Honda Transalp XL650V Oil Leak HELP!!

[iulian]

Hello, as i was saying in the title my Transalp is leaking oil from the drain plug . i tried to tight it harder but it's screwed in firm. i have recently changed the oil , i put Motul 5100(10w40) . After oil change i checked the oil level , with the engine cool the level is at the upper limit on the measuring stick , with the engine hot the level is beyond this level with 1-2mm . i also changed the oil filter an put 2.5-2.6 liters of fresh oil. please advice me what to do . thanks

[samben]

I know this may sound stupid but did you change the sump plug washer when you changed the oil ?

[iulian]

no i didn't , my guess is that i've oferfilled with oil ? is it possible to have damaged the engine ?

[samben]

If i was you i would drain the oil into a clean container, fit a new sump plug washer and then put the oil back in. start by putting in 2.4 litres, running the engine for 5 minutes then check the level and top up as required. I would not think you would have damaged the engine.

[iulian]

the engine does not make any abnormal noise , starts normally runs smooth. I was reading on a Harley form and some guys are overfilling quite often and had no problems . They were talking about sump , and said that if the engine has a dry sump no damage can appear if overfilled . I pray that the transalp is as good as a Harley.

[Recycler]

the engine does not make any abnormal noise , starts normally runs smooth. I was reading on a Harley form and some guys are overfilling quite often and had no problems . They were talking about sump , and said that if the engine has a dry sump no damage can appear if overfilled . I pray that the transalp is as good as a Harley.

Transalps have a wet sump, which means the oil is carried in the bottom of the motor - not in a seperate oil tank outside the engine.

It's possible to re-use sump plug washers several times, but as they're cheap to buy it's worth changing them each time. Yours may be leaking because a small piece of dirt is between the washer and plug/motor. A new washer is soft, an old one is already compressed.

How much is it leaking?
The only solution is what Samben says. If there was no leak you could draw oil out of the filling hole with a syringe attached to a short tube.

Be wary of over-tightening the sump plug. All it does is hold oil in, it's not an axle so only requires a decent nip. As it's screwed straight into the motor casing stripping the thread is a major job to fix.

Let us know how you get on - and stop reading Harley forums!

[iulian]

Today i went to the garage where i keep my transalp and got a seryinge and a small hose and drained about 120-130ml from the engine , i checked the oil level with the engine cool and warm(at normal operating temperature) and oil level was below the upper limit let's say 3 quarter, no leaks so far. After that i took the bike for a ride to see if it leaks , traveled about 15km , returned home and ... surprise no leaks. After all that i am very doubtful about this , i expect a leak anytime . so what do you think did i do the right way ?

[Recycler]

You've drained the excess oil and the leak has stopped.

Relax........ job done.

[iulian]

i was very stressed about this , my transalp is working very well no engine noise, has about 30.000 km , i spend a lot of money on consumables only OEM parts. and i expect it to run well , not to mention that everybody says that transalp is a reliable engine ...

[Recycler]

It will last almost forever. Mine is currently at 32,000 miles - about 50,000km and others have done far more. My bike is still totally reliable and burns zero oil.
I service it myself, changing oil & filter every 4,000 miles (semi-synthetic 10W-40).

Your leak may just of been some oil on the sump plug and bottom of the motor from when you drained it - once you warmed the engine this oil would run to the lowest point - the plug.