Major oil leak! I'm about to set this thing on fire!

[Jonin]

So, I have a 2005 gs500f that is leaking oil like crazy. The leak apears to be coming from the top of the engine since the carbs are soaked from the top and the top as well as the front of the airbox have an oil splatter pattern on it. I just replaced the breather gasket as well as the cylinder head cover gasket, started the bike up, let it idle for about 5 minutes, the gave her some gas up to about 6 grand the same oil leak started again. I say again, because it did this on my way home from work one night hince all of the gasket replacing. I can't see where it is coming from nor do I have any idea what else it could be. Can anyone please help? I don't know what else on the top half of the engine could leak oil besides those two gaskets....Please help!

[lucas]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but do you have the metal oil screen (looks like a mini steel wool pad) and the breather hose in place?

Also

Are the O-rings under the cover bolts in place?  There should be a total of four of those.

Edit: part numbers 5 & 8 in the diagram at the link
http://cdn.partzilla.com/diagram/suzuki/02/61/0001.png

[Jonin]

Yes, to all questions. The leak started before I touched anything. And since I couldn't tell where it was coming from, I decided to change the gaskets thinking those would be the only places an oil leak could come from on the top of the engine. I'm obviously wrong, what else could it be?

[lucas]

Does your bike have an oil cooler?  Where do those lines go?

The oil passages run up through the cylinders into the head.  Maybe there is a small gap between the cylinders and the head, the oil pressure builds as the revs go up, maybe the oil is getting forced out between.

I think you should get down with a flashlight and mirror and rev the engine up.  Wear eye protection

[Jonin]

Just to clarify, I don't remember ever having hose attached to the breather. It just has a nozzle that faces the rear of the bike. I have been driving the bike daily for a year now and I know there hasn't been a hose attached there in that time.

[Jonin]

Yes, its oil cooler is front mounted on the frame. Lines run under the bike below the oil filter housing.

[gsJack]

The 3 holes in the breather cover gasket go forward as shown in link above but doesn't the filter screen go towards the front too over the holes?  And put the hose back on to the airbox and then if oil is vented there it will come out the airbox drain hose down near your right foot but I've never seen anything but a little oily water come out of the drain in 180k GS miles.

http://www.shspowersports.com/fiche_image_popup.asp?fveh=7247&section=300551&year=2004&make=SUZUKI&category=Motorcycles&dc=3378&name=AIR+CLEANER

Part 6

[J_Walker]

chain tensioner gasket? or is it not that far down?

[lucas]

On my bike the filter only fit on one side, there was a little tab sticking down on the other side so I think that's kind of a mistake-proof thing.

The holes should be forward.

I hope your air box does not get full of oil

[gsJack]

What seems like a lot of oil to some might not seem like so much to others and vice versa, but there should be very little oil coming out of the crankcase breather.  It's mostly oily water vapor.  The water evaporates but the oil does little if any.

I'd clean up the top of the engine as well as possible and check where it's leaking.  You can put bike on center stand, take 2 bolts loose at back of tank that mount into bike frame and lift it and put a piece of 2x4 or something in there and run it and watch peeking in from the side with light before putting the hose on.  Be careful you don't drop the tank.

If you see oil coming out do a compression check and see if there might be a lot of blow by indicating a badly worn or damaged engine, there shouldn't be much.  I put a lot of miles on 2 GSs and never noticed anything coming out except oily water vapor.  Back decades ago when crankcases were vented to the atmosphere you could see clouds of oily smoke coming out of a worn out engine, burned in the combustion chamber and blown back out past worn rings/pistons.  Can get high crankcase pressures that way.

Hopefully you'll find the leak elsewhere if it's a bad one.

[yamahonkawazuki]

 I do do as gsjack suggests. May i ask how many miles are on the thing? Another dumb question, i know oil cap is at bottom but could it have loosened

[gsJack]

Jonin bought it about a year ago with 9k on the clock but we're never sure on used vehicles are we.  He uses it as a commuter.

[yamahonkawazuki]

From what was said it doesnt sound like it was abused on his end. Got a feeling its something simplel

[Jonin]

OK guys, I did what you said and slid the gas tank over, cranked the bike to see where the leak was coming from. No leaks from anything until the revs get above 6...Then oil starts shooting out of the breather hole, like, a lot...Any idea what could be causing that? I wouldn't think that much oil should even be getting to the breather.
Also, before I gave it the revs I put my finger over the breather hole at idle and there was quite a bit of air coming out. Then when I gave it some revs the air magically changed to oil,lol

[cbrfxr67]

[Jonin]

Exactly.

[cbrfxr67]

 "If you see oil coming out do a compression check and see if there might be a lot of blow by indicating a badly worn or damaged engine, there shouldn't be much.  I put a lot of miles on 2 GSs and never noticed anything coming out except oily water vapor.  Back decades ago when crankcases were vented to the atmosphere you could see clouds of oily smoke coming out of a worn out engine, burned in the combustion chamber and blown back out past worn rings/pistons.  Can get high crankcase pressures that way." ~GSjack

[yamahonkawazuki]

I wonder since bike was bought used, i wonder if there was a mileage discrepancy?

[Jonin]

So what you are saying is that it's probably a bad engine?

[gsJack]

So what you are saying is that it's probably a bad engine?

Not necessarily, check compression hot and cold for some indication of ring/piston/valve condition first.  Another possibility is a restricted return of the oil.  When you changed the gaskets did you notice if there might be something like a rag or whatever blocking the large center slot between the cylinders where the oil returns.  Just takes a few minutes to lift the cover and check it.

Those engines have a lot of oil flowing to the top to cool the combustion chambers and it needs a good return too.  If you crank the engine over without starting with the valve cover off the oil will overflow the front of the engine in less than 30 seconds and there is many many times more flow to the top at your 6k rpm point that must return to sump.