Oil leak?

hammerforge

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Hi!

I will be the first to admit that I am new to this. I just installed my first kit, and this week has been my 'trial run' to determine if this is a viable solution for my daily commute. I have noticed that I am somewhat starved for power on hills (need to pedal to give the motor a power assist), but assumed that was just normal.

However when I got home from my hill ride, I noted that I seem to be leaking oil out of the seam in the engine beneath the exhaust pipe. Images of leak site attached.

Is this normal? If not, any recomendations as to what I can do?
 

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No, that's not normal and probably the cause of your lack of power. You'll need to address this and not drive because it is probably causing a lean condition. Continued operation can lead to engine seizure. Check to make sure that all the screws that hold the case halves together are tight. If they are, you'll most likely need to split the engine case, and replace the gasket.
 
Replace your gasket, file the gasket to the correct shape (stock gaskets cover up the port) use, File the exhaust flange flat, replace exhaust studs, tighten back up with plenty of gasket sealent and keep nuts well torqued up. I used locktitie and two nuts, and it still comes lose.

BSA
 
???????
Is the leak at the exhaust flange, or the crankcase halves? I thought that picture #1 was illustrating the oil seeping out from the crankcase seam. If the leak is at the exhaust, then the lack of power is most likely due to something else.
 
What are you guys looking atI can't see jack in those fuzzy pics
 
Have a few beers, they'll look much better.
(I couldn't see anything clear either, #1 was the most relevant and I might have missed whatever he was trying to show. I just saw oil along the case seam.)
 
It seems to me like the exhuast gasket was the gasket in question, looks to me that they the photos are ment to show the exhaust gasket as the exhaust gasket is in both of them.

BSA
 
Thanks for responses. And apollogies for the picture quality. My camera (cell phone) is a bit subpar, but thus far this has not been a problem as I am not much of a photographer anyway.

Haven't had a chance to reply as I caught the 'cold that has been going around' the afternoon that I posted and this is the first time I have been coherent since.

Took a closer look this morning, and the issue could probalby be chalked up to 'insufficient locktite' as indeed the nuts on the exhaust flange were loosened. Also, it became clear from splatter patterns above aformentioned flange that i is the likely vector of leakage.

Tightened up bolts, and once my head is a bit clearer of the cold, I will slide some cardboard shims in to catch oil splatters (one in each cooling fin) and take a test run to get a better sense for where leakages are occuring.

Incidentally I would also appear to have some leakage around the spark plug. Would this area benefit from teflon tape, or would the tape likely melt?
 
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