Its finaly time for me to change the oil again. This time, I'm doing it myself.
Unfortunately, last time, the clowns at the stealership decided to use liquid gasket or something, to "help".
I got some gasket remover, and managed to get all the old stuff off, I think...
but now I'm kinda paranoid that residue might mess up the NEW gasket Im putting on.
How thorough do I have to be in cleanup?
wipe with a paper towel, a quick rinse with water, then wipe again, let dry for an hour.. and I'm good?
Or are there more extreme measures I should try?
Bit of degreaser on a rag give her a good ole wipe down then a quick once over with a dry rag. Also what does it also say bout cleanup on your gasket remover?
Quote from: slipperymongoose on November 04, 2012, 04:53:11 PM
Bit of degreaser on a rag give her a good ole wipe down then a quick once over with a dry rag. Also what does it also say bout cleanup on your gasket remover?
It doesnt other than ", now, prepare the surface with our OTHER product we'd be happy to sell you".
(It's the permatex brand, they suggest their "brake and parts cleaner". sigh)
bah. its been an hour of airdrying. Guess I'll give it an oil wash and put the sucker back tgether...
Sounds good. :thumb:
whelp..
been an hour or so, and no leaks onto the paper towel I put underneath.
I dont think I have QUITE enough oil in it yet. I only put in 3 quarts.
I did turn it over, and after 10 seconds or so, the oil light went off. thats a good thing.
A bit creepy that it took so long. I think perhaps my 1-full-day drain was not so great an idea. draining truly ALL the oil out, I just realized, is Not Such A Good Thing!!
(It sat there because I needed to go out and buy more stuff, I discovered!)
It just goes to show how FREAKIN INCOMPETANT that dealership was before.
I paid them $70 to change the oil last time. Got it home, and found it leaked.
They did it again... and claimed that they had to put sealant on, because it "didnt line up right" or some junk.
I got it apart, and yeah, it had the sealant, they did put that on. But there was NOOO visible damage or misalightment to the faces. The only probably damage I think is the fact that they managed to have the sealant leak into the INSIDE of the chamber. WTH ?!?!
Thank goodness for oil filters? :-/
Good news is, it should be a whoole lot smoother next time. No freakin liquid gasket to clean up, yarggg...
:2guns:
What surface was the liquid gasket used on?
I feel for you having a bad dealer.
Glad I have Aurora Suzuki. Went there to get 3 sets of tires mounted (bought 2 and 1 set was Perelli's that Gormmet2k donated to the Bike Cave). They checked all rotors I took, checked all bearings and replaced only bad ones and used the best brake rotors I had. They swapped one from my pile saying "That one is not necessarily bad, but we felt for you that you should use this one." I really like my dealer.
Went to pick them up and saw "Oh, cool! Valve stem caps with a pressure indicator! Cool!". I forgot the pressures were 33 and 36 so the parts guy asked the mechanic and came back with "He said they are junk. I wouldn't buy them".
How cool: they are selling a part but told me it was not worth the money.
I told him that is exactly why I support my dealer: they are not there to make money. They are there to keep me as a good customer and not waste my money.
There is a West Seattle GS500 Club discount! I asked about Suzuki Owners Club and Vintage Motorcycle Enthusiasts discounts and they joked that that makes parts free! (Really! They do give 10 to 15% discount for us because we support them... even my neighbor who is an associate member with his CBR600.)
Ifg you figure 15% off - that negates the 9.5% tax (no income tax in WA) and no shipping and they make sure I get the correct part and best part, why not support my dealer?
(Oh, and free popcorn! (http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb442/adidasguy/Videos/fille-chips.gif) )
.....and back to the oil change, that is easy to do. Do it yourself from now on. Get a new filer and gasket. Get a drain crush washer. Tighten filter cover nuts to SNUG. Remember there is an o-ring to seal it. No need to twist of the posts and nuts. Tighten each one a little at a time and go from nut to nut. Don't tighten one then go to the next. Get all slightly snug then do each one a little more at a time so all are equally more snug. I know it's not technical, but remember there is an rubber o-ring! That seals everything. never had an oil leak and never broke off a nut or shaft.
Suggestion #2: Clean them really well. Use a few drops of thread lock so they don't work loose and no need to be really tight due to the o-ring. Read the directions for the thread lock: can require 4 to 24 hours to set up ao after an oil change, check things then wait a day before going on a long ride. Learned that with the magneto bolt: let the thread lock set up before getting the engine hot. Let it set up.
(Not afraid to say where I screwed up. I should make a video!)
Quote from: Big Rich on November 04, 2012, 08:10:48 PM
What surface was the liquid gasket used on?
theres a choice of more than one on an oil change? :)
well, i suppose they could have used it instead of the crush washer or something. But no.
The (what I call a) gasket around the opening to the oil filtering thingie. wasnt enough to their liking. Instead of reseating it or whatever... they decided to slop in some liquid gasket in addition to the wavy black part.
Which resulted in some material slopping on the outside.. and some on the inside of the chamber. Ugh.
Well, it was mostly on the inside rim of the cover thingie. Which was fairly baked on, until I used the gasket remover. Then it was only a 10 min job or so to get it fairly clean.
SO... Instead of saving $40, I guess I saved $30. ($10 for the gasket remover)
Or maybe $25, given all the wasted towels, etc. that I ended up using as well.
Eh, I'll take it :) Especially since I wont wait as long to change it next time, now that I know how to do it, etc, etc.
And no more muck to clean up next time!
PS:late reply to Adidas: Gahhh.. so many bike dealers/service people in LA, and seemingly all bad :( Maybe so much business, they just dont care because they'll keep getting more suckers in anyway?
At least I can count on the "bad service" people having a good stock of genuine suzuki parts in, I guess. Except... they use yamaha oil/lube. grmblegrmble.
(They ARE an official suzuki dealer, among others. sigh)
You'd be surprised where some people will put liquid gasket........
What color was the stuff they used? The red stuff never really hardens, while the black / brown stuff can turn rock hard.
Quote from: Big Rich on November 05, 2012, 03:55:05 AM
What color was the stuff they used? The red stuff never really hardens, while the black / brown stuff can turn rock hard.
black of course.
It was "intersting" getting the cover off. At first, it seemed stuck. I just sat and scratched my head for a minute or two, since it's almost impossible to get decent leverage on that thing. I think I cheated and managed a bit of sideways leverage in hopes of breaking the seal.
Then I noticed it start to dribble oil at the bottom, finally.
waited some more... and finally, the spring did its work. mostly :/ I think I had to do a bit more sideways assist, to wiggle it out.
Unfortunately, it seems that as far as many (though maybe not all) dealerships are concerned, liquid sealers are the easiest way to go rather than doing it the right way. Unless the surface where the gasket seats has been damaged, there's no reason not to use a gasket and leave the sealer out of it entirely. Phil, if your dealer chose to fix a leak with sealer instead of bothering to pick up a new gasket, I'd start looking for a new shop, or do it yourself in the future. Many folks say you can re-use the oil drain gasket with no problems, or if it leaks or makes you feel better get a new one -- with your old one, you can probably find a replacement pretty easily.
Quote from: salamander on November 05, 2012, 07:35:54 PM
Many folks say you can re-use the oil drain gasket with no problems, or if it leaks or makes you feel better get a new one -- with your old one, you can probably find a replacement pretty easily.
GIven that the drain *crush washer* is 90 cents, and the oil cover gasket is mabe $2 or something, I dont see why anyone doesnt just get the new one every time.
Quote from: Phil B on November 05, 2012, 09:20:15 PM
GIven that the drain *crush washer* is 90 cents, and the oil cover gasket is mabe $2 or something, I dont see why anyone doesnt just get the new one every time.
With gasket/o-ring replacement: 10 oil changes = 4 lb coffee = 1 case beer = 2 bottles cheap wine
Bikes aren't the only things that need periodic lubing. :cheers:
I've done 400,000 motorcycle miles with frequent oil changes without ever changing a drain plug crush washer on 4 Hondas and 2 GS500s putting 80-100k miles on 4 of those bikes including the 2 GSs. Never had a leaker (yet). With even more luck I've only had one GS oil filter cover gasket leak, putting liquid sealer on that 0-ring type seal is a crime when a good coating of grease will keep it in place when installing the cover.
I'm with jack here about a bit of grease on the front cover gasket, except I've done worse. I've honestly never changed a copper washer on my bikes or cars that I've serviced myself. Aaaaand no leaks. If I had easy access to an oxy set I would re aneal it though.
Quote from: gsJack on November 06, 2012, 06:17:25 AM
I've done 400,000 motorcycle miles with frequent oil changes without ever changing a drain plug crush washer on 4 Hondas and 2 GS500s putting 80-100k miles on 4 of those bikes including the 2 GSs. Never had a leaker (yet).
interesting.
Do you torque the drain plug to official spec, or just "wrench it til it's tight as it gets"? :-}
Quote from: Phil B on November 06, 2012, 09:05:47 PM
Do you torque the drain plug to official spec, or just "wrench it til it's tight as it gets"? :-}
I go until it feels comfortably snug.
It is thin aluminum. If you go as "tight as it gets" it never will: you will strip the threads out of the aluminum.
If it drips you can go another 1/4 turn.
Spend for a new crush washer: it makes it easy to have no leaks and not have to tighten as hard as you can.
If unsure - torque to spec with a new washer. You'll find it isn't that much torque.
Quote from: Phil B on November 04, 2012, 05:15:58 PM
Quote from: slipperymongoose on November 04, 2012, 04:53:11 PM
Bit of degreaser on a rag give her a good ole wipe down then a quick once over with a dry rag. Also what does it also say bout cleanup on your gasket remover?
It doesnt other than ", now, prepare the surface with our OTHER product we'd be happy to sell you".
(It's the permatex brand, they suggest their "brake and parts cleaner". sigh)
brake/parts cleaner is what id suggest. once clean a quick wipe with alcohol works too. it airdries QUICKLY
Quote from: Phil B on November 04, 2012, 05:15:58 PMIt doesnt other than ", now, prepare the surface with our OTHER product we'd be happy to sell you".
(It's the permatex brand, they suggest their "brake and parts cleaner". sigh)
The products all effectively do the same thing for surface preparation, but DO NOT use brake cleaner to prepare a surface for welding. Thats the one special case in which you have to be careful. (Irrelevant, I know, but I like to make a note of that from time to time. :thumb:)
Quote from: adidasguy on November 06, 2012, 11:06:29 PM
Quote from: Phil B on November 06, 2012, 09:05:47 PM
Do you torque the drain plug to official spec, or just "wrench it til it's tight as it gets"? :-}
I go until it feels comfortably snug.
It is thin aluminum. If you go as "tight as it gets" it never will: you will strip the threads out of the aluminum.
If it drips you can go another 1/4 turn.
Spend for a new crush washer: it makes it easy to have no leaks and not have to tighten as hard as you can.
If unsure - torque to spec with a new washer. You'll find it isn't that much torque.
oh nuts.... I just realized I overtorqued it.
I misremembered conversion from Nm to ft/lb.
I think its supposed to only be 20ft/lb, but I put itup to 40 :oops:
erm.... leave it as-is?
Quote from: Phil B on November 06, 2012, 09:05:47 PM
Quote from: gsJack on November 06, 2012, 06:17:25 AM
I've done 400,000 motorcycle miles with frequent oil changes without ever changing a drain plug crush washer on 4 Hondas and 2 GS500s putting 80-100k miles on 4 of those bikes including the 2 GSs. Never had a leaker (yet).
interesting.
Do you torque the drain plug to official spec, or just "wrench it til it's tight as it gets"? :-}
Never tighten things until they are as tight as you can get them, that's how things like filter cover studs get broke. I tighten things
by feel until they are as tight as required and never use a torque wrench except for engine work to tighten head bolts, cam brg caps, rod cap bolts, etc trusting my torque wrench hands to do it right. :thumb:
I have wondered lately however if I'm still right on since at 80 I'm not nearly half as strong as I was when I was 18, might be time to recalibrate. :icon_lol: So far, so good.