Q: Hi guys and welcome to 2015, blah, blah blah…
Anyway, over the holidays my 1983 Suzuki GS1000G, the one with the shaft drive, has begun to piss oil all over my left foot!
Now this didn’t bother me too much because I had a new gasket for the stator/alternator cover and decided to have a beer or two and replace it, because the oil seemed to be coming from around that area. So off the cover came and I took off the old gasket and cleaned up the surfaces perfectly before installing the new one, and smeared a thin film of silicone on each side, just to be sure. I also ‘glued in’ the small rubber ‘half moon’ thing where the three wires pass through to the wiring harness, because I was told this can by-pass/leak oil and dump it around my left foot. I then put it all back together and tightened everything up nicely and went out for a ride…
Guess what? Yes, my left foot is still covered in oil – W.T.F! So what have I missed, or need to attend, because it’s really annoying me?
Thanks lads…
Trevor Ladd
A: Yes Trevor you have missed out one thing from that side of the bike – the o-ring at the end of the starter motor. This leaks oil when old and runs through a hole beneath it and onto your left foot.
Don’t worry though because you won’t have to take off the cover again and use up your new gasket. Just remove the starter motor cover, undo the two bolts that hold it in. undo the feed cable, and wiggle it around until it comes out.
Then go to a bearing shop and match up the o-ring for a new one, do not re-use the old one because it’s too hard and brittle by now. Smear a bit of your silicone around the new o-ring once re-fitted and put it all back together. No more oil leak…
