Just changed my oil and ran the bike for a few minutes to check for leaks. The oil filter cap is leaking a small amount. The cap is on snugly and I changed all the O-rings during the service. Any thoughts on where to start diagnosis?
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Just changed my oil and ran the bike for a few minutes to check for leaks. The oil filter cap is leaking a small amount. The cap is on snugly and I changed all the O-rings during the service. Any thoughts on where to start diagnosis?
Was too much oil added?
5 qts we’re putting in.
Pardon me, no intent to insult your intelligence, but this is where I would begin diagnosing problem. Are you certain there was no crud or anything on the cap or its threads? Did you oil all the O-rings, particularly the large one on the cap before reinstalling the cap? Did you torque the cap to 18 lbft +/- 2 lbft? My torque figures are from my service manual but should be close enough if not exactly the same as for your Spyder.
No insult for me. I did not oil the top gasket after putting on the new one, nor did I torque but I did snug the cap firmly. I would like to take the cap off and check everything but am concerned about oil pouring out everywhere. Should I drain some of the oil before removing the cap? If so what would your best guess be on how. Much?
Thanks for your quick response on this, much appreciated.
I have never done it on my Spyder but on ancient automobiles I did it frequently. If you let the Spyder sit several hours or maybe overnight I doubt seriously you would have any leakage as oil from various places is going to drain into the crankcase. That's why we have the proviso of checking the level within two minutes of shutting off the engine.
After a couple of hours, and some well-needed supper, I pulled the oil filter cap off with no spills. After checking everything with the filter being seated correctly, I decided to put the old O-ring on the cap in place of the new one and tightened as I had before. Also checked the torque, which was already good. Just finished a short ride and it looks like no leaks have reappeared. It appears that I had a bad O-ring. Thanks for your thoughts and info, it helps to have the input when something like this comes up.
Glad you found the problem.
The most common reason for O-Ring leaks (other than the obvious of a poorly seated, unoiled O-Ring getting pinched, nicked or cut) is when one screw is tightened too much before the 2nd screw is tightened. All screws (in this case 2) must be tightened a little at a time keeping the pressure on the O-Ring equal around the circumference. Tighten 1 screw too much and the other may come to correct torque but still not be applying equal pressure on that side.
These screws do not need to be all that tight. The O-Ring will do all the work as long as some even pressure is applied.
Glad you found the issue.