Oil on engine block

gordh

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I have a 2009 F650 Twin and have just noticed a slight oil deposit on the gasket that is situated towards the top of the engine block. The bike has covered 10,000kms and had its 12 month service at 8,500kms. Does anyone know if this is normal :) or should I prepare for some major surgery? :eek:

Cheers
 
gordh said:
I have a 2009 F650 Twin and have just noticed a slight oil deposit on the gasket that is situated towards the top of the engine block. The bike has covered 10,000kms and had its 12 month service at 8,500kms. Does anyone know if this is normal :) or should I prepare for some major surgery? :eek:

Cheers
Click to expand...

If you do a search on here, you'll find that a few have had problems with the rocker cover gasket (where you check the valve clearances). I think Greggers had this problem? Anyway, your bike is still under warranty, so take it back.
 
yeah me too:comfort

i dont think that its "normal" however, as said above, its still under warranty so get it back to the dealers;)

Richie:beerjug:
 
Hi Gord ...

Yes, it is normal, but it isn't right ... :(

As you can see a few of us have had the problem, but even BWM spannermen seem to have difficulty with it as the Fatherland insist that the fix is a replacement gasket (which contrary to some opinion is exactly the same as the OE gasket) and to re-assemble per the manual.

The problem is that the manual specifies application of sealant only to certain areas of the gasket, if that's done in the wrong place or under applied then you'll get the leak again. It's not really helped by the fact that the gasket isn't squeezed very much either.

My fix was a little belt and braces with a 'proper' sealant being applied to both surfaces of the gasket for its entire length - not just round the half-moon thingies. This was all helped along by fitting some stainless steel washers under the rocker cover bolt-heads which gave about another 1.5mm compression to the gasket.

Result - no leaks .... well, TBH I fukked up the first time round by using a stupid little 'O' ring seal to try and supplement the OE bolt seals which didn't work and actually let more oil out than the leaky gasket :blast, but I got rid of those and just re-seated the bolt-seals and Robert was my proverbial mother's brother ...

Greg
 
Thanks all for your input. I've been in touch with the Motorrad dealer and their take is that a small amount isn't a problem. I've been assured (????) that the bike is ok to ride. I'm off on a 450km trip tomorrow and they've asked that I photo the leak, clean it off, and see what happens during my trip. Again thanks for the input fellow 'Tossers', will keep you updated.
(Weekend starts now - Muslim country and all that :bow:clap)
 
Had the same, right after the bike went for service.
BMW brought out a fix for that, which they only apply in case of a leak, so not while you're in for service :blast
Fix is another type of gasket with another type of sealant and slightly longer & stronger bolts to torque it a bit more up then previously.
 
Three times here .. fixed with a new rocker cover and gasket under warranty :)

Sorted :thumb
:beerjug:
 
Thanks for the update guys. Will see what happens during/after tomorrows ride. The route tomorrow takes use 150kms tar, 130kms off-road/gravel, then 150kms back to base. Temp at the moment quite nice, should peak in the high twenties, low thirties and dry. Not bad for early winter!!

Cheers all, ride safe.:beerjug:
 
Both our bikes leaked after having the 12000 mile valve check. The dealer (Barry Robson of York) was very apologetic and set to in his suit and white shirt to dismantle the body panels and top end to see what the problem was.
He invited me to look at the bike and showed me just how tight and inaccessible the rocker gasket is.He re sealed the gasket and applied a little jointing compound before refitting everything ( Robsons get some bad press but for us he was very helpfully and professional).
His conclusion was a new head gasket every valve check was probably worth while. Even with the cost of this included in the service he was much cheaper then the other local dealers.
 
Hmmmm .... yes it is tight, but that's how BMW designed it :toungincheek

The gasket in question is a fairly spongy 4-5mm thick so I can't quite understand how some dealers are claiming to need to change the rocker cover - any distortion in the cover must be massive not to be able to be accommodated by the 'softness' of the gasket. Naaah - I can't see that, maybe it's a dealer clutching at straws for a fix...

AFAIK my local dealer (CW Dorchester) say there's only one gasket listed, no oversize ones, and longer bolts won't make a gnat's worth of difference because they're shouldered so won't compress the gasket any further than it's designed to no matter how much torque you apply...

It's such a simple fix - just don't be shy with the sealant...

G
 
Oil leak F800GS

Just back from a 3500km tour of Spain and whilst away noticed the dreaded rocker cover seepage.
Seeing a possibly expensive BMW fix looming large,on return i stopped off at my local Motorrad dealer to ask his opinion before my warranty ran out(2009,12000kms).
"Oh,that's quite normal" came the reply!
Apparently the problem comes from a certain batch of bolts being fractionally the wrong size,therefore not compressing the gasket sufficiently.Having insufficient knowledge of rocker cover bolt/thread depth technology,i was ready to believe him (if anybody knows this to be utter blks,please let me know so i know not to believe the head mechanic next time!).
It seems plausible as Greggers said the replacement gasket is exactly the same and didn't seem to be squeezed very much.
He told me that it would have been a standard recall but BMW did not have a cross reference between bolts and bikes.He went on to say that the repair would be done even if the bike was out of warranty (don't hold me to that though!) as it's a known fault.

Using the bike with seepage poses no problem as long as oil level is ok(and of course if the warning light doesn't come on...)

Oh and by the way,this is Motorrad France i'm dealing with....maybe the info(if correct!)got held up in a strike!

P
 
Hi all,

back from the Friday ride and checked the engine for oil seepage, and yes its there again. I will take it in to the local dealer this week and see what they will do. Nice to hear that the bike is OK to ride, of course checking that the oil level is still within the acceptable range. Will provide feed-back asap.

Cheers all.
 
Hi all,

went to the Motorrad dealer today so that they could inspect the oil leak. They said it was a minor issue but would nevertheless order the needed part(s) and fix the problem. They also confirmed what one of the earlier posts had said that there was no problem riding as is. I mentioned that I had heard of similar instances of oil leaking from this area on the UKGSer site, but he was unaware of the particular problem. Managed to get the bike washed after the dusty Friday jaunt, so certainly not a wasted couple of hours.

Thanks again to all who provided their own experience and information.

Cheers
 
Hi Greggers,

knowing the way the 'service' clock ticks over here it will probably take two days not two hours.:blast

Cheers
 
'fraid not. I'm a bit ham fisted to be honest. It took me the best part of a day to fit a set of Wunderlicht spot lights and a perspex headlight protector. Rather leave it to the 'experts???'. Don't use the bike during the week so no hardship.

Cheers
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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