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Concours newbie with headache, mystery oil leak on left side.

M

mpbanks

Tricycle
Hello folks,

After drooling over the old concours 1000 for some time, I finally had the opportunity to pick one up, a 1998. However, I managed to miss a significant oil leak while buying. I was also having a bit of a water pump issue, and leaking coolant masked the leaking oil problem. I have replaced my water pump and don't appear to be leaking coolant. I went for a test ride and noticed the oil.

After taking off the lower fairing, there was a small river of oil running along the bottom of it. Oil seems to be dripping off my left exhaust, source generally in the area of the water pump, but not from the weep hole, or from the pump itself as far as I can tell.

This may be a common issue with an easy, well published fix, but I'm brand new to the bike, and all my other bikes have been much simpler, air cooled machines, so I'm a bit out of my depth here. Any advice much appreciated.

imgur.com/qZwZ1qP.jpg  (Oil hanging off the left side exhaust)


imgur.com/aqk0wJd possible source of oil?

Any advice would be much appreciated. The little bit of riding I did on my connie before discovering was fantastic, just want to get back out onto the road.
 
The most common leaks in that area are from the water pump inner oil seal, possible the water pump oring, the alternator oring, the shift shaft seal, and sometimes from the PCV elbow under the airbox IF the bike has been overfilled with oil. Welcome, and HTH, Steve
 
Steve in Sunny Fla said:
The most common leaks in that area are from the water pump inner oil seal, possible the water pump oring, the alternator oring, the shift shaft seal, and sometimes from the PCV elbow under the airbox IF the bike has been overfilled with oil. Welcome, and HTH, Steve
Click to expand...

I'll check these out, thanks. Pretty sure it's not the water pump, it's new, and it seems to be nice and dry when I look in there.
 
Whats the best way to go about figuring out what is actually leaking? Just pull off the pan and start poking around or what?
 
Clean it off really well with Engine Degreaser. After it's clean and dry, cover as much of the area you suspect with talc (baby powder or even baking soda). Ride like normal and keep an eye on it. It won't take long to see where the leak originates.
 
A trip to the car wash for a very brief cleaning.  Remove the belly pan for better exposure to the area underneath the front bevel/water pump, that is the area you'll want to focus on.  Get things as clean ay you can and see if that helps
 
So I discovered my problem, operator is an idiot.

Overfilled the oil. Pretty sure was just overflow. Oil dripping was heavy at first, but I can't see any no leaks now that the level is back to normal. Going to take the bike to a wash and see if any new oil appears, hopeful that it's ok. I'm new to the concours, but not to changing bike oil, so this is embarrassing. Thanks all for your prompt aid though.

- Matt
 
MBanks said:
So I discovered my problem, operator is an idiot.

Overfilled the oil. Pretty sure was just overflow. Oil dripping was heavy at first, but I can't see any no leaks now that the level is back to normal. Going to take the bike to a wash and see if any new oil appears, hopeful that it's ok. I'm new to the concours, but not to changing bike oil, so this is embarrassing. Thanks all for your prompt aid though.

- Matt
Click to expand...


A common mistake is to not remove both drain plugs during oil change. 
 
MBanks said:
So I discovered my problem, operator is an idiot.

Overfilled the oil. Pretty sure was just overflow. Oil dripping was heavy at first, but I can't see any no leaks now that the level is back to normal. Going to take the bike to a wash and see if any new oil appears, hopeful that it's ok. I'm new to the concours, but not to changing bike oil, so this is embarrassing. Thanks all for your prompt aid though.

- Matt
Click to expand...
  Pull both drain plugs and change oil filter. INSTALL drain plugs and add 3qts oil. Warm up and shut off for about 20 minutes while you clean up and then check the sight glass. Should be about 1/2 to 2/3 up the glass.
 
Doesn't appear to be the problem of overfilling. Overflow line is dry. Leak appears to be coming from somewhere higher up on the engine block than I originally anticipated. May end up just taking it to a shop, have a lot of overtime coming up next week and would like to have progress made ASAP. Thanks for the tips folks!
 
My 2001 developed an oil leak in  the same area as yours. I cleaned up the underside and kept riding  until I detected the leak was coming from where the bevel drive unit is attached to the engine. It's a fairly big job to replace the gasket and it took me about 20 hours in total, but definitely doable if you're reasonable handy. Back wheel, swing arm, rear suspension, and drive shaft all have to come off. The original paper gasket on mine was in pieces. The new one is made of metal (KAWASAKI OEM PART NUMBER 11061-0157). 
 

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Taking my bike to a "Stealer" just scares the hell out of me. I did take it to a dealer when new but they were losing screws or cross threading screws. Another time it was only running on 3 cyls. They fixed it right there but that was the last straw. With the forum and a manual plus a set of wrenches I can do it myself and the labor is FREE!!! :beerchug:
 
A left side oil leak may also be the Neutral Safety Switch (NSS)...and it can be hard to find the source if it's leaking from here.  It can also be other things (water pump seal, oil pipes, etc.) but mine was really hard to find so I'll document it here for future group reference.

Here's a thread with how to get to the NSS:
http://forum.cog-online.org/index.php?topic=38897.0

The NSS is located behind some other left-side business (shift linkage, water pump neighborhood) and it is also covered by its electrical connector.

It's listed on the Bevel Drive portion of any parts fiche as #13151-1080 SWITCH-COMP,NEUTRAL

This was a satisfying repair to make for me because my left side oil leak plagued me for over a year before I finally got off my butt and nailed it down.  I had to get the left side squeaky clean to trace the leak.  It took multiple cleanings to zone in on the leak because the leak was very slow.  When I finally traced it to the neutral safety switch, there was just a trace film of oil oozing out from behind the electrical connector.  So I pulled the connector, cleaned that too, cleaned the NSS and went for a ride.  Came home, checked the NSS and there was a barely visible film of oil coming from in-between the center conductor and the outer nut itself.  Turns out the (black) resin core was cracked, allowing the bike to weep  :'(

Sure, I went to the Stealer too -- and paid five bucks for a new NSS instead of waiting to order it online.  Took ten minutes to replace once I figured it out.

HTH someone, someday.
 

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Ok, think I found it. Luckily not requiring a replacement of the bevel drive gasket :D.

Alternator is leaking oil.

http://imgur.com/eymgku3

Don't think this is a serious problem right? Thinking I should just be able to change o Ring and be happy...
 
  Easy fix and cheaper but Bike Bandit wants $20 for oem o-ring.    Maybe take the o-ring to a supplier to find a match at a lesser price?
 
Advance auto and Autozone both keep a large o-ring assortments in their stores. Usually about a buck each!
Matt
 
Best local source for o-rings would be a hydraulics repair shop. Just bring in the altenator and the old ring, and they'll match it up for ya! An online source would be McMaster-Carr.

Looking at Brock Delp's Kawasaki Concours Microfiche, the o-ring is 70.6mm x 2.4mm. There are also three smaller one on the bolts.

Speaking of bolts, you did check to see if the bolts are tight, right?
 
Bill Self said:
Are you talking about a Concours? Two Oil Drain Plugs ... Requesting info. / Only ever seen one oil drain plug plus way to drop the oil filter.
Click to expand...

Yes... C10 has 2 drain bolt in addition to the filter. Refer to the owners manual or search for other posts in the forum where this is described.
 
S Smith said:
Yes... C10 has 2 drain bolt in addition to the filter. Refer to the owners manual or search for other posts in the forum where this is described.
Click to expand...
Wow, I have not know that, after a number of oil changes and couple of full tune ups, and maybe 40,000 plus miles. I will look forward to finding the second oil drain plug I have not yet ever noticed. Any clues or pictures of location would be appreciated :+)
 
The second drain plug looks just like the main one, but a couple of inches forward of it. After the mainm one is drained, you won't get a whole lot of oil out of the secondary plug, but it is enough that if you don't drain it, it makes it easier to overfill. Plus it's more dirty oil still inside the engine. Sorry I don't have a picture, and I can't post pics anyway since I'm not a full member.
 
Bill Self said:
Are you talking about a Concours? Two Oil Drain Plugs ... Requesting info. / Only ever seen one oil drain plug plus way to drop the oil filter.
Click to expand...
Bill now that you see the second drain plug - be aware of your muscle memory from performing many routine oil changes - don’t forget to tighten! Sounds crazy but easy to fall back into routine especially right before a long planned ride where you waited to the last minute to change your oil..
 
2andblue said:
Bill now that you see the second drain plug - be aware of your muscle memory from performing many routine oil changes - don’t forget to tighten! Sounds crazy but easy to fall back into routine especially right before a long planned ride where you waited to the last minute to change your oil..
Click to expand...
Very sound advice.
 
Stasch said:
View attachment 28562
Click to expand...


Thanks Stasch.
I have been missing this.
Fortunately, I've haven't put many miles on / have only done 2 oil changes
And, I never put in more than the specified amount of oil... regardless what the "site glass" says.

I am curious, how can the level in the site glass look OK when you shut first shut the bike off, but then
after sitting for a day or 2, there is nothing in the site glass?
I mean seriously, WTH does it go??!!
Best Regards
Bob
 
Sight glass can vary quite a bit from one day to the next.

Who knows why for sure, but its possible more oil comes to rest in the front the engine than the back from one time to another?

At each oil change, I drain ALL the oil from both drain plugs with filter removed. Plugs and filter back in, then add 3 liters oil. Period.

This should bring the level about halfway in the sight glass (on center stand).

Its tempting to add more but that can cause the oily airbox leak all down the left side of the engine along with other possible bad things if enough overfilled oil causes frothing to occur.

These engines are NOT known for burning oil if properly maintained.

I look at the sight glass at most fuel fill ups - if I see oil anywhere in the glass - its good.

My 2000 C10 has 103,000 miles and counting and I don't recall ever having to add any oil between changes.
 
At risk of reviving an old thread, I just discovered a different oil leak source on the left side of my new 2002. It had a lot of oil in the belly fairing, but I figured maybe it was just the clutch pushrod seal, bad drain plug washer, or something like that. But, it turns out there's another source (Of course those other places could be leaking too, but I know this one was).

There is an oil gallery plug on the left side of the lower crankcase, right below the ignition pickup coil side cover. It's an aluminum plug with groove in the back of the head to accept an O-ring. I thought it was just an old shrunk or cracked O-ring, but when I took it apart and inspected the plug carefully, I could see that the flange of the plug itself is cracked. It appears someone may have over-tightened the plug. I'm getting a new one on order, and hopeful that solves the issue.

BTW, the plug is Part No. 92066-1096 and the O-Ring is Part No. 92055-1146
 
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