drain oil or not?

[Jundie]

Hi guys,

My bike was always sweating some oil, but it got worse so I need to replace (or patch up) the seal between the left crankcase cover and the rest of the engine. Here it is, do I need to drain the oil before I remove the cover? Or is it ok as long as the bike on the centerstand?
Crappy thing is, it happens right before the GS500 meeting/run  
I HATE MURPHY"S LAW  :x

[TheGoodGuy]

drain oil..

[knut's96gs500]

Definately drain the oil.  I just finished replacing my left side case gasket last weekend.  no more leaks!!  good luck

[Jundie]

thx, i only hope the bolts will come off fine, I guess they never took the left cover off, so they probably will be seized. i 'm gonna spray some lube on them and let it stay overnight. When draining oil the bike should be warm right so it flows better, is it wise to heat it up real good so the cover bolts come free easier or let it cool down?

[jtenright]

mine was leaking also when I baught the bike, but npot any more

[Jundie]

yep I've had 5 'sweaty' spots on the engine which only bothered me when I opened the throttle real good, but I'm down to 2 very minor leaks and 1 (the actual problem) big one :guns:
the other 2 will be solved when I/m going to adjust the valves

[Lars]

You can also tilt the bike a bit, that way you won't have to drain the oil. I've replaced the same gasket (generator cover on the left) and I laid the bike against the wall of the garage.
prepare for gasket scraping, it sucks.




<Dutch mode> Heej Jundie, jij ook al hier?  :mrgreen: Ik zit ook op t motor-forum als GS_Prutser.
Als je die reparatie gaat doen is het wel handig als er een opvangbak onder je motor ligt. Als je hem niet genoeg afgeschuind hebt zal er nl. nog wat olie uitklotsen. Bereid je er trouwens op voor dat je die pakking eraf moet schrapen, echt een gigantisch K#twerk. Gebruik er een scherp stanleymes o.i.d. voor.
</Dutch mode>

[Jundie]

ok i'll try that, stupid of me not to think of that.



cool, more people from Motor-forum.nl here at GSTwin.com  

[octane]

prepare for gasket scraping, it sucks.

Yes it does. And avoid the chemical gasket strippers if you can. They work great for stripping gaskets.....and the paint on your cases and side covers...and the skin off your arms...and pretty much everything else they contact.

[dmccu11ough]

Make sure and use an impact driver to loosen those factory tightened bolts and you will save yourself a lot of frustration!  It was one of the first tools I bought.  Of course, it was after I needed it!

[Jundie]

everything's fine...
i lubed the bolts yesterday and let it stay overnight, this morning i warmed the bike up (didn't ride) gave every bolt a few taps with a hammer (piece of plastic between the bolt and hammer) and all of the bolts came off easy    except 1  :guns:  :x  it snapped the moment i applied the twisting force to get it off, so there's a bolt in the case. luckily for me it was sticking out for 2 mm, I cut it across so I could get it out with a flatblade. it worked   . while looking for a similar bolt I diceded to buy an extractor also, I was expecting this bolt breaking to come back and haunt me. I went to 6 different hardware stores, 2 of which claimed to be the best    and noone had it  :x