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1980 XS400 leaking oil.. pictures .. how screwed am I? lol


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Posted

I notice maybe 1 drip every 48 hours but when the bike is running it seems to drip a lot more..

and it almost seems like its watery oil... I dunno this motorcycle stuff is still real new to me.

I took pics of where it appears the oil is coming from but I don't see any place to tighten anything..

The dam Haynes manual doesn't really mention anything there to tighten that I could find.

what do you all think. thanks

th_65422_IMG_0851_122_107lo.JPGth_65433_IMG_0852_122_20lo.JPGth_65442_IMG_0854_122_525lo.JPG

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Posted

I'm afraid I cannot help much with why the oil is leaking, but I thought I'd ask if you had smelled the oil. Does it have a gasoline smell?

Someone will be able to help though.

Posted

Have you changed the oil? If not, do it and use the proper weight motorcycle or diesel engine oil.

The pictures are directly below the clutch actuation rod. That is a frequent source of oil leaks. Take the sprocket cover off and see if the oil is coming from that high up. If so, the seal is cheap...but can be a challenge to change. Oil could also leak from the neutral switch.

Posted

Have you changed the oil? If not, do it and use the proper weight motorcycle or diesel engine oil.

The pictures are directly below the clutch actuation rod. That is a frequent source of oil leaks. Take the sprocket cover off and see if the oil is coming from that high up. If so, the seal is cheap...but can be a challenge to change. Oil could also leak from the neutral switch.

hehe i leak a bit from there as well. Those 2 wires on bottom are always a bit oily after I ride.

If you want to get engine gaskets (not sure if that seal is included), here is a link for cheap engine gasket kit

Posted

Have you changed the oil? If not, do it and use the proper weight motorcycle or diesel engine oil.

The pictures are directly below the clutch actuation rod. That is a frequent source of oil leaks. Take the sprocket cover off and see if the oil is coming from that high up. If so, the seal is cheap...but can be a challenge to change. Oil could also leak from the neutral switch.

thanks for the replies.

I haven't changed the oil since I got it.. (2 weeks) but will be doing so within a week.. I swear im partially retarded.

I've been staring at the Haynes manual and I can't find the "sprocket cover".

is this it. If I unscrew it does that mean the seal has to be replaced regardless.

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Posted

I agree looks like alil is coming from the nuetral switch but also like most is coming from under the sprocket cover which is on the lsft side near the shifter where the drive chain goes behind the cover to the drive sprocket or output sprocket what ever you wanna call it, the oil definatlly looks like it has water in it, did the bike sit outside for awhile? replace the oil and check for leacks under the cover, also it l;eaks more when running cause the oil pressure is higher with the engine running.

edit: also from what I've been hearing the haynes manuales have alot of wrong info in them like each chapter was writen by someone differant and none of them talked to eachother or did any research on the bike.

Posted

The sprocket cover itself does not seal anything (the engine cover to its left does, but no need to remove that right now). I agree that it looks like water in the oil. Oil should not be that color of brown. I would not run it until I had changed the oil.

Posted

The sprocket cover itself does not seal anything (the engine cover to its left does, but no need to remove that right now). I agree that it looks like water in the oil. Oil should not be that color of brown. I would not run it until I had changed the oil.

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looks i found the source.. the neutral switch. the oring I guess is bad on it..

the gasket that holds the clutch rod is a little oily but no oil came out so i probably still have a little life left on that. It looks like a 50 cent oring but I have a feeling its a special one that has to be gas, oil, heat resistant.. etc. where do you all order parts from.

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well added a second picture.. looks like it is aleaking a little bit from the clutch rod.guess ill replace that too.

is it safe to just pull that rod out or is there little orings or certain way it has to go or anything?

  • Moderator
Posted

you can still buy the complete neutral housing. it tends to split being plastic!

there is a ball bearing at the clutch end of the pushrod, so i'm not too sure if it will be drawn back into the engine when the rod is pulled. the rods usually rust near the seal causing the seal to fail, so you may need to renew the rod as well.

Posted

you can still buy the complete neutral housing. it tends to split being plastic!

there is a ball bearing at the clutch end of the pushrod, so i'm not too sure if it will be drawn back into the engine when the rod is pulled. the rods usually rust near the seal causing the seal to fail, so you may need to renew the rod as well.

i have a spare neutral house and a spare rod.. just not gaskets that are sealing... so im pretty confident I can fix her up with just the gaskets.

I kinda allready pulled the rod out and put it back.. I didn't hear anything make a weird noise or felt any different going in or out so I hope im ok.

Can a regular o-ring from a hardware store work for the neutral housing or is it special... since I can't find that part on bikebandit.

  • Moderator
Posted

A tdr or Rd powervalve o ring is the same i think, but the neutral switch is ths ame in the aircooled rd,s ad the part number is 93210-29147

if you go too the yamaha usa website they have all the parts lists for the bikes there.

oh and go buy a triumph or norton one drip every 48 hours is 110% oil tight on them. one drip every 48 seconds is the factory norm from new

Merv

  • Moderator
Posted

A tdr or Rd powervalve o ring is the same i think, but the neutral switch is ths ame in the aircooled rd,s ad the part number is 93210-29147

if you go too the yamaha usa website they have all the parts lists for the bikes there.

oh and go buy a triumph or norton one drip every 48 hours is 110% oil tight on them. one drip every 48 seconds is the factory norm from new

Merv

o ring part # for european bikes= 93210-29196

Posted

o ring part # for european bikes= 93210-29196

k thanks guys. got the part #. I work at an ace hardware so I'm gonna try one of our o-rings first and see how well it works.. if it doesn't

i will order the right one. :P I know the ones we have our made from Nitrile Butadiene Rubber which is oil and chemical resistant but not sure

the ratio of nitrile (more nitrile the better apparently).

Posted

k thanks guys. got the part #. I work at an ace hardware so I'm gonna try one of our o-rings first and see how well it works.. if it doesn't

i will order the right one. :P I know the ones we have our made from Nitrile Butadiene Rubber which is oil and chemical resistant but not sure

the ratio of nitrile (more nitrile the better apparently).

Is that the same o-ring Part# for a 1978 xs400?

mine leaks in same 2 places I think hehe.

Posted

Is that the same o-ring Part# for a 1978 xs400?

mine leaks in same 2 places I think hehe.

heh i know its the same for the 79.. so im confident its the same for a 78..

espically since the manual is for 75-81 models. If I find a cheap 50 cent o-ring to work

from the hardware store Ill let you know the size.. will save you a couple bucks. If I can

at least cut the oil leak in 3/4 by just fixing the neutral o-ring ill be a happy rider.

Posted

an update for anyone who needs to replace their neutral housing o-ring and doesn't want to pay 3 dollars

for a 5 cent o-ring.

matched one up at ace hardware the sku is 4203626

"DANCO" O-RING #64

*Made from compound Nitrile Butadiene Rubber

*1-5/16" x 1-1/8" x 3/32"

also a tip careful not to tighten that neutral housing too much i cracked one of the corners.

i let the bike run for about 15 minutes and no leak with that o-ring.

Posted

If anyone ever needs links to these stock parts, aka wants to pay $3 for a 5 cent part ;) ...

#15 rod seal (#14 ebay it)

#6 nuetral housing o-ring

Im in the same boat as you, leaking somewhere back there so I'll order those parts n' try em out ...

Pain to find exact source cause there is SOOOOO much GUNK from the chain throwing stuff back there which gets 'oily' also from the chain lube it seems.

PS here is my gunked up area lol:

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Posted

heh that looks familiar.

im 100% leak free now after fixing the neutral o-ring and clutch rod gasket. coudn't be happier.

30 minutes with a rag and a pick set and it will look real clean in there.

Posted

heh that looks familiar.

im 100% leak free now after fixing the neutral o-ring and clutch rod gasket. coudn't be happier.

30 minutes with a rag and a pick set and it will look real clean in there.

curious, can u just pull out that clutch gasket? without dismantling engine?

Posted

curious, can u just pull out that clutch gasket? without dismantling engine?

ya.. I did.

I pulled the whole rod right out..then popped out that gasket with a pencil. it comes out easy..careful the bike is level cause at the end of the rod is a little ball bearing which just floats at the end of the rod. don't want to lose that.


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