[midgtmn]

Hey all,



Just recently changed the oil on my bike, no big deal, but first I noticed a few drips of fresh oil coming off the bottom of the engine when I parked, and it has built up to the point where my right shoe and most of the right side of the bike is covered in oil after a 10 minute ride. There is oil residue all the way up to the clutch cover, so my assumption is that this is coming from the clutch lever seal or from the cover seal itself?



Think I am on the right line? I hope to get a closer look tonight to try to figure out what's going on. Any tips and tricks for sealing up the clutch lever? Are parts available? I haven't read up in my service manual yet about the procedure, but I'll be referencing that this evening to get the full how-to.



Thanks!

 

[CXPHREAK]

There is a small oil seal around the clutch lever spindle, this will be your culprit if the oil is coming from here.



Clean the area, dust with talc or flour, let idle and observe the suspect area.



Could be the clutch cover, front cover gasket shrunk in on the corner or be coming from up higher at the end of the camshaft where there is another gasket and two oilseals.

 

[ramprat06]

With that quantity, I would agree that is the area to look. I had a sudden front engine gasket fail some time back on my former CX, and it's not too hard to fix. Either some JB weld on the seam for short term, or the gasket/s replaced. No problem getting the parts. If you go with the gasket/s, it's a good time to check the screen on the oil pump pickup, and oil chain itself. Clutch visual as well. I'd suggest removing radiator for that job though, just for ease and safety. You don't HAVE to, but..........



Joel in the Couve

 

[midgtmn]

Figured out the source. It's actually the seal for the front engine cover. Somewhat unfortunate... good sources on new gaskets? Go with OEM honda?



The leak is a small one, so i might try some simple sillicon first, but i doubt it will seal it for long if it does at all. The leak is right next to the lower radiator mounting bolt. I already checked, the front cover bolts themselves are tight.



Guess it's back up on blocks for a bit for this old girl!

 

[Curt72]

That's what happened to mine, after it's first couple of rides (it had been out of use for a while, dried out I guess).



The gasket at the top right corner of the front engine cover shrank, pulled in at the corner and the oil just poured out.



It's a fairly easy fix and it was good to have a look around in there, I drained the coolant and removed the radiator it makes life easier. There was quite a bit of thick oil hiding in the casting crevices.



As well as the genuine Honda gasket, I also used some gasket sealant. I would also recommend changing the O rings while your in there.



Check David Silver Spares in the UK, and the www.cmsnl.com website for the parts diagram.



Get in there and get your hands dirty. I tried silcone sealant, it didn't work.



Cheers



Curt

 

[kingston73]

I actually just did this to mine, same corner as yours was leaking oil so I ended up replacing the gasket with an OEM one. You can make your own with gasket paper if you don't want to wait for a gasket to be shipped to you. It'll require you to drain the coolant and take the radiator and fan shroud off, and while you're there you should take the fan off and inspect it for cracks. If your'e going to do all that you may want to consider either buying a new fan or switching to an electric fan, I went with the oem fan replacement. When you take the front cover off, make sure you pay attention as the oil pressure orifice and a couple metal dowels may fall out. Make sure the silver oil pressure piece gets put back in correctly when you button it back up. To hold the gasket in place you can either use liquid gasket or just some thick grease (I went with grease).

 

[ramprat06]

I agree with Kingston, and it's not critical to use an OEM on the front. About the only Honda gaskets required are the head gaskets and the rear cover.



Don't forget to check your oil pump screen/gauze



When I did mine on the CX we almost messed up the mushroom on the clutch, so be careful there.

 

[midgtmn]

Just had a terrible last few weeks, finally getting to this - are the two O-rings on the pipe the only other items I should replace while I am in there? Not missing any other O-rings or anything right?



I've been trying to find a gasket locally, but I might just end up ordering online...



Thanks for the help all

 

[midgtmn]

Sourced my OEM parts through a local dealer, for only 22 bucks why deal with figuring out which aftermarket actually fits... most of the websites i found were terrible at figuring out what aftermarket gasket did the job. Should be in next week, and I'll install as soon as i get the chance!

 

[tensleep]

Sourced my OEM parts through a local dealer, for only 22 bucks why deal with figuring out which aftermarket actually fits... most of the websites i found were terrible at figuring out what aftermarket gasket did the job. Should be in next week, and I'll install as soon as i get the chance!

Exactly - at that price point, why sweat it?

 

[midgtmn]

So... in trying to take off my radiator fan, the hub kinda disintegrated. I used the axle bolt as the puller, and tapped it every quarter turn, but no luck. it finally just shattered. Any other ideas for pulling this thing? Am I missing something?

 

[bandit]

if you had of said prior,you would of been advised....do not use an axle,buy the 3 bucks bolt and do it right.

now,buy a wooden broom stick,cut 2 wedges and drive them in behind the hub,it will drive the fan away from the shaft

 

[black81silverwing]

I recently had problems getting a fan off. Was not able to fine proper sized bolt for the fans threading. I ended up using a ball joint separator very gently. Worked great. Most all auto parts stores carry then for about $12-15. Good luck to you.

 

[Blindstitch]

And that's exactly why we recommend not to use the axle.



I believe shep has used wooden wedges from time to time.



A 3 point puller may work but i'm not sure.



And if all else fails light use of a grinder to cut the aluminum but don't go to close to the cam shaft. Then take a big screwdriver place in the slit and see if you can spread it releasing the hub.

 

[midgtmn]

After a long period of lazyness, finally got the fan off. What did the job finally was a gear puller used a bit creatively. pried the plastic of the fan off of it's own hub, then pulled the hub off the cam shaft. Thanks for the tips guys, lesson learned on this one!



The oil leak is from a spot where the gasket was obviously deformed inward. It looks like when someone put it together it was dragged toward the inside of the case, making the seal land pretty small. It'll take some scraping to get that old gasket off, but it's in process. I checked the oil pump chain, and it is too loose - and the tensioning space can't make it up. Ordered from a local shop for about $50 (not cheap... but considering the honda distributor only had 2 in stock, I figured i'd bite the bullet).



Once that part is in, I should have it back together pretty quick. Here's hoping... been wasting too much good riding weather!

 

[midgtmn]

Put the bike back together this past weekend, and just rode it into work today! Went back together relatively easy, too. Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[tensleep]

This is great! Have fun catching the good fall rides.