[deucer]

Would not start and determined no fire to spark plug. Ohm check indicated zero coming from coil/stator. Pulled the cover and oil was dripping out. Shaft is very firm with no side play or noticeable wear. Only problem besides replacing the Stator plate is trying to fix the oil leak. It appears the only way to replace the seal is to bust the cases as it is installed from within. Again, there is no visible damage or noticeable wear around the crankshaft or seal. Anyone had this issue, if so is their a viable alternative short of splitting the cases and going internal? How about a thin layer of silicone sealer around the seal itself? Input is appreciated and thanks in advance.

 

[ProjectDan35]

Just a heads up, stators will test bad, when they really aren't. Learned that tip from a good mechanic at the local Kawi dealer. It's happened to me. He tested my stator/coil and it was bad, put it on the bike, and it runs perfectly.

But the oil leak.....don't really know. You probably have to split the cases.

 

[QKENUF4U]

not sure exactly what test you did on stator to get zero ....

as for seal.. what a bunch of morons kawy is... just looked at microfiche and this is the first time ive ever seen a crank seal installed INSIDE the cases...thats plain stupidity.... so YES YOU HAVE TO SPLIT THE CASES....

 

[Polar_Bus]

I am kinda stumped over "oil exiting the stator cover" 99% of the time when crank seals go bad they suck either air (mag side) or they suck transmission oil (clutch primary side) into the crankcases. I've never heard of oil leaking out a crank seal...

 

[ProjectDan35]

Could the age relate to that happening?

 

[juliend]

I am kinda stumped over "oil exiting the stator cover" 99% of the time when crank seals go bad they suck either air (mag side) or they suck transmission oil (clutch primary side) into the crankcases. I've never heard of oil leaking out a crank seal...

For real? A leaky LH crank seal almost always results in gas/oil mix behind the stator cover. It does indeed suck air through there when there's negative pressure in the case, but under positive pressure it blows fuel/oil mix out. Same deal with the RH seal. It's blowing gas/oil into the tranny and sucking tranny oil into the crank case.

No play in the shaft would indicate the bearing is still good, but the seal has failed. Not a very common situation. Normally the seal failure is preceded by play in the bearing. I think that's pretty much Kawi's stand on it, thus having to split the case and remove the bearing to get at the seal. If you're replacing one, you best replace the other as well.

If it bothers you, it would be easy enough to machine off the cast in stops for the seals, and fabricate removable retainers to use instead. I looked at this when I had mine apart. Should be pretty simple really. Check it out when you have it apart and you'll see what I mean. two pieces of aluminum stock and 4 holes drilled and tapped is all it would take after you grind off the stock cast in stops. I have one set of cases in the garage with the seal stop on one side busted out. Guess a PO got carried away pressing bearings in? That's what actually gave me the idea.

 

[deucer]

Thanks for the input folks. While I'm waiting on the replacement Stator Plate I went ahead and coated the external portion of the seal with silicone rtv. I feel certain it will probably fail after awhile, but I don't see where it will harm anything that is not already hosed. When it runs, it runs like the proverbial " spotted a__ ape". It's no big deal to pop the cover and monitor every few rides to check the area for oil. Oh by the way, this is not a gas/oil mix. This is raw oil... Thanks again for your thoughts and input.

 

[Little Fenton]

i have never heard of oil inside the stator/ except for the ktms they have oil stators... It almost sounds like you have a hole of some kind in the case.. If it was coming from the seal then you could smell burnt oil and gas, but your saying its just straight oil.... I Have never heard of the seal going bad and leaking oil into the stator.. Thats why im thinking theres a hole in the case....

 

[nd4speed]

.......................................

 

[Polar_Bus]

For real? A leaky LH crank seal almost always results in gas/oil mix behind the stator cover. .

For real ? There should NOT be large amounts of "oil and gas" pooled within the crankcases allowing said oils to leak past the seals. Unless someone has a trashed weak top end with minimal compression and a lot of raw oil and fuel is sitting in the crankcase, or mixing thier oil ratio at something like 24:1...

 

[deucer]

Thanks again for the posts. This is really turning into an intriguing mystery. What I do know; it is not a fuel/oil mix. Good point made regarding a potential hole of some sort in the case which is allowing the oil passage. I'm beginning to get this eerie feeling that I might be splitting the cases after all. Well truthfully, I doubt that seriously. At least not right now. The "Holy Grail" is out there somewhere too.

 

[QKENUF4U]

do you have the stator etc off the bike ? if so you should be able to see where the leak is coming from....

it could be pre-mix oil if the gas evaps off and leaves the oil behind...

trans oil will be thicker it should be pretty easy to see the leak if from trans.....

 

[stu460]

if its pure oil than you either have a blown centre case gasket or 2 shot seals,,happened to me on an rm500 ,the seal on the right side blew which sucked in tranny oil and blew it out the other side near the stator...but for this to happen you must be blowing alot of smoke out the pipe aswell...

 

[juliend]

For real ? There should NOT be large amounts of "oil and gas" pooled within the crankcases allowing said oils to leak past the seals. Unless someone has a trashed weak top end with minimal compression and a lot of raw oil and fuel is sitting in the crankcase, or mixing thier oil ratio at something like 24:1...

1/8th to 1/4" residual oil in the bottom of the crank case. Any less and you're running too lean.

That's not really the point anyway. The very first place fuel/oil mix goes is into the crankcase through the reed valve. From there pressure forces the charge up through the piston ports and into the cylinder. This same pressure forces the same mix out of a leaky crank seal. Fuel evaporates, oil does not, so the remaining substance behind the stator cover can appear to be more oil than gas.

I'm not trying to argue here, but EVERY kawi I've ever looked at with leaking crank seals had evidence of mix behind the stator cover. It's simple mechanics really. There is no way in hell that seal can leak and NOT push fuel oil mix out the seal when the crankcase is under pressure.

 

[QKENUF4U]

There is no way in hell that seal can leak and NOT push fuel oil mix out the seal when the crankcase is under pressure.

actually it can depending on how its worn (seal,crank snout etc).. it gets both positive and negative pressures on the seal..... so its possible to
SUCK AIR IN
but
NOT PUSH OIL/GAS OUT....
this is where doing vacumn and leak down tests come into play....

in this case i agree its toast and able to push premix out and hes seeing residue after the gas evaps off leaving the oil....

half of one, six of the other it needs fixed... 8)