2

I'm having this peculiar problem. There is an engine oil leak from my 160 cc motorcycle. The thing is that, I got the engine oil changed couple of days back, by a nearby mechanic.

Now the problem is that, the engine oil leaks from the oil drain plug, only when my motorcycle is on the side stand. There is no leak whatsoever when the vehicle is parked using the center stand. The same mechanic says he doesn't know what the reason is.

Does anyone know why this is happening?

I stay very, very far from any decent, professional mechanics. So I wanted to know if there is a local fix to the problem.

Also, it's not the chain oil leak, or the leak from the sprocket. I've thoroughly checked it.

3
  • 5
    Hard to say. Can you provide an image (or link to an image) of where it's leaking? Something showing the plug and area where the plug is at, etc (no need to take it out of the cycle, but that could also be helpful). Also, 160cc is not very descriptive ... including the year/make/model of the motorcycle you have would be a great improvement. Feb 12, 2015 at 16:30
  • Did you drain the oil and checked if the botl or oil plug for any damages ? or thread aligning issues ?
    – Sakthivel
    Feb 20, 2015 at 9:45
  • There is often a brass washer under the drain plug. Does your bike have one? Should it? This can get worn out over time if it is not replaced as well.
    – Rob Gevers
    Jun 15, 2015 at 16:49

3 Answers 3

3

Well if you know the oil is leaking from the bolt on the pan I'd say you obviously don't have a good seal. I would re thread the hole and replace the washer and bolt.

I stripped the oil pan bolt on my Yamaha R6 a while back. With a little bit of trial and error I discovered that it was a 14mm 1.25 thread so I picked up a 14mm 1.5 thread tap at Autozone, that minor difference allowed me to rethread the hole which I had completely stripped, and Igot a new bolt matching the 1.5 thread along with a new washer and it was good to go. The tap costs about $10. The bolt .. A couple bucks.

If you don't know what the problem is but its leaking from the bolt I'd start with that and it'll probably solve your problem.

The reason it probably only leaks on the side is because when you've got it up on the center stand all the oil is pooling up in the back. The bolt is on the side so it only makes since that it would leak when it's leaned to that side.. I would the surprised if your a little low on oil too which would only compound that effect because the pan is not full of oil.

2

The first step I would take would be to warm your engine up a bit and then to clean it with Gunk or Simple Green and big brush. Clean everything you can and get ALL of the oil off the bike and the motor. Once you have scoured it completely, allow it dry. You can start the bike and heat it up a bit.

Put the dry bike on a center stand and allow it run for a bit. Rev the motor up lightly and ensure you get the motor hot so all of the components properly expand as they would under normal running.

Use a small fan and some talcum powder to go around the bike and drop the talcum powder into the fan to get it coat suspected leak points around the bike. You can use the fan to blow away any excess as well. The talcum powder will stick to the oil that is leaking. You can also place a piece of cardboard or newspaper below the bike to detect any oil dripping to find the location of the drip.

Once your done you should have moist oily talcum powder on any oil that has leaked out. If your unsuccessful in finding any leaks on this run, take the bike for a normal ride for 10 or 15 minutes and when you get back home, repeat the procedure. The additional oil pressure from riding and having increased RPM's should do the trick to get some of the oil leaking.

Hope this trick is beneficial.

Cheers.

0

Yes got it

Fix 1. If drain bolt thread are damaged or tornout or loosen up then add some PVC or Teflon tape and again tide the bolt. 2.if above doesn't works then you have to do TAPPING I.e. increase the dia. Of hole and apply slightly higher diameter bolt. Normal workshop will charge 100/- Rs.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .