Hi all. I got a 1997 GS500 last August as my first bike and have learned a lot from this forum. I cleaned the carbs, adjusted the shims, and dealt with fuel starvation all with your help. The other day, I noticed my clutch-side (right-side) crankcase cover was leaking some oil. I read about how to fix it and did the job with the help of this post (http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=40339.0). It worked nicely. I took photos during the job and decided to post them on here for the next guy who has this problem.
Step 1: Drain the oil. I used some engine degreaser to clean up around the crankcase so as to keep dirt out.
(http://partofthething.com/gs500/00001.jpg)
Step 2: Remove the signal generator cover and signal generator. You have to reach 2 bolts behind it so you have to get it off and move it to the side.
(http://partofthething.com/gs500/00002.jpg)
Step 3: Remove all the small bolts around the crankcase cover and the 2 behind the signal generator and remove the cover. Mine came off fairly easily. Just had to wiggle it a little. As you can see, most of the gasket stayed on the cover. Also notice that one of the "locating dowels" (in the back) stayed in the crankcase and the other came off with the cover.
(http://partofthething.com/gs500/00003.jpg)
So far so good. Here's a picture of the crankcase cover. Notice the locating dowel and the messed up gasket on the left hand side of the picture. That's where the oil was leaking out.
(http://partofthething.com/gs500/00004.jpg)
Step 4 (the hard one): remove the gasket.
I started just by pulling what I could off with my hands. Then I got a razor blade out and started scraping away. The gasket was baked on there very badly and it seemed as if I'd never get it off - in days or even weeks of scraping.
(http://partofthething.com/gs500/00005.jpg)
but then, I decided to go to the hardware store and by some Permatex gasket remover. I sprayed it on and the gasket literally started bubbling as it was dissolving. 10 minutes later I scraped huge chunks of gasket off and knew this was how it had to be done.
(http://partofthething.com/gs500/00006.jpg)
WARNING! This stuff is extremely nasty and you need to have a rag very handy when using it. It got on my chrome paint on the crankcase cover and dissolved the paint QUICKLY. Once I realized this I was able to protect the paint with a rag, but be careful!.
After using the spray a couple times (one layer at a time) over about an hour, I had the cover looking like this:
(http://partofthething.com/gs500/00007.jpg)
Step 5: Clean the crankcase side. There were small pieces of gasket stuck to the bike. I cleaned them up with the razor blade and didn't need to use the gasket remover.
Step 6: Put the new gasket on and reassemble. Here's what it looked like right before I cleaned the crankcase off.
(http://partofthething.com/gs500/00008.jpg).
I got it all back together quickly, put new oil in, started it up, took it for a ride and saw no oil leaking! Success. I then took it for a 500 mile trip for the 4th of July and didn't lose a drop of oil. I didn't use any sealant, but my surfaces were extremely clean.
I hope this helps some people. This community has made it extremely easy to get working on my bike and I'm sure you'll be hearing more from me. Thanks all.
-Nick
Textbook :thumb:
Wow nice! So THERES the clutch! Doesnt seem like it would be too hard to change out. Thanks!
Good work.
Quote from: SIKDMAX on July 06, 2008, 05:50:52 PM
Wow nice! So THERES the clutch! Doesnt seem like it would be too hard to change out. Thanks!
Took me 30 minutes to change clutch friction discs(SV650 EBC Kevlar Racing Discs)and Springs(SV650 Barnett Racing Springs).Not hard at all.Just don't over torque the clutch bolts.They're torqued in inch pounds,NOT foot pounds.
Nice writeup!!! Just wondering, what is the torque spec on the 13 bolts outside the crankcase cover and the two inside the signal rotor cover?
Those are probably listed as the crankcase bolts:
Crankcase bolt (6 mm) 9 - 13 Nm (6.5 - 9.5 ft-lb)
Crankcase bolt (8 mm) 20 - 24 Nm (14.5 - 17.5 ft-lb)
All torque specs are available on the wiki:
http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Main/TorqueSettings
Cool. Thanks for the link. I think I'll take care of my leak later this afternoon. Their is oil coming out of the 6 or 8 mm bolt behind the signal rotor. I hope replacing the gasket will fix it.
You should glue the gasket to the cover and put antiseize on the side that is to the engine. That way, you dont ahve to replace it everytime you get it apart. Which hopefully will be never ... :thumb:
Cool.
Buddha.