Leak from around the tach drive housing

jdallen

A few weeks ago I took the rt crankcase cover off. Now I have a small oil leak from where the tach drive inserts to the case. When I took the cover off I didn't disconnect the tach cable, so what might've happened? It didn't leak before I took the cover off. the bolt is tight, but there's a little bit of left/right play at the housing.

kingwj

O ring got damaged or has lived it life. Easy fix.

jdallen

Can I examine these seals with oil in and crankcase on? the housing's got a bit of up and down play, just a bit, maybe less than 1mm. is this normal?

xsjohn

Spose that is just like the BS34 float bowl seat......take the tack cable off and the 10mm alignment bolt and pull it out.......if you don't have a o-ring for it just wrap some heavy thread around the side of the o-ring in the groove .....maybe 5 revs and shove it back in........puffs out the o-ring......too many revs and it won't go in....cost maybe .005 cents........

xsjohn

jdallen

When I pull out the tach drive is that shim washer gonna fall out? how do I pull the cable out and put it back in?

jimmer

If you pull the tach drive gear ... you must remove the right case cover. Yup that little shim/washer at the end/bottom of it will fall out. There is a screw on the side ... and a seal besides the o-ring. The screw has to line up .... been awhile so I forget ... just a heads up.

jdallen

OK, I tried to do this the way 5twins says on 650garage.... xs650temp.proboards29....read=11114

....but I couldn't get the threaded coupler to break loose. I removed the cable, then tried to loosen the threaded thing w/a large screw driver. I tried both directions in case it was reverse threaded. How do I get that loose? Does the 10mm bolt on the side of the crankcase hold the tach drive in place or the sleeve?

jimmer

yep, remove that bolt on the side

xsleo

if your talking about the connector that holds the cable housing, it takes a grunt to loosen. before you remove the bolt on the side or anything else ,get a big pair of pliers, i used water pump pliers. and grunt hard. it will come loose.

jdallen

xsleo, I'm talking about the "threaded adapter (male thread)" in the link.
www.mikesxs.net/mikesx...ory_id=8.5

Is that what you're talking about?

xsleo

i missed the part about you getting the cable off. thats what i was talking about. my bad.

5twins · Full Member Joined: Aug 05, 2006 Posts: 1616

That threaded adapter is made of just plain steel so it's probably rusted in place. I would soak it for a while with penetrating oil and then maybe use some heat on it (heat gun). I don't know if you could find a bit wide enough but a couple whacks with one of those hand impacts and a hammer might break it free.

The bolt in the side holds the sleeve in the case. The threaded adapter just threads into the sleeve and butts against the seal. The sleeve can be removed leaving the tach drive rod in place if you're careful. Hold the rod down in place with an awl or coat hanger "poker" while you lift the sleeve out. You don't want the rod to lift out at all or you risk losing that shim washer off it's bottom.

jdallen

So what you're saying 5twins is that to get the sleeve off to get to the O-ring to find out if that's why I have a small leak around the bottom of the sleeve I will have to remove the bolt in the side to get the sleeve off. But if I do that haphazardly I will also pull the rod out and drop the shim washer off, so to inspect or change that o-ring or seal I will need to very carefully pull off the sleeve w/out pulling out the tach drive rod or drain the oil and pull the cover off to do it.

jimmythetrucker · Full Member Joined: Mar 12, 2008 Posts: 1283

Get yourself a mechanic's magnet -- a good, strong magnet on a telescoping stick. Reach into the hole with the magnet and touch it to the tach-drive gear. Then grab the stem of the tach-drive with a pair of pliers. Lift the tach-drive AND the magnet out of the case. The washer/shim will come out with it because the case-cover is non-ferrous but the shim/washer and the tach-drive gear are both steel. Use the magnet again, to hold the washer on the tach-drive gear when you put it back together again.

As far as the O-ring around the tach-drive -- just forget about it. Run a bead of silicone sealant around the tach-drive, just above the O-ring. Install the tach-drive into the case. You'll see silicone sealant sqoosh up, out of the case, all around the tach drive. Replace the retainer bolt. Wipe the excess silicone away with a rag. Let your new tach-drive seal set up for 24 hours before you start the engine. Leak problem solved.

I did the same thing to my old '79. It never leaked around the tach-drive again, until I broke the silicone seal when I pulled the tach-drive again about a year later.

jimmythetrucker · Full Member Joined: Mar 12, 2008 Posts: 1283

Another thing about tach-drives -- sometimes oil leaks up THROUGH the tach-drive, around the drive-gear shaft. The oil comes out around the hole in the top of the cable-end cap, where the cable-housing goes through the cable-end cap, which threads onto the tach-drive. If that's what's happening to you (and it may very well be exactly that), just fill the cable-end cap with silicone sealant and thread it back onto the tach drive. Wipe away the excess that sqooshes out around the cable when you screw the cap down. Let it dry 24 hours. Leak problem solved.

jdallen

I see what your saying Jimmy, but mines leaking where the housing goes into the crankcase. I wonder if I can't put some silicone sealant around the housing w/out taking anything out. maybe w/ a very fine tip.

the funny thing is, it never leaked until I took the crankcase cover off. But when I did, I didn't disconnect the tach cable, just left it in and put the cover on a box so it wouldn't hang there. What could I have done to make it leak now?

5twins · Full Member Joined: Aug 05, 2006 Posts: 1616

Yes, remove the bolt and the sleeve will pull out. Just take care that the tach drive rod doesn't come with it. If the tach drive rod seal isn't leaking, you don't have to pull that threaded adapter part out. It only needs to come out if you want to change the little oil seal under it.

jdallen

Thanks guys.

I think I got it out w/out the tach drive rod moving at all by using a coat hanger wire. There wasn't even an o-ring on it, it was a small rubber band. and so brittle that when I tried to remove it it snapped. I didn't have any silicone sealant, so I used some waxed twine my dad had in his garage and it fits very snug now. No more up and down play on the sleeve. Should be good to go!

jimmythetrucker · Full Member Joined: Mar 12, 2008 Posts: 1283

Well, as they say in the truck garage -- That oughta hold 'er until you get a rope.

5twins · Full Member Joined: Aug 05, 2006 Posts: 1616

That was the o-ring or what was left of it. It's a very thin red colored one. If it's all flat or dry and cracked like yours, it's toast. MikesXS sells replacements.

jdallen

5twins, you don't think the wax twine will hold? I'm not sure if oil has any affect on wax or not....

jimmythetrucker · Full Member Joined: Mar 12, 2008 Posts: 1283

Run it with the twine and see what happens. We're not talking a major malfunction here. The worst thing that could happen is that the twine might come unwrapped and dangle the loose end down to where it gets picked up by the clutch or the starter motor or the transmission or the oil pump. Then the twine will wrap around some moving part, like a tiny Python, and choke that part to death and crush it and swallow it (urp!). Then the twine will slither away into a dark corner of your engine, where it will coil up and digest its meal until it gets hungry again. When it does, it will come out and eat another component, then go hide again, and repeat, until you finally notice something is wrong. Like maybe your bike will stop or run backwards or have a flat tire or something. When you go to fix the problem, you'll notice the oil pump is gone or the starter gear is missing, or maybe the clutch looks oxygen starved. But you won't suspect that, lurking deep within your engine, that coil of twine is poised to strike again. You'll never figure out what's going on. By and by you'll go insane. Your parents will buy you a lifetime supply of Pampers and confine you to an institution. Then they'll sell your motorcycle to somebody on this list, and then the rest of us will go crazy trying to figure out what's wrong with it. XSJOHN will recommend a set of carburetor needles. 5TWINS will bet on a new O-ring. RETIREDGENTLEMAN will suggest a Canadian license plate. BARBARA will try to fix it with some old BSA parts. I will come to the asylum and interview you for an article in the Mental Health Weekly. Meanwhile that evil piece of twine will continue its deadly work, the result being (as I said) that everyone on the list will go crazy.

Stop now, before it's too late.

jdallen

Ahhh jeez. I didn't think of that. Matter of fact, I rode it today and I heard a different noise. could it be the twine has already began the decomposition of my motorcycle!

Dude that was funny.....but could it happen?...... Jimmy, you should be a writer.....a horror writer! I think I'll get some sealant or an o-ring. My earlier electrical problems led me halfway to insanity. I'd wake up in the morning thinking about wiring diagrams and XS charging systems. I don't need another one of those problems.....nor does my wife! especially my wife! sh*t jimmy, you cracked me up, ""XSJOHN will recommend a set of carburetor needles. 5TWINS will bet on a new O-ring. RETIREDGENTLEMAN will suggest a Canadian license plate. BARBARA will try to fix it with some old BSA parts."" Anybody who's been on this site for a while will surely appreciate your humor! Have a freaking great holiday! I make beer all winter....just made a winter hefeweizen....if you're ever in NC I'll give you some.

gordo

Jimmy the TruckerA/K/A Stephen King!!!!If it was me, I'd put in a new "o" ring.

What Happened to 650rider.com?

Yamaha xs650