My 05 R1200GS started leaking oil on the right side recently. The bike has 63,000 miles on it. I assumed it was leaking from under the alternator belt cover, either from the crankshaft or the cap that seals the balancer shaft. I had a previous leak from that area that took the dealer 3 tries to fix. This happened at around 30,000 miles when it was still under warranty. When I removed the black cover there was no sign of leaking oil and the foam was not oil soaked like it had been when it had leaked before. Any ideas of where it might be leaking from. Here is a photo. Before the photo I had wiped away the oil around the alternator belt cover, but that area was also dirty and oily. I forgot to take photos of the area under the cover, but I wiped the surface with my finger and the surface did not seem oily, but I can't figure out how else the oil could get that far forward on the engine. Any ideas? I have cleaned off all the oil and ran it for about 10 minutes with the alternator belt cover off but I could see any leakage. I guess I will check it carefully after each ride to see if I can localized it.
Clean off as much of the oil as possible, use a spray type carb cleaner, you want it dry ride the bike a short distance and use talc or baby power to locate the source of the leak. The power will stick to a small amount of oil that you can not see, making it easy to find the leak.
If you have one put talc in one of those small honey containers with the pointed top, like the one shaped like a bear, or any such plastic squeeze bottle with a small opening....the talc will come out in a fine stream and can be directed where you want it to go..heck you could load up a straw and blow it on... Good luck. Do you think the cylinder gasket is leaking?
I would think if it was the cylinder gasket the oil would not migrate so much to the front of the engine, but I'll check that with talc also.
Even though you wiped it clean, you said the oil was forward of the cylinders and on the belt cover. Oil will creep, but a cleaning and powder test should show source...I would not drive it to begin with but only run it on the center stand first and then look for leak so that any air movement while riding it will not spread the oil. No joy there, then take it out and pound it a little. Idling may not generate enough oil movement or pressure to force the leak.
Aren't the oil cooler-to-engine connections on the upper right hand side of the motor? Oil doesn't leak up, at least not very far. It might wick upward a little ways but not much. Is the oil pressure relief valve in that area or under the front cover (I don't remember)? Just a few thoughts as to where the source might be.
I checked the shock and no sign of leaking oil on it or directly behind it. Maybe I will take off the side panels and perhaps the gas tank and see if I can see where the oil cooler pipe comes into the engine. I should rule that out before I pull off the cylinder. When I cleaned it off it took a few days for oil to be detectable, and when it reappeared it seems to be coming from where the cylinder mates to the engine case. I ordered all the gaskets and some Drei Bond 1209, so if I get my courage up, I'll remove the head and cylinder and clean and re-goop the mating surface. Does anyone think it is worth loosing and retorquing the head bolts to try to stop the leak?
Is the cam chain tensioner bolt up in there? Mine both came loose at 60k and needed to be tightened because they were leaking a lot of oil like that.
How are you washing the bike? I do NOT recommend pressure washing since doing that on my bike resulted in a burnt ignition coil. And on your bike, there are a couple of more electrical bits that might get fried Dan.
I did use a pressure washer, but I was pretty careful where I aimed it, avoiding bearings and things with wires. I knew I was taking a risk, but I didn't seem to hurt anything. Not the sort of thing I would do to routinely wash the bike.
If your head gasket is leaking, then loosening and retorquing the head will only put off the inevitable for a little bit if at all. Once they start leaking there is not much you can do other than change it. I've replaced the head gasket on my GS and its not all that hard if you have any mechanical ability, it also helps to have a service manual around. Just be sure to tie the cam chain to the sprocket so you dont have to worry about shifting the timing, one tooth off and you'll notice.
I don't think the leak is the head gasket, it is at the junction between the cylinder and the block that does not have a gasket. I wish it was the head gasket leaking . The head gasket is easier because you don't have to worry about breaking the cylinder loose from the block and getting the piston back in. Those two operations both seem a little tricky.
To make sure it was not leaking from the oil pipe connection or the oil pressure sensor, I pulled off the gas tank to inspect that area. No trace of oil leaking here. After I put it back together I ran it for a few minutes then shut it off. The next morning I hopped on it to go to work and it cranked vigorously but would not start. I probably gave it three 5 second cranks and then shut it off. When I powered it up again it started just fine and started every time since in at least a dozen trials. :huh At the end of the day I noticed more leaking at the cylinder interface so I resigned myself to tearing it apart. By now I received all the parts I needed and tore it apart. There are supposed to be two of those 10 mm hollow dowels stuck in the engine case and there was only one! This photo shows the cylinder assembly with the O-ring where there should be a dowel. It is probably not a coincidence that the leak was approximately where the missing dowel is, though it didn't leak for 60,000 miles so maybe it was a coincidence. The dealer had replaced the RH cylinder and piston at about 2,000 miles so they are probably the ones that lost the dowel. The bad news, is that now I need to order parts again, so it will stay apart for a few days until the dealer opens and ships the parts. Probably the biggest trick in getting the whole thing apart was removing the cam tensioner pivot bolt. There was no clearance for either of my T50 sockets, so I had to take the torx bit out of the socket and use an 8mm wrench on the torx bit to remove the bolt. I was worried that the dried sealant would make it difficult to remove the cylinder, but as the manual suggested a tap with a soft mallet popped it loose. That bolt also has a crush ring that I didn't order, so I ordered a couple of those when I ordered the dowel. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion when we see if I can get it back together again in working condition
Glad you found the leak but to bad you had to tear it all the way down. To be honest I don't remember if there was 2 dowels on mine either. I see the parts diagram shows it bit its kinda hard to tell from my photo. But then again mine is a bit of a frankenbike. BMW R1200GS Cylinder Removed by peanut_gallery, on Flickr That cam tensioner bolt can be a pain but all in all its not to difficult of a job. I had to do the same to fix a head stud that pulled from the block. And yes I did it all while working in a dirt floored car port.
