could filling with too much oil cause a leak?

[hydra]

hey folks,

i have an S4 Foggy.
i was low on oil after my trackday on monday. so on wednesday i put more oil in before i rdoe her. today i checked the level and it looked like it was a bit high, just about over the high line. rode it for 50mi and stopped for gas and as i was about to take oof i noticed oil on the ground. when i inspected the bike there was a little pool of oil on the top of the crankcase.

i checked for other leaks and didn't see anything anywhere else.
-could it be, that much oil that it can seep out of the top of the crankcase?
-or it's some bad gaskets?
-or the bolts aren't torqued down enough?
-is this normal when you put too much oil in?

[Pancake81]

I would really like to hear an answer to this because i am very slowly get that leak too. I am known to put a tad too much oil in, but like you said just a hair over the high line; which shouldnt hurt anything. From what I remember this is related to the rear cylinder base gasket  . Can anyone confirm this. Mine has been barley leaking for about 5000 km now (like a few drops every thousand km, I am just keeping an eye on it for now.

I believe this is a pricey fix from what I have heard. Someone please chim in for us poor S4 owners.

Heath

[Howie]

Could be a base gasket leak, could be a leaky breather.  Clean, run, inspect.  Still can't tell? Clean, spray with aerosol foot powder, run, inspect.  The stain in the powder should lead you to the source.  The four valve bikes need an oil galley to be plugged or the leak will happen again.

[Speeddog]

Ugh. 

It *could* be leaking from the breather valve, but most likely not.
Howie's advice is the starting point to troubleshoot this.

Many an S4 had the base gasket leak, mine included.
I fixed it on mine, so I know the procedure.

Not sure about the cost at a dealer.

It's not rocket science, but a lot of parts have to come off.
Basically, everything above and including the throttle bodies, and the rear cylinder.

Pancake81, if it's not leaking as bad as hydra's pics show, you can leave it until you need your valve clearances done, that will save you some money.
Or, it will save you some time if you do your valves yourself.
Just keep a close eye on it so it doesn't oil down your tire.
If you want to do it yourself, I'll list out what you've got to do.
There's a few traps to fall into on the job.

[hydra]

hey thanks for replying pancake and speeddog!

i'll clean it up and go for a ride and see if it's in the same spot or happens again.
so basically, having too much oil in the case couldn't push the excess oil out the seams and through the gaskets...huh? doesn't sound like it would be a very good design if that were the case...
but have you seen or heard excess oil doing this on any ducs?

i'm hoping it's not what you guys are saying.

[Speeddog]

I've not seen that quantity of oil on the cases by any process other than a base gasket leak.

I hope it's the breather valve puking.
Try the cleanup and ride test.
You won't have to ride it very far to find out.

[hydra]

speeddog, where is the breather valve? sorry this engine is still new to me...

[Speeddog]

Looks like one of these, mounted to the top rear of the crankcase, right side.

[Pancake81]

Speeddog,

Your wealth of knowledge on Monsters (S4's inparticular) is incredible, and I think I speak for everyone when I say thanks for all of your imput and advice. You have helped me with several issues in the past and I always look forward to hearing your opinions. Just wanted to get that out 

[Speeddog]

Glad I could help. 

[♣ McKraut ♣]

i've had two monsters with the leaky base gasket problem, both MY2001.  one was a 600, and the other a 750.  the leak on the 750 didn't rear it's head until last fall oddly enough, and it was random...i was just cruising down a city street.  i had the 750 repaired at AMS here in dallas, and that ended up running about $700, but they have a $100/hr labor rate also.  i could be remembering wrong, but i had heard from a few people that the leaky base gasket problem wasn't an issue for the 900 and S4 models.  anyway, hopefully you'll find out it's something simpler or at least less expensive....

good luck!

[hydra]

Speeddog,

Your wealth of knowledge on Monsters (S4's inparticular) is incredible, and I think I speak for everyone when I say thanks for all of your imput and advice. You have helped me with several issues in the past and I always look forward to hearing your opinions. Just wanted to get that out 

yeah speeddog's alright in my book (and i guess a lot of people's books), very knowledgable and likes to help people out.

and he's a really nice guy to boot 

so i'm having some coffee right now and about to go and clean up that oil, then take her out for a quick spin. after examining the breather valve, i did notice that it possible that it's where the oil is coming from. i'll report back in just a bit...

[johnster]

Speeddog,

Your wealth of knowledge on Monsters (S4's inparticular) is incredible, and I think I speak for everyone when I say thanks for all of your imput and advice. You have helped me with several issues in the past and I always look forward to hearing your opinions. Just wanted to get that out 

+11ty billion!!  Thanks a lot, Speeddog..

The S4 is somewhat of a quirky bike, and it really is nice when there's someone to turn to with questions, rather than being left in the dark...

-I can't say I entirely trust my dealer (have heard stories of needless labor fees, 1/2-ass work, etc... I won't name names, but it's no one here), so I'm slowly but surely trying to learn to do as much work as I can on it...

[hydra]

okay, i cleaned her up a little. just soaked up the oil with cotton balls but didn't use any cleaners. i sprayed some foot power in there. i rode her about 3 mi and here's the results....
i'm going to go for a bit of a longer ride right now and post more pics.

[Armor]

You should not overfill oil in any vehicle.