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Has anyone ever had oil leaking out of the derby cover area? Where the timing points are at.

I have oil dripping off the wire that comes out.

Thanks!

 

Cam seal
part number: 83162-51

 

Yep what he said, don't take too long to fix it as the electronics in there hate oil!!!

 

If you have cam seal leak you may have some cam movement going on. You may want to check out that cam bearing while you're in there. better to catch it early before it fails completely! on the other hand, oil seals do harden and tear sometimes so it may not be that serious.

 

I swear Bertha was built on a Wednesday, or maybe on some holy day. She's 15 now and hasn't had any of the problems I see you guys having here. I consider myself very lucky...

I put a new cam in her last Christmas, and of course put in a new Torrington bearing. But the outer cam bushing and seal looked fine, so I just left them in there. Hasn't leaked a drop into the timing compartment since, and she runs fine.

Now something terrible will happen...

 

Cam seal on my `89 started leaking at about 90,000 miles, but changing the seal didn`t help, it started leaking again a few days later. Replaced bushing in cam cover and new seal. No leaks for the past 35,000.

 

Whats involved in changing the bushing?
Also do I have to mess with the timing once I take that cover off??

 

You always want to mark or scribe a line when removing the ignition plate, so it goes back to the original position when replaced.

 

I think you will find it is just about as cheap to purchase an after market cam cover with the finished bushing installed as it is to purchase a bushing and have it reamed and honed to fit. If the person doing it doesn't have a lot of practice you could get it back as bad as or worse than before.

 

I agree 100%

Having that bushing replaced at a dealer will cost more than a new nose cone, (if you could even find one to do it) but I don't know where you are so you may have better options for that type work than most of us. But be careful of aftermarket covers. Some come with finished bushings - some do not! And trusting a telephone salesman can be risky. OEM covers are finished and aren't much more $ than aftermarket.

Honestly, I've pulled mine off and swapped cams nearly a dozen times experimenting for years and just replaced my first cam seal on that bike after 100,000 miles. Point being, they're not bad to leak. I'd try changing the 3.00 seal and see if that takes care of it before getting in the panic mode. Pull the small cover, mark the timing pickup position carefully and fold it out of the way. Use a 5/16" socket to remove the rotor cup and a screwdriver used carefully will pry the seal right out. Use a deep socket and hammer to tap the new one in. About a 15 minute job.