hey guys,
i was looking at my bike today while putting the headlight fairing back on, and i noticed that my bike was leaking oil. i noticed that it was leaking onto the lower part of the header that goes under the oil pan. upon closer inspection, i see that the oil is coming from between the block and the oil pan near the front of the motor. my question is... what would be the best remedy for this? i was thinking that i could just replace the gasket or something. or should i replace the entire oil pan? how hard it is to change out the pan? any help would be appreciated.

 

First thing, you need to clean the oily area with solvent, then find out *exactly* where the old is coming from. The leak can be far away from where the oil actually appears.

How many miles on the bike?

Has the valve cover been off for valve work?

--Paul

 

the bike has about 28,000 miles. i had a valve job done probably about a year ago. i'm sure that that's where its coming from. my mechanic said that the pan shouldn't distort at all, so all i had to do is change out the gasket, so i'm gonna go order one right now.

 

Gaskets are cheap so it won't be much of a waste of cash if that isn't the leak. Meaning cleaning the bike and locating exactly where the leak is coming from is the best course. You'd be surprised where oil can leak from

 

so apparently the f4i doesn't have a gasket between the oil pan and the block. you have to put a sealant called triple bond 1207B on the edge of the pan. that hardens like rubber and seals the oil pan. just FYI if anyone searches this thread in the future.

 

so i havent even had the bike for 3 months and i noticed a leak. im pretty sure its oil but not sure from where. i rode it about 5 times and noticed the leak before and after my last ride, where do you guys think it could be coming from? the red u is the oil spot and the red line is where it seems to be dropping from. i tried sqeezing my head in back of the front tire and seen the oil filter but doesnt look like its coming from there. help.........

 

There's no easy way out of tracking an oil leak unless its spraying all over the place. Gotta take the fairings off, clean the entire engine and wait for it to show itself. Oil can drip down the engine, roll along the fairing and exit at a complete different area than where it began

 

Followup to my previous reply:

I can almost guarantee the oil isn't leaking anywhere from where you have highlighted.

If you pull the left & right lower fairings, you'll prolly find oil in the heat shielding and along the lower edge. I had oil dripping on the driveway from the exact same spot on my bike. Pulling the fairings, cleaning the engine and waiting revealed it was coming from the water pump by the kickstand.

The oring on the water pump where it enters right above the oil pan had let go. Oil seeped from there, trickled along the oil pan and dropped onto the lower fairings. From there, it travelled down the channel between the l & r lower fairing and came out the front. Couple bucks to ronyayers.com for that specific oring, some coolant from Pepboys and 30 min of mess all over the driveway: Fixed. Not a drop since.

 

man, and i just put everything back together after installing those flush mounts. also, ive been itching to ride. man!!! well i guess ill take your advice and clean and monitor the oil. one last question, what should i fix first, by importance, this oil leak or the cct?

 

OIL!!! the CCT just makes noise. the oil keeps your bike alive and more important that leak is in line with your tires which keep you alive.