Leaking oil where there shouldn't be any

[Trailerboy531]

So i'm too lazy to post my previous 'my bike is going to drive me up a wall' thread but...

My transmission had issues so I swapped in a new motor. 2010 replaced with 2012 2.5k mile motor. For whatever reason Kawasaki decided to change the electrical connector leading from the generator/stator area between those years so my 2010 wiring harness didn't connect to my now 2012 stator connector. In a fit of pure genius and with member Havoc's help we switched the stators so my old stator cover (with connector) is now on my old motor.

Then I sprung a leak... like 20 minutes on track and my belly pan has about 3/4 quart of oil it in and my whole left side including rear set, chain and tire are soaked in oil kind of leak.

I was able to stop it with lots of RTV silicone in the general area I thought it was coming from. Later I would discover that the generator cover had a crack in it! The gasket was also not seated properly. So with a new gasket and the crack fully siliconed I went racing last weekend...

A new leak! Followed up by discovering a new crack about an inch below the previous one. The first crack is located about a half an inch up the case from where the top left sprocket cover bolt screws in to. The second crack is about half an inch below this.

So finally here's my question There shouldn't be any oil in the generator so regardless of cracks nothing should be leaking from here... right? What gives? Is there a seal inside that I need to replace? I only have next weekend to get this fixed before I race again. HELP.

[Trailerboy531]

I don't think it's at all related by my idle has also been a little...silly. I leave the pits with it idling at 1.5k. When I come in after 10 minutes it idles at 3.2k or so. It will eventually settle down but has to cool off.

[alex.s]

there is a seal between the stator wheel / shaft and the inside area. you have to split the case and remove the stator rotor to replace it.

the idle thing means your bike is overheating and probably also has poor intake air routing and is getting hot air because the snorkle is gone

[Trailerboy531]

snorkle is in place. Split....case? **** allllll of that.

[alex.s]

you can put a new seal in by just removing the stator rotor. but i don't know how you could get the old one out without splitting it.

[alex.s]

have you tried spraying something that burns well near your carbs? maybe when its hot it is developing an air leak

[Trailerboy531]

haven't tried that. What do you recommend spraying in there? Before I ride and see what burns off or..?

[alex.s]

just like carb cleaner or something highly flammable... spray a quick spurt near the hoses and crap by your carbs while running and if theres an air leak, the revs will jump up for a second because the air leak pulls in the flammable crap and it goes vroom vroom

[alex.s]

may need to try when its hot and having the problem

[tooblekain]

You can also try propane to find the leak.

[Trailerboy531]

Note to self - All advice from Matt should be completely ignored.

[alex.s]

lol. propane is probably a better option than carb cleaner since it wont degrade rubber stuff if you spill or miss.

[Trailerboy531]

K but anyway oil leak more important. There's no way to put a new seal in there without splitting the case?

[tooblekain]

Originally Posted by Trailerboy531

Note to self - All advice from Matt should be completely ignored.

y u made at me bro?

I'm serious. Propane is a good way to check for vacuum leaks. Here's proof:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CPqbaSgcok

Originally Posted by alex.s

lol. propane is probably a better option than carb cleaner since it wont degrade rubber stuff if you spill or miss.

Thank you Alex.

[Trailerboy531]

Hm.

So you're not trying to blow me up in a hilarious ball of fire?


Can anybody link me to the seal I need to be buying? I'm much more worried about the oil leak than the retarded idle..

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by Trailerboy531

K but anyway oil leak more important. There's no way to put a new seal in there without splitting the case?

you could put ducttape over it maybe

its probably not even a big deal that there is oil in there....... maybe....... how much oil anyway? just leave the cover cracked so it can drain. and keep it topped off.

[tooblekain]

Originally Posted by Trailerboy531

Hm.

So you're not trying to blow me up in a hilarious ball of fire?


Can anybody link me to the seal I need to be buying? I'm much more worried about the oil leak than the retarded idle..

LOL. I do like to joke but not for matters like these. I'm sincerely trying to help.

I really hope you get this issue sorted out. I'm subscribed because this is all new to me too and I can use more learning on this bike.

[Trailerboy531]

Originally Posted by alex.s

you could put ducttape over it maybe

its probably not even a big deal that there is oil in there....... maybe....... how much oil anyway? just leave the cover cracked so it can drain. and keep it topped off.

Dude... racing with an oil leak? So far the belly pan has caught it but when I first discovered the leak (before siliconing) it dumped about 3/4 quart in the belly pan and soaked my rear set, boot, chain, and left side of my tire.

It's been leaking less than 1/5 quart per race but if any of that hits my tire or gets on track and takes somebody out... That's not safe.

I need to get this other transmission fixed and switch back to my old motor -_-

[cuong-nutz]

@alex.s: there's seal on the shaft side of the stator? The only thing I could think of when I read this was possibly the oil feed tube o rings are bad---either someone tampered with the tubing, tore the o-ring or did not torque down the banjo bolts. Tiny amounts of oil will be present I would think as it gets past bearings for the crankshaft and counterbalancer but not the amount as max is seeing.

[b.miller123]

Why not just pull the stator cover off and start it up? You should be able to find the leak pretty quickly.

Looks like there is plenty of stuff in there that could be leaking:

[Trailerboy531]

.... I have never even considered that. Mother of god.

Too bad I just drained the oil and coolant -___-

[b.miller123]

Originally Posted by Trailerboy531

.... I have never even considered that. Mother of god.

Too bad I just drained the oil and coolant -___-

Fill that **** back up! You'll feel pretty bad when it is something stupid like one of those lines (although my money is on the seal behind the stator).

Also, I would only do that if you were 100% sure that there is not oil in there normally. I don't know much about the new gens.