeared black ultra permatex in the grooves and it stopped my leaks!

[mrschfiftyfive]

Unfortunately it is more than just a little leak. I live about a mile down from the repair shop and just road it down there and by the time I got there, maybe about a few tablespoons or so had swept back across the pipes and up my leg and seat from under the chrome head cover, so it's in the shop now. I'm having them fix the leak, adjust the idle as well as check it out to see if it has a POG and what it'll take to replace. I wish I had a place to do all the work myself at this point, but I'll do what ever needs be to get it back on the road!

Shane~

Originally Posted by AlabamaNomadRider

Small oil leaks are going to happen after a few years and miles. Just annoying and means you have to clean them more often. Isn't going to hurt anything. Just check your oil and keep the level where it should be.

[ndbigfish]

Welcome Shane. Sorry to hear of the news. Sounds like the rocker cover gasket let loose. If it is being worked on and the motor is coming out, I would do the following. Replace the cam chain plugs, rocker cover gaskets, HLA filters, HLA springs and head gaskets.

When the clutch cover is off I would replace the clutch spring with a Mean Streak spring and a Judge's washer set. Be aware that replacing the oil gear with a stock oil gear requires splitting the motor in half. This means redoing the top end anyway: base gaskets, cylinder head gaskets, rocker cover gaskets, rings, spark plug tunnel o-rings, HLA filters, HLA springs, cam chain tensioner gaskets, new lubricants, coolant and honing the cylinders. I had the top end done in low mileage '03 1500 late last year and was about $800 without any extra issues (like valves). I bought the parts (approx. $300) and carried them in to save some too.

[ringadingh]

If you find that it has a pog, Id get a Judges sog, then you don't need to split the cases. That will save you a pile of cash. With any luck youll find that it has already been replaced.

[ndbigfish]

If you do a steel gear from Judge; I have been down that road too.

[mrschfiftyfive]

So an update on my bike. I brought my bike into a local motorcycle mechanic and they fixed the oil leak. Ended up replacing the seals and o-rings in both top-ends. I got the bike back a few weeks ago, and took it out on the road a bit. Went about 5 miles and stopped and a stoplight, and the damn thing died, and I couldn't get it started. Got it back to the shop and they took a look at it, and said it was flooding (mind you, never had a flooding problem before). Since then, they've replaced the main jet needle and float, and it still floods. The mechanics at the shop are at a loss on what is causing the flooding. Now they're saying that the brass seat that the needle seals up against appears worn, and are "not replaceable" (pressed in at the factory and cannot be ordered separately). The guy said it can't be replaced and may need a whole new carb. I'm not completely familiar with this the breakdown of this carb, but isn't that usually something that comes in the float/needle kit on most bikes? I've got the service manual but I can't tell in the disassembly if that is a replaceable part, and can't seem to find the part online. My bike is a US 1999 Nomad 1500, all stock @ 15K original miles.