oil leak in airbox?? assistance needed!

[Jeffreydas]

Hello to all,

This is my first post, but have been reading the board for some time. These are the particulars:

I have 02 r1150r, yellow dakar, 44k. I am posting in NYC but live in Charleston SC. Came to NYC for business, rode the bike here to make it pleasure.

Took it to BMW Manhattan for oil change, plus other issues; leaking oil from sight glass (which started leaking literally hours before I brought it to the dealer) & louder than usual valves (almost knocking, actually). They did the service; replaced sight glass, oil change, and added a shim to the spring having to do with the tension of the chain for valves or something like that (sounds nice, runs smooth)... honestly I'm a moron when it comes to knowing the mechanics (why I'm posting), but I'm a quick study. Cost: $800.

Long story short, rode North to Woodstock and noticed a slow drip leak of oil from the valve of the air box. I think it's the air box - left side by and just above the rear shock? Anyways drips on to exhaust pipe connection just next to left foot peg. I noticed it because of the smoke from burning oil off of exhaust. (They washed it, and I first thought it might have been steam)

Here's the question: is this leak related to the work the dealer did? i.e. no leak before service, and leak after service. Also, if they put too much oil in (level is hanging right at the top line of sight glass) would it cause this problem. Also, have a little starter trouble, is this related.

Needless to say, back in NYC, bike is back at the dealer and I need to be back in Charleston no later than Thursday. And I do not want to hear from the dealer that it is unrelated to the work they did. I don't believe in coincidences.

Would love love love some insight...

Thank you in advance,

Jeffrey
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[Boxer]

They probably just put too much oil in when they changed it. That leak is the blow by vent drain at the bottom of the air box. That oil comes from a valve at the top right side of the engine via a rubber pipe going over to the bottom of the airbox. Excess oil is blown out through that vent.

[Jeffreydas]

oil comes from a valve at the top right side of the engine via a rubber pipe going over to the bottom of the airbox. Excess oil is blown out through that vent.

The vent is on the left side though - is that still applicable to what you are talking about? I hope you're right.

Just talked to the dealer. They are saying it is a new problem can't work on it until Wed. , but didn't even drain out a little oil to see if there was still a leek (i.e. putting too much oil in the bike)... jeez, BMW NYC prides themselves on having a top notch service dept, and they can't even do a common sense maneuver like that. And that's what I told them to do before they start having other $1000+ hypotheses.

Do you recommend just riding the bike back to Charleston and let the bike level the oil off as it's ridden?

Thanks, JC

[Beemeridian]

11

[jm1515]

They may not have overfilled anything...but merely did not tighten the drain plug properly if they tried to drain it. Oil in the airbox can come from more than just overfilling the oil....altho too much oil is the most popular cause from my research.
Have you ever opened it? Do you have any idea how much oil is in there? That plug is sealed w/ an O-ring and can be a PITA to remove if it's never come off before...and almost as much of a PITA to put back on if in a hurry.
If you're seeing oil dripping from that plug...you may have a TON of oil in there...or just a loose plug.
I would put a small cup under it and give it a good drain. If you get more than an ounce or 2, could be they overfilled...or you've never drained it before, and your 6 yr old blow-by is trying to get out! Shouldn't leak out past that O-ring tho....
I know this because I check that drain after every ride...and I have never overfilled the crankcase. Yet I get a bit of oil in the air box after every ride...just enuf to produce some good blots on a standard MickyD's napkin....no worries.

[boxermania]

Jeffreydas

First and foremost, don't let the dealer do anything more to the bike, go get it and return home....based on the prior work and it's cost they have already taken you to the cleaners.

Next, don't panic, what you are experiencing....a small collection of oil in the airbox is perfectly normal. As mentioned before it can be exacerbated by overfilling of the engine....let me explain.

The engine is in essence a pump, on the top it produces power, in the crankcase, that is below the piston, the oil is agitated and heated up, this creates a vapor pressure above the liquid. This vapor, many moons ago, was allowed to vent into the atmosphere, it is no longer the case as it is routed into the airbox, to mix with the incoming air and directed back into the combustion chamber for burning....ergo, no pollution.

What happens is that when the engine is turned off, the hot vapor in the airbox has no place to go and it cools down, as it does it leaves the vapor state and becomes a liquid, which in turn deposits at the bottom of the airbox. This liquid, never vaporizes again as the operating temperature in the air box is not hot enough to change it back into the vapor state.

This brings us to the drain, which allows the accumulated oil to be drained from time to time. You will be surprised as to how many owners are remiss with this simple operation, needless to say without draining a fair amount of oil can accumulate. Your observed leakage at the drain valve is due to a loosely tightened valve or a leaking gasket.

Last but not least.....any proficient BMW Tech or Service Manager could have given you a simpler explanation, drain the oil, thank you sponsoring the deaslership and send you off in a matter of minutes.......this is the reason for my opening statement.

Welcome and best of luck to you........

[Jeffreydas]

Thank for all your helpful responses.

Have you ever opened it? Do you have any idea how much oil is in there?

Actually took the plug out, and very little oil in box. I could wipe away with bandana. The plug seems to work very much like the oil filler cap - 2 positions, so tightening beyond the closed position would just damage the plug. So I think that maybe the O ring is leaky and definitely the dealer put too much oil, although they were trying hard to not admit. I ended up talking to the head guy and demanded before they do anything to the bike, to drain a bit of oil and take for a test ride. And see if it leaks. But after I'm done posting though, I'm leaving a message with them to just level off the oil (the actually drained a bit by the end of the work day but waiting to test drive in the AM), don't test drive, and don't do anything else with the bike and I'll come pick it up.

Your observed leakage at the drain valve is due to a loosely tightened valve or a leaking gasket.

I don't see how I could tighten the drain valve anymore due to the 2 position plug, but replacing the gasket seems simple enough. Methinks I could just order the part and replace myself.

Thank you, Boxermania for the teaching, seems to make sense to me. I will post when I return to Charleston let you know how it goes. I have a good feeling.

[Jeffreydas]

Giving y'all an update:

1) dealer listened to me, drained a little oil, and guess what? No more leak.
They were filled with so much hubris, that there was no way they put too much oil in the bike and that they problem lay elsewhere, albeit an expensive elsewhere - needing many hours of labor to ascertain the problem.

2) Rode the bike for NYC to Charleston SCin 2 1/2 days. Rode like a dream. Including one 13 hour day. No Problems.

Thanks for your help.

Jeffrey

[Byrdguy]

Dang, I'm definitely in the wrong business. $800 bucks for an oil change, valve adjustment, sight glass R&R and a cam chain tensioner repair!!??

[Stixx]

Dang, I'm definitely in the wrong business. $800 bucks for an oil change, valve adjustment, sight glass R&R and a cam chain tensioner repair!!??

They want 900 bucks here in Georgia for an 18000 mile service and two new tires. I thought that sounded pretty steep too. I guess the combination of parts , disposal fees, and the amount of time at a high tech rate can traslate to some serious "routine maintenance" maintenance these days.

What's a feller to do. I'd say do it yourself if I wasn't too old to lazy and too busy. LOL