Dirty pictures(oil leak)

[Walmart Ninja]

I have a 72 CB750K2 that I'm working on with 16k miles on it. There is a ton of built up oil and grease all over this thing. I have heard they can leak oil from the front of the motor? I attached 3 pics of the area. I had it running, and it sounds good. Oil pressure was around 160 on all cylinders. So I don't know if I should:
1) continue restoring the bike, clean it up, and ride it next year to better pinpoint the possible leaks,
2) or dig into it now? See attached. Thanks for any wisdom. I don't want to do the " if it ain't broke I'll fix it till it is" caper

 

[Nunya Bidnes]

Oil pressure was around 160 on all cylinders?

 

[dirtdigger]

Rubber nickle seals under the cam towers leaking. Early 750s are known for the head gasket to seep also. The gasket compresses and the cylinder studs stretch over time and noone retorques the head gasket.

 

[Walmart Ninja]

Yes, 160 compression. You gotta pull the motor to do the head gasket, right? Are the cam tower seals a big deal? Or leave it for now. Thanks

 

[dirtdigger]

Well it for sure wont get any better. Its only going to get worse. You have to pull the engine to do the cam tower seals as well.

 

[Walmart Ninja]

Thanks again digger. You said the head bolts need to be re-torqued.Will I run into that same issue and have to pull the motor again to fo that?

 

[dirtdigger]

Thats the problem, you cant do anything to the engine in frame. valve cover needs to come off and cam and cam towers need to come off and it wont come out in frame unless you cut the two top frame rails. There is a kit out there that makes them removable. If you switch to heavy duty studs then normally you dont need to retorque the nuts. If you do heavy duty studs, MLS head gasket and machine the top cylinder and head surface then you wont need to retorque ever. I have found a good Cometic graphite head gasket seem so seal well for a long time with no retorque as long as you use the heavy duty studs.

 

[Walmart Ninja]

Yeah that's not a handy design. I sure do appreciate the help though. You're the man, digger. not gonna get any machining done though. Any chance you have a link to those heavy duty studs and gasket you were referring to? If you get a minute. You've already helped a bunch. Or where to buy heavy duty studs

 

[Walmart Ninja]

Yeah that's not a handy design. I sure do appreciate the help though. You're the man, digger. not gonna get any machining done though. Any chance you have a link to those heavy duty studs and gasket you were referring to? If you get a minute. You've already helped a bunch. Or where to buy heavy duty studs

Sorry. At Work and on lunch I finally did a quick search and it looks like there are tons of places to get heavy duty studs. Leaning towards cycle exchange as it comes with the nuts and it's on sale right now for like 172 bucks

 

[dirtdigger]

Yes cyclex and dynoman are my go to. dynoman has the head gaskets i like and they carry studs as well as many other engine parts. you really dont need the nuts the stock ones are fine to use on the heavy duty studs

 

[grewth]

You say you have had this bike running, but have you actually ridden it on the road ?
If you haven't really ridden it any distance, there could be a load of other faults lurking within.
Low oil pressure ?
Bad clutch, worn gearbox, worn out primary chains or cam chain.
I'd be inclined to clear off all the oil gunge and dirt, give the engine a good service, and then ride it for a couple of hundred miles to see what other faults show up.
After all, you really don't want to tear the engine down twice.

 

[Walmart Ninja]

Excellent point grewth. That is what I'm planning on doing after some thought

 

[UK K6]

Mine was leaking. Oil stains etc. I even had a sheared bolt between exhaust 2 and 3 where I'd guess a PO had over-torqued to cure the leak.

I rode it for 1500 miles, to make the most of summer, see if anything else showed up and to make sure I liked the bike enough to restore it. Despite the leaks (turned out there was also a gap in the joint between head and cover from a pry bar!) And an oily plug, it didn't use much oil. Amazing how far a small amount of hot oil spreads.

After stripping down the top of the engine, after a cylinder hone, I used new rings, a gasket kit from David Silver and the original studs. I've done 5,000 miles since with no oil burning, no leaks, apart from one failed rubber on one of the tappet caps.

Carbs and ignition were a different story. Previous butchery required swapping 2 carbs (used Ebay purchase). New coils also required. Engine out brought the dilemma of whether to strip and restore the frame. I did and was amazed, end to end, it took only 3 wet, cold winter months to get back on the road looking and running terrific.

The challenge is where do you stop! As the primary chain checked out OK for stretch and everything worked, I didn't open the crankcase. I still wonder if I should have. I did have to replace the head and cover, due to the gouges in gasket faces and I went through brakes, new (recon) rear hub and some bolts / cover screws. But all in I've spent about £2,000 on the restoration and about 80-100 hours and the bike runs great. Have to draw a line somewhere.

 

[grewth]

I wish that I could train myself not to buy more motorcycles.
Three weeks ago a trip up north yielded the mortal remains of another F1 for a total outlay of less than £400.
Not much left unfortunately, rusty frame, V5, engine in pieces with missing bits.
I'm telling myself that I'll use the left over bits from my "good" F1 to create a cafe racer from this one.
Another potential money pit !
Maybe hypnotherapy might cure me ?

 

[Walmart Ninja]

Thanks guys. Good advice. Yeah, you gotta draw the line somewhere. But there are a lot worse ways to spend your money, that's for sure

 

[Nunya Bidnes]

I wish that I could train myself not to buy more motorcycles.

Maybe hypnotherapy might cure me ?

"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me" than "to have a frontal lobotomy" I am in (partial) recovery concerning somethings I collect. not booze.