Leaky oil pan!! Help!

[pjm204]

So I wanted to clean my oil pickup screen a couple weeks ago. So I started to take off the oil pan when I realized the gasket was starting to tear. I tightened everything back up and rode it for about 800 miles since then. Of course it started to leak a few hundred miles ago...I ordered a new pan gasket and installed it last night. I was meticulous about removing all of the old gasket on both surfaces. I also made sure not to damage the surface. I tightened everything up poured in oil and then took it for a ride. It is leaking again. What do I do? The torque specs said 12-16nm according to the wiki but I broke on bolt trying to get it to 12nm so I backed them off to between 8 and 10nm. Could the old bolts be brittle from heating and cooling? If I use a cross pattern and torque equally do I have to be nervous about stripping the motor?

and just to be clear, the bolt broke in half but stayed together, I was able to remove it and the threads are fine in the hole.


THANKS!

[ohgood]

normal heat cycles shouldn't hurt, but a hot bike going through a puddle enough times, well you get the idea.

i'd buy / borrow / 'find' some new bolts if i were dropping the pan myself. socket head hex bolts (allen type) aren't a terrible idea either.

[pjm204]

through the search feature here it seems I am not the only one who has broken these bolts. Also it seems that the actual torque setting is 10nm and not 12-16. Think I can just get some bolts at Home depot? are the stock bolts fail safe and break before they strip?

[The Buddha]

They are necked a little bit, so they could well have a break before stripping philosophy.
Cool.
Buddha.

[pjm204]

well, I checked and they all appear to be torqued to 10nm. only the left side of the pan is leaking...I can't figure out why but I don;t like it. Is it possible that since I have only driven it about 10 miles since I put the new gasket in, that the heat might seal it up? Is that wishful thinking?

[coll0412]

Wishful thinking....try it again and replace the bolt. Also make sure that the leaks coming from the oil pan.

[pjm204]

I rode the bike a bit more tonight, it barely leaked at all. I am going to cross my fingers and hope that it will seal up. I mean I did install the gasket, fill up the oil and ride away. Maybe it needed to soak in or something.. I dunno. I just don't see why it would leak. Both surfaces were very clean, new gasket, torqued evenly....no reason it should leak. I am positive it is coming from the oil pan

[sledge]

Check the edges around each of the threaded holes on the sealing face of the case. If the bolts have been overtightened the metal surrounding the hole can distort and a raised lip can form, these lips could prevent the sump-pan sealing squarely against the case. Any distortion will be very difficult to spot by eye but if you slide a straight-edge over the sealing face any high spots will be obvious. You can remove any raised edges with a countersink bit or at a push a drill bit about twice the diameter of the hole.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countersink

[pjm204]

Well to my dismay, it is still leaking, and it seems to have gotten worse. I did 100 miles yesterday and when i got back it left a decent amount of oil on the newspaper beneath it. I'm not going to ride it until I figure this out. I guess I have to order another gasket and try it all again?I just don't know what I can do differently. I removed all of the old gasket and made sure the new one lined up perfectly. I torqued in an X pattern to 10nm.....lame

[Kasumi]

No you dont need to order a new gasket yet. First take it apart, the old but actually new gasket in their will probably be fine. Take the pan off, use a flat edge like sledge said and check that it is perfectly square and sealed all the way round. Im guessing either its been off before by a PO and got stood on or dropped and bent slightly, or over tightened and deformed a thread forcing it to leak. Clean it all up before you take it off then take it off and look for any visible areas where it seems to be leaking, like around a thread etc... Replacing the gasket like you did last time clearly didnt fix it, so nor will doing it again. There must be another problem.

[The Buddha]

There was a casting porosity in my wife's mitsubishi's valve cover. It leaked clean through the damn wall ... maybe you have somehting like that ... maybe not, but worth checking.
You sure its from the pan ... drain bolt area ??
Cool.
Buddha.

[pjm204]

I am pretty darn sure it is from the pan and its my fault, wasn't leaking until I took the pan off initially to clean the pickup screen. It only seems to be leaking from the left side.