Really confused about leak from stator cover!! Please help!

[Camaro_Thunder]

Hello everyone! I am a new member to the gs forums, and have a bit of a problem. Today I fired up the ol gs (93, k&n, dj kit, v&h full kit, 14t cs, progressive fronts and kat rear) and noticed that it was running rough. Then I saw that there was a leak coming from the stator cover. Now i know this shouldnt be a big issue as gaskets are easy to change, BUT there was an abnormal ammout of fluid POURING out of the case when I loosend it off. From what I can tell, the fluid seemed to be gas. Smelled just like it, thin consistancy, but was very dark and somewhat oily. I am very confused as to what I am dealing with in this situation. Has anyone ever had this happen before? Any ideas of what the problem could be? I really appreciate any help on this! If there is any omitted info you may need, please feel free to ask! I need to get this solved asap. Thanks!

[fetor56]

It's normal for the stator to be bathed in oil.I'v seen other posts by ppl who also say it smells of gas so i wouldn't be overly bothered unless it has a really strong smell....anyway since your going to change the gasket your going to change the oil.

[Camaro_Thunder]

Thanks for the reply. The fluid was (imo) way too thin to be oil as the bike was still warming up and im using 10w50 in it. There was a really strong smell of gas while it drained. Probably over 1 litre or more of fluid came out, and when i checked the oil, the level was still ok.

[adidasguy]

You might have a stick carb float and gas was dumping into the cylinders and oil.
If too full and smells like gas then that's probably it. Change oil first.

Others can chime in that know more about that area.

[DrtRydr23]

Check the oil.  If the level is high and it smells like fuel or seems too thin, then Adidasguy probably has your culprit.  Has the bike been sitting for any length of time, or dropped recently?  These things may result in a float sticking.

[Camaro_Thunder]

I have been having an issue with the petcock not working properly, so i checked and sure enough... i left it on pri. I think this is going to be the issue. Ill change the oil, put in a new gasket, and see what happens! Ill let everyone know what i find. Will be doing it this weekend when I have some spare time. Once again, THANKS to EVERYONE that has responded! I really appreciate the input!

[RossLH]

If leaving the petcock on prime caused an issue, one (or both) of your carbs has an issue. Check the floats, make sure both are sealing. It sounds like you've got a high or stuck float.

[adidasguy]

PRIME is half of the issue.
Remember:
* When the bike is running, the petcock is opened up - like being on PRIME.
* The petcock only shuts fuel off from the tank
* It does not regulate fuel to the carbs

A normal bike can be left in prime because the floats in the carbs will stop the fuel flow. In fact, they do that all the time so the carbs are have just the right amount of gas.

When the carbs are full, the float valves shut off the gas into the carbs.

When the bike is running and the floats are stuck, you'll be running very rich. You get poor gas mileage because the fuel flow is unregulated. When th bike gets turned off, not much will happen because the frame petcock has shut off the flow of gas.....

    ..........unless.......

                 ............LEFT IN PRIME!

When left in prime WITH stuck floats, gas keeps flowing into the carbs. The bike isn't running to burn it so where does it go? Into the cylinders and the air box. Your engine gets flooded with gas and the air box drain will drip gas.

While not leaving the bike in prime will help, you really have to check/clean/replace the carb float valves. While you do that, take the metal clip off of the petcock, pull the innerds it and clean it. (DO NOT unscrew the back to clean it! That will probably destroy it!)

[RossLH]

Prime isn't a problem, it simply reveals a problem. A healthy bike left on prime won't have any adverse reaction.

[adidasguy]

Prime isn't a problem, it simply reveals a problem. A healthy bike left on prime won't have any adverse reaction.

I believe that's exactly what I was saying - only with more words.

[RossLH]

Quite possibly. Teacher says I read at a 4th grade level.

[adidasguy]

Quite possibly. Teacher says I read at a 4th grade level.

That's 2 grades above congress.

[Suggy]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I only just recently joined the GS500 fan club and mine's got the exact same issue, right down to it being left in prime. Which gasket are we changing in this instance? Anyone able to put a picture up?

[Suggy]

Or am I not likely to have to change a gasket at all? It did have the oily fuely mixture coming out of the the stator cover.

[Camaro_Thunder]

Ok, sorry about leaving this thread up in the air for so long, I havent had much time to work on my gs! (riding my dr650 too much!) Anyway so I just checked my oil level (again but its been a while, no i havent run the bike since the issue occured) I noticed that all my oil had leaked out onto my floor and what i could get on the dipstick smelled like gas. What could cause the oil to be contaminated with gas? Bad rings maybe? Also is im still unsure if the stator should be covered in oil or if i have a gasket problem inside the motor.  Any help is appreciated. Im going to be putting some time into this issue while the weather is bad, hopefullly i can get it going in the spring without having to rebuild the motor. Please help! Thanks again guys!

[adidasguy]

The stator is in oil.
Removing the stator cover will drain out all your oil, so drain oil before removing the stator cover.
The only 2 covers you can remove without draining oil are the timing rotor cover (round one, right side with 3 screws) and the clutch cover (the one the clutch lever sticks out of and the clutch cable goes in to.)

Gas can get into the oil if the carbs are overflowing. Look for gas in the air box and check the float levers with a short piece of clear tubing on the float drain holes.

[burning1]

If you smell fuel in the oil, don't run the engine. The thin oil can damage your crank bearings, which would necessitate a full engine rebuild or replacement.

As already mentioned, this is probably a leaking float needle. The fix is to remove the carbs from the bike, replace the needles, and thoroughly clean the carbs out (they are probably due anyway.)

The good news is that this isn't an especially hard job on the GS. The bad news is that if you're not mechanically inclined, you should probably leave this to a mechanic. A good halfway point is to remove the carbs yourself, and send them off for service.

[Suggy]

I guess if fuel is leaking into the cylinders, it can then get past healthy rings as it's much thinner than oil. My carbs are currently filling up with fuel so I'm very much in the same boat.