Gasket question

[ksquared]

I seem to eventually get a small oil leak at the bottom of the crankshaft cap or cover. It dribbles a small amount of oil onto my shoe at speed. I've attempted in the past to seal it with Permatex Ultra Black but it doesn't seem to last. Says it's oil resistant but maybe I need something better like oil proof. I just bought a new replacement gasket (Cometic) and wonder if the common wisdom is to just clean and replace or use some kind of gasket sealer. Seems like a no brainer but just thought I'd ask.

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

Just curious as to why the Cometic gasket instead of oem?
Have to ask the obvious, that you remembered the o-ring[part #16] on the top screw?
https://www.ronayers.com/oemparts/a/hon ... /crankcase

[NobleHops]

The oring is the usual suspect here.

[ksquared]

Yes I know about the o-ring. The leak is in the area between the two lower fasteners. Why Cometic? I guess because I had never heard of Ron Ayers darn it! I grabbed the part number off of cmsnl.com and did a search for it. Hits were on ebay and I got two for $14. Guess I should have looked a little harder.

[Jeff Bennetts]

Is this a stock oem crank cover? Sometimes covers that have been chromed or coated don’t seal well to the cases and need to be lapped on a flat surface to get a good mating surface.

[Larry Zimmer]

First, what Jeff said. I had that problem with my valve cover after a polish job. Some places get a bit wild with a buffing/polishing wheel.

Second, be certain that is the leak source!! I had a similar issue with my 82. Took me 2 years to find that the leak was actually one of the cap plugs leaking on the lower front crankcase; and, the oil was going along the lower crankcase appearing to come from the crankshaft end cap. (#13 for 79, 80; #15 for prolinks on the crankcase schematic.) The oring had aged just enough. The cap was plenty tight with no damage. (Never been off) The fix was an SAE oring of similar size. The SAE oring is ever so slightly larger and sealed perfectly..

My right foot riding boot is now permanently waterproof, incidentally.