Hi Don, I'm going from memory here so I might be less then accurate but if I remember right the cam cover is bolted on via spacers and seals to the cam caps, could one of these seals be damaged and leaking. On 4 cyl Kawasaki's I've worked on you had to be especially careful sealing the rubber 1/2 circle seals ay the end of the cams, these tend to weep if not sealed properly. Something I heard of with a KLR600 was a warped cover from suspected over tightening, if you have the cover off set it face down on a piece of glass and make sure the covers sealing surface sits flat, it should have no gaps on the entire gasket surface, check for a gap with a feeler gauge if necessary. Good luck with the leak and have a great evening....Greg
Don Pendergraft wrote: HELP!
I need help fixing a leaking cylinder head cover, a.k.a. "cam cover" on my
'08 KLR. After completing a valve job, I put some RTV on the engine side and
let it setup for about 10 minutes and buttoned it up. It started right up,
and I wasn't watching the engine. I went to fill up with gas since the tank
was about empty. I didn't see the point in having to pull a full gas tank
off for the valve job! Anyway, I got to the station and started fiddling
with the pay at the pump and I noticed OIL EVERYWHERE! I cancelled the
transaction and rode the 3 1/2 miles back home. I didn't want to waste time
and ruin my engine if it was a bad leak, and I didn't feel like pushing her.
) My sight window for the oil was still at the top. It just looked like I
lost alot of oil. Anyway, I found that it was leaking in the front left
portion. I took it off and scraped the RTV off to try again. I thought I
prolly used too much RTV. This time I used a very thin layer. I buttoned it
back up to try again. Note: I didn't have a 12mm 1/4" drive socket for my
torque wrench, and so was guessing. If I errored in the amount of torque, I
errored in the direction of not tight enough. I'm scared spitless about
stripping it. I fired her up again and watched for leaks this time. It
leaked again. Right away. I went to Autozone and bought a 12mm 1/4" drive
socket for my torque wrench. I thought I would try again. I cleaned the
surfaces and applied a very thin layer of RTV on the engine portion and ALSO
on the rubber gasket itself. I let it setup for about 10 minutes and
buttoned it back up. I torqued the bolts to 55 inch pounds. That's slightly
less than spec as it has been said that they can be stripped if you go all
the way to spec. I fired her up and she immediately started leaking AGAIN.
. Oh, I'm leaving out the days between each attempt to spare you the
gory details (the cam cap bolt I broke and had to extract, etc).
I've posted at klr650.net, and I have been consulting with Eagle Mike. He
has been a HUGE help. Especially with getting the bolt out. He even mailed
me a special 90 degree drill to use! (If you are reading this Mike, I'm
putting it in the mail today!) But I haven't spoken to EM since my latest
failure last night. So I'm just trying to gather some opinions as to what I
should try. For example, should I try it WITHOUT RTV? Some go without, but
if it's leaking, you would think you would need it. I have had one other
suggestion that is tempting and makes some sense, but scares me. I was told
that I'm going to need to go tighter on the bolts and that will stop the
leak. And hey, if I strip it, there's always a Helicoil.
) Well, I'm not
even sure what a Helicoil is and have never used one and wouldn't know where
to go to get one! I would hate to have to hog it out and try to use some
bolt from the hardware store instead. I really don't want to strip it.
Having said that, it does seem that a bit more pressure may stop the leak.
My other thought is to put on a thin layer of RTV on the engine side and
bolt the cover on right away and not let it setup. Then when it's bolted on,
let it cure for awhile before starting it. Am I supposed to do that? I have
bolted it on and fired it up right away. Am I supposed to let the RTV "cure"
or whatever before starting the engine?
Can you tell that I'm struggling for a solution? It's been three weeks now
and it's killing me. If you have any ideas, I'm all ears. Thank you in
advance. I appreciate the seriousness and expertise of this list.
Don+
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The RTV I'm using now is Permatex Ultra-Gray. Also, it's a 2008 so I think
the rubber is fine in the gasket. I have inspected it and also placed the
cover on a glass table and it seems good. Someone mentioned warranty, but I
don't see how they cover a situation like this. They would probably tell me
that since I did the valve job, it's my job to reassemble it correctly.
Anyway, I just fired her up and here's the result after my FOURTH attempt.
It still leaks oil. So I'm bummed. But it is *much better* than before so
I'm hopeful. Before, it would leak copious amounts of oil. A big mess! This
time, it didn't leak right away, but then started seeping out from the
bottom of the back donut (half moon thingy), then the front donut and the
front left side just a bit. I could have just kept wiping it away. It wasn't
overwhelming, which is good, but it was too much to ride the bike.
I'm not positive what to try different this time except that perhaps I could
smear some of that gray goody around the donut area a bit more and perhaps
let it setup longer than an hour. Other than that, I'm clueless. I could
also try no sealant which I've never tried. But the factory uses it, so I
don't think it's wrong to use it. Also, a cold front in moving in and the
highs will be in the 40's. Perfect for wrenching on the porch.
Honestly, there is NO reason this should be difficult. It's not rocket
science. I don't get it.
Don+