oil leak

[Sandro17]

hi everyone. i have 2004 YAMAHA ROYAL STAR MIDNIGHT VENTURE. i'll put some pics here hope that somebody will understand where's the oil leak is coming out. i tried to clean it first but it is really tidy place to get the water. my assumption is that it has to be the mid drive shaft oil seal, but on the pictures, there are lot more evidence of oil leak,(oil leak evidence is underneath left side cover) it is driving me crazy, i really want to fix it and change the parts, local mechanic is really busy, in my country there's a few of 'em. so i was thinking maybe someone would help me to get the right parts for my bike! thanks and safe ride to everyone

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[videoarizona]

It looks to me like the leak is farther forward. The problem with these types of leak is the oil can be coming from anywhere and being blown back.

Probably best thing to do is get some black light type fluid (ultraviolet)for tracing oil leaks and put it in oil. Clean off as much off the underside as possible. Maybe gently lay bike down on side and pressure wash bottom only! Maybe. Pressure washers and bikes don't get along so be careful.

Run engine for a few then use a black light to look for the greenish tint fluid that will show up under a black light. That would be where the fresh oil is leaking.

I bought a small black light from ACE a while back for a few bux. They were near the cash register. Cheap.

[RDawson]

4 hours ago, videoarizona said:

Maybe gently lay bike down on side and pressure wash bottom only! Maybe. Pressure washers and bikes don't get along so be careful.

I use Walmart carb cleaner for situations like this. It makes an excellent degreaser. Outside and away from sparks. 

[Sandro17]

17 hours ago, videoarizona said:

It looks to me like the leak is farther forward. The problem with these types of leak is the oil can be coming from anywhere and being blown back.

Probably best thing to do is get some black light type fluid (ultraviolet)for tracing oil leaks and put it in oil. Clean off as much off the underside as possible. Maybe gently lay bike down on side and pressure wash bottom only! Maybe. Pressure washers and bikes don't get along so be careful.

Run engine for a few then use a black light to look for the greenish tint fluid that will show up under a black light. That would be where the fresh oil is leaking.

I bought a small black light from ACE a while back for a few bux. They were near the cash register. Cheap.

i bought Engine Oil Transmission & Fuel Systems UV Dye 374CS For Auto Oil Gas Diesel ATF from ebay, because there no such thing in my country  i'll buy the ultraviolet flashlight too, and see how it goes. it really drives me crazy those oil leaks, i'll do my best to fix this beautiful bike.

[djh3]

So how full is the oil level. My experience with the RSV was half way up window was all it wanted. Anything more and it would find places to blow out. Usually the air boxs fill up.

[Sandro17]

10 hours ago, djh3 said:

So how full is the oil level. My experience with the RSV was half way up window was all it wanted. Anything more and it would find places to blow out. Usually the air boxs fill up.

I just changed the oil, and it’s full, i thought at first that it was leaking from the gaskets and i was right about that, i changed the gaskets and it is dry no more oil is coming from them! But it still leaves the marks on the floor so it must be deep in the engine, i ordered the engine dye and bought a uv light! Going to wash it soon, and going to try that trick with the light see how it goes.

[videoarizona]

Not necessarily from deep in engine. Let's cross fingers and hope not.

The point about the oil level being only halfway up the sight glass is very valid. Both of my Ventures will blow oil out the intake, air cleaners and the breathing tubes from the air cleaner with any more oil than that in them. Once you ride, it's blows excess oil out. When you stop, it will drip down from wherever it blew out of. Hard to figure out sometimes!

Hint....clean engine as best you can before using the UV to trace the leak.

Start looking high in a darkened room....not black, just not bright.

Here is the link for my pesky oil leak on my 1st gen. Same motor so most applies to 2nd gen.  Post 46 shows the color of the dye in the oil.

 

 

Edited July 22, 2022 by videoarizona
Sp

[videoarizona]

By the way, if your vent tube is missing or tucked up under something, that could explain oil everywhere along bottom of motor. I haven't looked hard under my 2nd gen so my knowledge here is risky....

[Sandro17]

12 hours ago, videoarizona said:

By the way, if your vent tube is missing or tucked up under something, that could explain oil everywhere along bottom of motor. I haven't looked hard under my 2nd gen so my knowledge here is risky....

I believe i have a same problem with the seals and o-rings and etc. i don’t think that Georgian mechanics would fix it. I am really desperate about this oil leaks in my RSV and do not know how to fix it, i’ll try the blacklight and uv flashlight trick. As soon as i i’ll get engine Dye from the ebay. When i told this trick to my mechanic he told me that he never heard about the ultrasounds tricks (😄😄😄) i guess me and my mechanic have to learn new things about the motorcycle engine together. Wish me a luck, thanks for the post about your oil leak problem. And i have to translate it to my mechanic and maybe he will understand hopefully something about the problem. 

[Sandro17]

20 hours ago, videoarizona said:

By the way, if your vent tube is missing or tucked up under something, that could explain oil everywhere along bottom of motor. I haven't looked hard under my 2nd gen so my knowledge here is risky....

My friend can u help me, find These parts on diagram? Do u know which section of the engine is it? I am planing to change every gasket or oil seal underneath the engine, already found the parts on diagram, obviously going ro try uv light trick but anyways i’ll change the old ones with brand new parts. Any help would be highly appreciated 🙏🏻 Have a good day! Ride safe!

[videoarizona]

Sorry, I've been out of town. Getting ready to go camping tomorrow.

That area looks like directly below and to the rear of the oil pan area... Under the transmission. 

If you have wet oil there, I'd look forward of that to the oil pan drain plug. It should not be very tight. If someone replaced without changing the gasket on the bolt....that might be your leak. There are a few other hoses and connections under there that can leak as well. You really need to clean the area with carb cleaner before you do anything else. Get the underside clean. Then run motor with UV fluid in it for a few minutes. Turn off and look for fluid with UV light.

You may have to wait a few minutes before the oil shows up if it's coming from somewhere above. Have patience... You will get this.

Ask @Marcarl for help if I'm still not available due to camping in the woods!

Good luck!

David

P.S. download RSV manual from this site if you haven't yet. 

 

[Papa Fred]

Someone earlier had mentioned the shift shat seal along with the Stator Wires.  Definitely look at those wires.  They come out of stator cover toward the rear of the cover...easy to find once you remove the rear (transmission)cover.  Be careful with that trans cover as there is a small copper washer on the bottom bolt of that cover to help seal that bolt. ( check that one for leaking as well).  With that cover out of the way, you can get at the shifter shaft seal to determine if there is any seepage there, but more importantly you can now see the 2 rubber grommets in the rear of the stator cover...upper one has 2 wires, lower has 3.  When I replaced my stator a couple of years ago, one thing was pretty obvious right away.  On the stator I removed (unsure if it was OEM or other) the 3 wires running thru that grommet were sealed tight into the grommet.  On the new stator those 3 wires were loose in the grommet, being able to slide back and forth.  Although I applied a fair bit of RTV to the grommet and around all the wires, I still had oil leaking out past those wires.  I tried cleaning the case from the outside and applying more RTV, but the leak continued.  It wasn't a lot of oil coming out, but after a couple of hours riding there would be oil blown back along the frame, the exhaust pipe and the kick stand., and when stopped for a while leaned over on the stand, the oil would collect along the bottom edge of the stator cover, or run down the stand, and also drip onto the ground from the kickstand safety switch (just ahead of the stand).  Some of the oil might have been leaking from around the cover gasket, but the majority of it was coming from the wires.  Not only would it drip from that side of the bike, but the oil would also travel down those wires into the bundle of wires zip-tied together in the centre of the bike just ahead of the shock...which gave the appearance of a leak from the back of the motor.  Lots of brake clean, lots of cleaning rags, pulled the cover, cleaned the inside of the cover, removed all the old RTV and very carefully re-applied some quality hi temp oil resistant RTV (Yamabond or equivalent) into that grommet around all 3 wires, from the inside and the outside.  I let the RTV cure overnight, applied a light smear of the same RTV to the gaskets as well as the engine and the covers, let them sit for a few minutes, then put the covers on, torqued the bolts and again let it sit overnight before adding oil and running the engine.   For the first time in a couple of years the bike doesn't mark it's territory wherever it stops.  Zero oil leakage.

As stated in another post, the engine doesn't like being full to the high mark on the oil sight glass.  That only leads to oil drips from unexpected places, including the collection of hoses that come out of the bottom of the frame just ahead of the rear shock.

Good luck with the leak hunting.

[Sandro17]

1 hour ago, videoarizona said:

Sorry, I've been out of town. Getting ready to go camping tomorrow.

That area looks like directly below and to the rear of the oil pan area... Under the transmission. 

If you have wet oil there, I'd look forward of that to the oil pan drain plug. It should not be very tight. If someone replaced without changing the gasket on the bolt....that might be your leak. There are a few other hoses and connections under there that can leak as well. You really need to clean the area with carb cleaner before you do anything else. Get the underside clean. Then run motor with UV fluid in it for a few minutes. Turn off and look for fluid with UV light.

You may have to wait a few minutes before the oil shows up if it's coming from somewhere above. Have patience... You will get this.

Ask @Marcarl for help if I'm still not available due to camping in the woods!

Good luck!

David

P.S. download RSV manual from this site if you haven't yet. 

 

Really appreciate your help and thanks for The replay. I’ll do it like u suggested. I’ll update the news about the oil leakage. Thanks again and hava a good time the woods 🙏🏻

[Sandro17]

55 minutes ago, Papa Fred said:

Someone earlier had mentioned the shift shat seal along with the Stator Wires.  Definitely look at those wires.  They come out of stator cover toward the rear of the cover...easy to find once you remove the rear (transmission)cover.  Be careful with that trans cover as there is a small copper washer on the bottom bolt of that cover to help seal that bolt. ( check that one for leaking as well).  With that cover out of the way, you can get at the shifter shaft seal to determine if there is any seepage there, but more importantly you can now see the 2 rubber grommets in the rear of the stator cover...upper one has 2 wires, lower has 3.  When I replaced my stator a couple of years ago, one thing was pretty obvious right away.  On the stator I removed (unsure if it was OEM or other) the 3 wires running thru that grommet were sealed tight into the grommet.  On the new stator those 3 wires were loose in the grommet, being able to slide back and forth.  Although I applied a fair bit of RTV to the grommet and around all the wires, I still had oil leaking out past those wires.  I tried cleaning the case from the outside and applying more RTV, but the leak continued.  It wasn't a lot of oil coming out, but after a couple of hours riding there would be oil blown back along the frame, the exhaust pipe and the kick stand., and when stopped for a while leaned over on the stand, the oil would collect along the bottom edge of the stator cover, or run down the stand, and also drip onto the ground from the kickstand safety switch (just ahead of the stand).  Some of the oil might have been leaking from around the cover gasket, but the majority of it was coming from the wires.  Not only would it drip from that side of the bike, but the oil would also travel down those wires into the bundle of wires zip-tied together in the centre of the bike just ahead of the shock...which gave the appearance of a leak from the back of the motor.  Lots of brake clean, lots of cleaning rags, pulled the cover, cleaned the inside of the cover, removed all the old RTV and very carefully re-applied some quality hi temp oil resistant RTV (Yamabond or equivalent) into that grommet around all 3 wires, from the inside and the outside.  I let the RTV cure overnight, applied a light smear of the same RTV to the gaskets as well as the engine and the covers, let them sit for a few minutes, then put the covers on, torqued the bolts and again let it sit overnight before adding oil and running the engine.   For the first time in a couple of years the bike doesn't mark it's territory wherever it stops.  Zero oil leakage.

As stated in another post, the engine doesn't like being full to the high mark on the oil sight glass.  That only leads to oil drips from unexpected places, including the collection of hoses that come out of the bottom of the frame just ahead of the rear shock.

Good luck with the leak hunting.

The oil level is in the middle of the glass so u think it’s alright, im going to have to translate everything u wrote down, to my mechanic. Thanks for the tips highly appreciated my dear friend, i’ll keep u updated. I’m just waiting for my mechanic to deal with it with me, going to visit him this friday. Ride safe 🙏🏻

[RDawson]

Just to be clear, the oil is 1/2 way up the glass with the bike setting straight up? A common mistake is to fill with the bike on the kickstand. 

[Marcarl]

21 minutes ago, RDawson said:

Just to be clear, the oil is 1/2 way up the glass with the bike setting straight up? A common mistake is to fill with the bike on the kickstand. 

Good point, and clean out the airboxes of any oil residue. Then clean ALL oil deposits, nice and clean and then clean again before anything else. The run the bike for a bit on the side stand, don't ride yet or the air stream will make it harder to follow the trail. Then maybe run it on the center stand or bike stand.

[Papa Fred]

You're right, Ron...I forgot to mention that bit about having the bike straight up.  I've also marked each side of the oil sight glass with a black permanent marker at the midway point between the HI & LO marks on the engine case.

[videoarizona]

One last thought before I head out of town again...

Both the neutral switch and the shift shaft are down low on the left side of motor. Under the stator wires. All three of these areas can leak. The neutral switch had an orange O ring, the shift shaft has on O ring and the stator wires coming out of the case can leak around the seal. RTV is your friend in that case. 

The most important information is that most screws and bolts are not tightened down hard. Most are torqued to inch pounds... Not foot pounds. Overnighting will cause leaks. The valve cover gaskets will leak if tightened down like you would a car's. In fact, they will leak more if you try to tighten them even more.

A good torque wrench really is important on these bikes. 

Other than this... They are very dependable scoots.

I think the link I sent you earlier about my oil leak also shows pictures of the neutral switch and stator wires. If not, do a Search on posts with my name on them. 

 

[Sandro17]

On 7/25/2022 at 9:46 PM, videoarizona said:

One last thought before I head out of town again...

Both the neutral switch and the shift shaft are down low on the left side of motor. Under the stator wires. All three of these areas can leak. The neutral switch had an orange O ring, the shift shaft has on O ring and the stator wires coming out of the case can leak around the seal. RTV is your friend in that case. 

The most important information is that most screws and bolts are not tightened down hard. Most are torqued to inch pounds... Not foot pounds. Overnighting will cause leaks. The valve cover gaskets will leak if tightened down like you would a car's. In fact, they will leak more if you try to tighten them even more.

A good torque wrench really is important on these bikes. 

Other than this... They are very dependable scoots.

I think the link I sent you earlier about my oil leak also shows pictures of the neutral switch and stator wires. If not, do a Search on posts with my name on them. 

 

Hope everything is going well for you my friend. I am about to start the proper clean of the engine, i was wandering how to clean it? Because it is impossible to clean this mess from underneath the motor. I just can’t reach with any brush the dirt and oil. It will be hard for me alone to gently lean the bike on its side and plus i’ve heard that leaning bike on the side is not good for the engine fluids etc…  Any suggestions? Thanks have a good day.

[videoarizona]

Don't know if this post will make it.... I'm out in the woods work almost no cell signal.

Understand about you not being able to lean bike over by yourself. Do not understand about leaning will hurt bike. About the only damage I can think of is to the plastics if it fell. Won't hurt the fluids at all. 

You aren't leaning it over 90 degrees, just enough to lay down beside it and use a carb cleaner and a brush to clean up the bottom. 

[luffrr]

Another possible source of leaking oil is from the shifter shaft going into the transmission. It is not a difficult fix and is due to a failed "O" ring.  

[Sandro17]

Update On a bike, this dust seal (No.33) is screwed and i was losing oil, plus ( No. 8 Bearing) was screwed too, i ordered OEM parts from megazip, hopefully they’ll arrive 20th September. Did the UV flashlight trick, saw the oil coming from this place (don’t know the name of this part of the bike) turns out the bolt was missing, got the correct size bolt, hopefully fixed it, got the bike parted out, waiting for the parts to arrive. Then i’ll let u guys know the update. 🙏🏻

Edited August 30, 2022 by Sandro17

[luvmy40]

@Sandro17 Hey guy, I'm not going to report this, but you might want to edit your post. This is a family oriented forum.

TBH, it doesn't offend me, but it is not appropriate language here.

Edited August 29, 2022 by luvmy40

[Sandro17]

22 hours ago, luvmy40 said:

@Sandro17 Hey guy, I'm not going to report this, but you might want to edit your post. This is a family oriented forum.

TBH, it doesn't offend me, but it is not appropriate language here.

Done ✅