The 10 minute oil leak fix

[jack moghrabi]

Description: Allow me to share with you all how it works

Good morning from S. Florida,

During these dark times of high uncertainty, rampant global anxiety and unprecedented change with an overwhelming cataclismic potential, it seems like simple miracles still do take place....Yes, my 10 minute oil leak miracle cure that I stumbled upon has made a believer out of me! I am now convinced there is a Higher Power looking after us! My 10 minute oil leak miracle cure is living proof of that!

Allow me to share with you all how it works....And, as a sign of my genuine good will....I will do so for FREE!! That's right, you read correctly, I will share this simple secret that came to me like a flash of lightning out of the deepest darkness for ABSOLUTELY FREE. No money, no credit card....no nothing! And what is absolutely incredible is that it doesn't matter where or how bad or even how many leaks you have AND, to take things one step further, the most amazing thing is that NO mechanical expertise is required. If you can spread butter on a loaf of bread you too can fix all your leaks in a matter of minutes. Okay, okay, enough with the hyperbole, friends let me finally share with you my new secret:

I've written to you before about my persistent pesky leaks that came from everywhere: my cam cover, my distributor base, my generator-to-motor case mount area, my oil tank, and, worst of all, the left base of the rear cylinder AFTER I had gone through the trouble of installing new cylinder base gaskets. After every ride I left a nice "L" shaped puddle of oil wherever I parked, not to mention the glistening sheen of oil that left my bike externally well lubricated.....Well, no 'mo, no 'mo. Truly, this hillbilly has finally been graced by a Higher Power. I must admit, I have been procrastinating fixing these leaks for a long long time. Yes, I will admit I had gathered "some" resolve a few months ago and I did replace the cam cover and generator base gaskets (and the cylinder base gaskets I mentioned earlier which caused me even more disgust when the rear one still leaked, spitting a nice stream of oil all over my tin primary cover--and my leg). So, while I did fix two leaks "the right way" I still had all the others to contend with and, honestly, I just dreaded breaking down the rear cylinder jug again. Well, the day before yesterday my 10 minute miracle cure came to me out of nowhere. I can only consider this a true gift from above. Here's how it happened: First I went to the auto store. There I bought a tube of Permatex ultra black hi-temp silicone sealer and a sheet of sandpaper. Then I drove home and parked her and let her cool. Then I sanded every joint, mating area, and metal-to-metal joining surface where I knew I had an oil leak. The base of the rear cylinder on the left where she sat on the crankcase, the distributor base area, the two spots on the oil tank up high.... You get the picture. I didn't take out any nuts or screws. I didn't remove or dismantle anything..... And then, like butter on bread, I started spreading the "black stuff". As though guided by a Higher Source, I let my finger do "the trick" (We all know how to do this I'm sure). I would goop the black stuff out of the tube right on the metal and spread it with my finger, shaping an even patch or "bandage" over where my baby had an open hole in her. I did all this like I was in a hypnotic trance. Time seemed to stand still. That night I slept like someone who has been beyond and back. And folks, come morning I snuck out to her and fired her up and rode her and when I shut her down and leaned her over.............she didn't leak! There, the secret is out.... So if you're ever out there on the road far from home and she springs a leak on you or, if you're like me and like a good mule for one reason or another you simply don't want to "get to her" like you rightfully should.....well, the secret is out......Good luck to all. JackMO!

[108]

Wow Jackmo !, I'm sure it works- but its not very purty is it? And give us an update on how its doin in about 1,000 miles .

[jack moghrabi]

Hey 108, Definitely definitely!

I'm just as interested to see how long these "First Aid" bandages really do hold up. As far as how "purty" goes, my girl's a genuine road warrior and runs with modern traffic like a champ. There's definitely no way you can mistake her for a trailer queen. From a small distance she is beautiful, but up close she's got all the "right" marks--the bumps, dents, scratches, scars and couges that tell ya this girl gets out, fights, and holds her own everyday....Will keep ya posted on how things go.Jack MO!

[caschnd1]

As I'm sure many of you know, the old OEM panheads will often seep oil through the return oil galley right out of the side of the head. Particularly on the rear head where the one head bolt comes up close to the return oil galley. Seems like the return galley is so close to the surface there that it will get little micro cracks that allow oil out and onto the fins of the head making a huge mess. I've seen this happen on a couple of panheads. When it happened on mine, I took just a little bit of the copper impregnated RTV and smeared it where the return galley was leaking. Of course I had to clean it up really well first. You can hardley see it because it's buried between the fins on the head. That stopped the leak completely and 20,000 miles later it's still not leaking. There are some good uses for this stuff (just keep it away from the internals).

Last month my front head started doing the same thing (seeping oil out the side of the head near the return galley). I did the same trick with the high temp RTV and have had the same results. Although it's only been 1000 miles or so since I did that patch.

I'll look into a more permanent repair next time the heads are off for work.

-Craig

[57pan]

Jack,

I know what you mean about having the "right" marks on your bike. When I rebuilt mine I purposely left some of the old parts on rather than replace them with shiney new chrome stuff. So, for instance, my air cleaner cover (genuine H-D stainless) and my kicker arm show deep scratches where it obviously went sliding down the road at some time in its past life. I think they give the bike character.

[jack moghrabi]

caschnd1,

It's impressive that your improvisation is holding up after so long, particularly in a hot zone like the head. I'm glad you passed on that piece of information. I just think it's nice to sometimes step away from convention and think "out of the box."

57pan--cool.

[madmax]

I realize that I'm responding/joining in a very old blog, but the Panhead head oil seepage problem seems to have no statute of limitations. I just finished a 56 Pan....totally stock with reconditioned OEM heads. With a whopping 150 miles on it, I've discovered oil seeping though the front head between the fins to the left of the exhaust spigot and three fins up from the head/cylinder union. My first reaction was WTFO! but I found this blog and no longer feel like the Lone Ranger. Voila! Others have experienced it AND have a recommended solution! So I'm going to give it a try using JB Weld. First I'll use a heat gun on the spot to try to leech out as much oil as I can. The clean the area with carb cleaner. Then apply the JB Weld liberally to the affected area. Ill blog back in in a few days and report the results.
Thanks for being there guys for all these years.

[madmax]

Well.....I did the repair and although no miles yet (snow bound in the garage), I've run it several times for extended periods and the seep is fixed.....at least for now. Only time will tell with countless heating/cooling cycles. I'll post again if it starts leaking again. JB Weld doesn't flex like RTV does. We'll see.