[vdcook01]

My 82 GL500I Silver Wing, 33K on the clock, is leaking antifreeze (and some oil?) apparently (best I can tell prior to removing the radiator) from around the fan shaft, enough to make a mess of the engine and speckle my boot during my most recent 50 mile ride and enough to mess the garage floor with both oil and some antifreeze. I was worried the fan had disintegrated and bit the radiator, but upon initial inspection, the fan appears solid.



From what I can tell, if I remove the radiator and the water pump, then perhaps the seal might be replaced.



Thanks in advance for your suggestions/enouragement/links to previous posts.



Nebraska



(Presently located in Louisville, KY)

 

[Blue Fox]

The water pump is on the rear of the engine, not behind the fan. It is driven off the opposite end of the cam shaft that the fan is on. Now there is a weep hole in the water pump area that will release some coolant if the pump seal is bad, but that is located below the carbs, not at the front.



There are several possible oil leakage areas on the front. The cam shaft oil seal behind the fan, the tach drive oil seal, where the tach cable enters the drive. The clutch rod seal. The front cover gasket. And the clutch cover gasket. You may have to pull the radiator to check some of these areas. I would try to wash the area clean before I started. Maybe then just run it enough to start leaking. Otherwise you may never be able to pin point the actual leak.

 

[DaveF]

If it's leaking coolant from the front, check the radiator drain plug. They have been known to split.

 

[bandit]

the bugbear in your question,is both oil and coolant.

from the front of your motor there are not many place that would show a joint leak.so,i think you have 2 leaks,in different places.

you are going to need to pull your fan,use the correct size bolt,as per manual.

Fan puller bolt.

M14 x 1.5 about 2 inches long.



then wash the front of your engine,let it dry.then blow kitchen flour all around all joint/seals.this will quickly show your leak points.dont forget around the thermostat housing.

it wont hurt your bike to run it a few minutes with no rad.

 

[vdcook01]

Thanks, guys, for your comments!



Finally had the time to take the radiator off and inspect the area. I suspect the antifreeze came from the hose clamp at the junction of the pipe and elbow hose; it seemed a bit loose and readily leaked after just a little loosening of the clamp.



After a lot of cleaning up and inspection, the best conclusion I could make was that the oil leak was from a worn out gasket on the crankshaft bolt cover. While I didn't take the fan off, I got a pretty good look at the area behind it & was not suspicious of the area.



So it was great to get it back together and go for a ride. However after getting home, fresh amber colored erl was on the side of the engine and fresh drops on a previously clean area on my garage floor. It's not a great volume as to prevent riding or to lower the dipstick level, but it is enough to make a mess along the right side of the engine and, at speed, very gradually dirty the rider's leg/boot. This said, there was no antifreeze leak.



In its life with PO, the bike has been down as evidenced by scrapes and faring cracks. A couple of crankcase joints are smeared with some sort of liquid metal. One "patch" where the oil seems to be coming from is at the crankcase seal at the crankcase bolt next to the lower radiator bolt, just above the clutch cable.



So, what to do now?

 

[philbrewer]

Case bolt or clutch cover bolt?



Post a pic

 

[Shep]

To do the job properly you need to remove the front engine cover and see if there's any damage to the front cover.At this time you can also clean the engine sump and oil pump strainer which are often overlooked maintenance parts and check the oil pump chain.You will need a new front cover gasket or make your own,



http://globalcxglvtwins.hostingdelivered.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=256



This will require the Radiator to come off and for ease of access the Fan and fan guard as well.



You should at this time also clean and flush the Radiator ,



http://www.pdsrecording.site90.com/cxgl500/Coolant.htm



I would set aside a weekend for this work and we will,"Hold your hand" whilst you do this if you are new to motorcycle mechanics.It's not hard but just a little involved and nothing a,"Home Mechanic" cannot do.

One of the biggest problems with getting any 2nd hand motorcycle is not knowing what the POs did or did not do.

Correctly servicing these bikes and they can give well over 200,000 miles with just the need to replace normal consumables like oil+filter/tyres/cam-chains etc.



There are reports of one original engine doing around 325,000 miles.

 

[vdcook01]

In quest of the M14 x 1.5 bolt, after visiting the best hardware store in town, then Lowe's and then Home Depo, the following link was veru helpful, particularly the pictures.



http://cx500forum.com/index.php?/topic/4017-radiator-fan-puller-tip/



I found the link on Google.



My next stop will be at NAPA.

 

[vdcook01]

NAPA didn't have the bolt (to pull the fan) but H&S ACE Hardware did.



After pulling the fan and running the engine for a bit, the oil leak origin was from a faulty gasket on the right (cylinder) side of the front engine cover. As the PO had used epoxy on the lateral portion of the seam (pic1), I put a small (about 1.5 cm) JB Weld patch over the leaky area, as this seemed much easier, and was in a hidden area, inside the fan cowl (pic 2). Maybe someday I'll replace the take off the front engine cover & replace the gasket, but for now this was the quickest, easiest solution, without possibly creating problems by opening the engine cover.

Continence!!! Aaaahhhhh! A dry bottom is sooo nice, particularly in hot weather. No more drip, drip, drip! No more unsightly wet spots and stains on the garage floor.

 

[NateDawg]

Duct tape and chewing gum

 

[bandit]

NAPA didn't have the bolt (to pull the fan) but H&S ACE Hardware did.



After pulling the fan and running the engine for a bit, the oil leak origin was from a faulty gasket on the right (cylinder) side of the front engine cover. As the PO had used epoxy on the lateral portion of the seam (pic1), I put a small (about 1.5 cm) JB Weld patch over the leaky area, as this seemed much easier, and was in a hidden area, inside the fan cowl (pic 2). Maybe someday I'll replace the take off the front engine cover & replace the gasket, but for now this was the quickest, easiest solution, without possibly creating problems by opening the engine cover.

agree 100%,well done.i small oil leak does not mean strip the engine,stop it leaking until you have a better reason to pull things....common sense prevails

Continence!!! Aaaahhhhh! A dry bottom is sooo nice, particularly in hot weather. No more drip, drip, drip! No more unsightly wet spots and stains on the garage floor.