Replace engine oil sight glass

[winkeldc]

Has anyone replaced their oil sight glass, well plastic, on a bike with that retainer clip? I left the oil change for last, and might have just been tired, but I couldn't figure out how the clip is removed. I checked the service manual, and it just says to remove the clip. I tried to push it around so the opening of the clip was near the opening at the bottom of the sight glass, but I couldn't get the clip to rotate.

Does anyone have any experience with this or any ideas?

Thanks in advance,
Dave

[deilenberger]

Might I ask why you're removing/replacing the sight glass? I'd guess I have one of the higher mileage R12R's (about 52,000 as of today), and so far - I see no need to..

If it's the usual simple wire clip type, you need a very thin screwdriver, and you force it in between where the clip mates to the groove in the housing, and get under it. Do this near where the gap in the clip is.. you can then lever it out and it will pop out and hit you in the face (DAMHIK - IJD..) K bike fork tubes used this to hold the caps in place.. Installation you just slide it in the bore until it snaps into the groove it seats in.

Still wondering why it's being replaced..

[winkeldc]

It's being replaced because it started leaking last fall. I don't know the cause, but it started leaking after one particularily cold morning and I rode off right after starting the bike, like I normally do. I researched this a little and some suggested when its cold, like mid-30s and below, which it was that day, let the bike "warm" up 30 seconds or so before riding off. I have no idea if that was the cause or if it was just correlation, but the leak has gotten to the point where I ran through half a quart over the winter months. I rode a little this winter, but not that much.

While I am thinking of it, my 08 only has like 23k miles on it, so I would have thought the seal material would last longer and shouldn't have been the cause of the leak. I talked to the tech at my dealer and he didn't think there were other issues that would have caused it to leak. Might not have been put in straight.

Thanks for the tips. I will try that tonight. I tried to pry it off from the gap at the bottom that I thought was there to facilitate removal, but I couldn't get a pick or screwdriver behind the clip from the there.

[dbrick]

Position the screwdriver as close to parallel to the front face of the window as you can, and Insert the blade between the wire clip and the groove, at at the end of and at a right angle to the clip. If the screwdriver is in the groove inline with the end of the clip, as you've discovered, you'll just end up chasing the clip around the groove.

[winkeldc]

Wow, that was easy. For all those as incompetent as me, on the bottom of the site glass opening is a cut out that fits a screwdriver. I ended up just pushing a screwdrive up in that cut out and the circle retainer pops right out. Thanks for all the help and input.