Bad oil leak - crab distributor

glennpm

glennpm

Well-known member
I've developed a large oil leak from the bottom portion of a crab distributor to block. It migrates down the pan and I even got oil inside the distributor cap, noting that I did not have the cap to disy body, part #12114.

- The distributor is a Carpenter rebuilt unit with low miles on it.
- I had the disy torqued at ~12lb-ft.
- Engine is a 59AB
- I have PCV valve with good vacuum

Any tips like non-hardening gasket sealant? Thinking I'm going to use non-hardening #2.

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Have you had your timing gear cover off recently, do you have a rope seal or one of those newfangled seals?
 
as far as i know, that area will have oil and debris in it. and there's a gasket that's supposed to fit between the two bolt distributor and the timing cover to keep it from dripping down the face of the timing cover. here it is...i think. and as always can be wrong:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/263318094891

i'm only contributing because i just removed the two bolt distributor that was attached to my 1941 model with its three-bolt to two bolt adapter plate. and i think there was a thin paper gasket involved.

but there shouldn't be any oil coming into that area, as far as i know, under pressure.
 
hueyhoolihan said:
as far as i know, that area will have oil and debris in it. and there's a gasket that's supposed to fit between the two bolt distributor and the timing cover to keep it from dripping down the face of the timing cover. here it is...i think. and as always can be wrong:
Click to expand...

I did have a gasket there. When I took it apart, there was no obvious smoking gun. I removed a couple of small dings near the bottom of the distributor casing, scraped the surface and went around the whole circumference with a flat jeweler's file. Waiting on a new gasket from Joe's Antique now.
 
might have a plugged timing cover drain hole...of course i'm just guessing.

but i think the cover is receiving a constant oil spray in order to lubricate things and a path to drain that oil back to the pan. if it gets plugged its like a plugged kitchen sink and things will back up and find a way out, even if its "up and out". :)
 
hueyhoolihan said:
might have a plugged timing cover drain hole...of course i'm just guessing.

but i think the cover is receiving a constant oil spray in order to lubricate things and a path to drain that oil back to the pan. if it gets plugged its like a plugged kitchen sink and things will back up and find a way out, even if its "up and out". :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I did check the drain back hole but really tough to see there. I used an inspection mirror but I'm going to poke a small wire in there now.

Undate:
Hole is clear. Wire passed through easily.

Thanks for the suggestion
 
Best gasket stuff is HondaBond. It comes in thick, or thin, you gotta buy it from Honda bike shops. Yamaha also makes YamaBond, very good also. Learned this from my pal who is now retired from 40 year Honda "technician" at Honda Car dealership
 
cas3 said:
Best gasket stuff is HondaBond. It comes in thick, or thin, you gotta buy it from Honda bike shops. Yamaha also makes YamaBond, very good also. Learned this from my pal who is now retired from 40 year Honda "technician" at Honda Car dealership
Click to expand...

Yes, very good but mainly for metal to metal joints. I use the two below for the joint between my crankcase and cylinders on my XS650. I used the ThreeBond with no gasket to increase the compression ratio. Surfaces have to be super clean and you must assemble very quickly. The Motoseal is a similar and very good product of the same type. I won't use either of these for the distributor to timing cover though, need to disassemble too often.

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Problem solved thanks to Charlie Schwendler!

The clearance between the rotor and the bronze bushing should be tight with only 0.002" of clearance. Charlie told me this and then I checked mine and sent him a short video. As soon as I did this, I knew this was the cause. I'll be sending it off to Charlie to get it reworked.

Big thanks to Charlie!

https://imgur.com/tgwyBWl
 
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