Curvy oil leak.
 

Well the first day of riding my curvy, and its leaking oil. Seems to be a very slow leak, with a few drops under the bike after I've ridden and parked up. I assume its also leaking as I ride, but I think if left for longer periods it stops.

I tried cleaning off the suspected areas and taking it for a ride, but with the on and off rain it's almost impossible to do this today. I think it's coming from the clutch area, as some is dripping onto the exhaust pipe (and smelling quite horrible). However, there is also some dripping off separate areas under the bike. I'm hoping its all coming from the same place and simply running underneath.

After many searches, it seems the clutch cover thing is a prime culprit for this. Is this the best place to start?

Also, how safe is it to ride as it is? As long as I keep an eye on the oil level, is it going to cause any problems, assuming its only a seal type issue. Oh and the dripping onto the hot exhaust pipe, issue at all?

Thanks all. And be gentle, only had the SV for a couple of days!

Re: Oil leak!
 

No issues with continuing to use it as long as you keep an eye on the oil level. Mine was leaking from the same place when i got it, it had been stood for a few years. I bought the rubber ring (clutch cover gasket) but have yet to fit it as the problem went away once I'd used the bike for a bit and the original one swelled back up.

Easy fix and the rubber ring was about a tenner.

Re: Oil leak!
 

Good to hear I can still use it. I believe this one was left standing and neglected for a while before I bought it, so maybe it will right itself.

Any idea if there are other common places to check?

Re: Oil leak!
 

Clutch cover is the most common culprit on the SV engine, as its made of plastic and tends to warp and simply replacing the O ring won't fix the problem, but you can try this first.

Do a search on this site, there's plenty of threads about it, but sometimes the best option is to get a replacement clutch cover, one that isn't warped

Re: Oil leak!
 

Other things to check----
There are two breather pipes that go from the crankcases to the airbox.If they come off there can be an oil leak,and usually some rough running.Less common is if the gearbox ouput shaft seal has gone,or the sprocket nut has come loose.This can cause a big oil leak and needs dealing with straight away.
But its probably the clutch cover,which is plastic and warps easily,and is prone to leaking if the nuts are overtightened.Often you need a new cover as the warp is permanent.

Re: Oil leak!
 

Is it best to find a clutch cover, rather than simply replace the gasket and o-ring?

From what I've seen, most clutch covers are second hand on eBay. Is there any way of guaranteeing these aren't warped too?

Re: Oil leak!
 

Not really.

You can play with them to try get them flatter. There are also fancy machined aluminium covers you can get, think they are around £80 from states.

Re: Oil leak!
 

An. Well this bike is a step down/budget bike for now, so no aluminium stuff for me. Ill get to the route of the problem tomorrow and will more than likely try the seals before anything else.

Re: Oil leak!
 

In that case try your best to flatten it with some emery on a flat surface (sheet of glass etc) then refit it with some high temp silicone/instant gasket, don't overtighten bolts.

Then it is best to leave the bike for a while to let it go off properly before you start it, 24 hours should do it.

Re: Curvy oil leak.
 

YC may not agree (he is the master :-) ) but I fixed my curvy leak by donig the following:

• Drain the oil
• Take off the cover
• clean both sides
• Check the o-ring seal. If it's broke replace it. TBH relpace it anyway
• Use some liquid gasket all around the o-ring
• put it back together again*****
• add new oil

Change the oil filter if you want at the same time

The **** is to say to use a Torque wrench to do this. Do not over tighten the bolts or it wont work. (Or you may snap one like I did first time lol)

The liquid gasket can be got from halfords or can be found cheaper on line, halfords as example below:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...egoryId_255217

Re: Curvy oil leak.
 

Just try tightening the bolts on the clutch cover, sorted the problem for me.

Re: Curvy oil leak.
 

Cheers guys, will be giving this all a go tomorrow along with my my brother. Then I'll be fitting some heated grips, they are desperately needed!

Re: Curvy oil leak.
 

At the risk of being shouted down yet again! £4.99 from wilkinsons Redex oil leak stop, thick as fook gasket conditioner, add it to full oil when warm then run engine for ten minutes, seals even quite big leaks. Not for one second suggesting this is the best cure, but it works!

Re: Curvy oil leak. UPDATE
 

Well after checking today, it seems to leak is coming from somewhere around the circled areas in the image below (apologies for the random stock shot). However, after a read of the haynes, I've found another culprit.

Apparently, to prevent any leaking from the cooling system into the oil, there are two seals on the pump shaft, and if either fails, there is a drain around here to allow either to escape to avoid it being mixed. Could this be the problem, or is it likely the gasket seal/cover?

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8476/8...97a9d7aa92.jpg
146_1004_02_o+1999_suzuki_sv650+right_side_view by Troy Park, on Flickr

Re: Curvy oil leak. UPDATE
 

Check the obvious first, sort the clutch cover out first, before worrying about the pump seals.

Re: Curvy oil leak.
 

But what if i put on a new clutch cover and gasket seal, but it doesn't solve the problem?! Not only will i kick the poor SV, but i'll likely cry too.

Re: Curvy oil leak.
 

What if you replaced the water pump first, and that didn't cure the problem because it was the clutch cover? :confused::confused::confused::confused:

You'd still be crying and the SV doesn't deserve a kick.

Use some instant gasket & a new O ring as the first option before getting a replacement cover. That might slow the leak, then get a replacement cover

Before doing the above clean and dry the area off and dust with some talc as this should show up where the leak is

Re: Curvy oil leak.
 

Pretty sure we located the leak earlier (the top circled bolt above) but i'm trying to cover all bases.

Is instant gasket worth a go, or should i get a new gasket seal, as well as replace the o-ring? For the sake of £9 or whatever it is, seems like a better option, right?

Re: Curvy oil leak.
 

Confused

Replace the water pump gasket as well?

Clutch cover only has an O ring

Re: Curvy oil leak.
 

Don't f*** about with the water pump you're as likely to cause a leak than fix one.

It's an O ring sealing inside a bore there... these very seldom fail spontaneously, this also only has oil on it by splash... the clutch has a strong spray of oil coming off it right down the gasket line at all times.

Re: Curvy oil leak.
 

Ok thanks guys.

I was under the impression I'd need to replace this - http://www.wemoto.com/bikes/suzuki/s..._cover_gasket/

Or is is o-ring all I need? - http://www.wemoto.com/bikes/suzuki/s..._cover_o-ring/

Re: Curvy oil leak.
 

Clean it, carefully. Then run it and watch closely to see where the oil is coming from.

The Curvy's clutch cover is not an unusual place to find a leak - but it isn't the only place that could be the possible cause. Don't buy second hand parts if you want certainty - buy new ones. Despite commonly read experiences a warped Curvy clutch case is not common, which is not to say it can't happen, but it's plastic so unless grossly misshapen will flatten under correct bolt tension. Another thing - it's plastic, (we've been here haven't we?), and will just as easily twist out of shape if you overdo tightening the bolts.

Then read this:
And this:

Re: Curvy oil leak.
 

Thanks Sid. I did this today, and am almost certain it was coming from the top circled bolt on the previous picture. However, i'll repeat the process again tomorrow to be completely certain.