Oil leak from front cylinder head

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Hi all,

I am just wondering if anyone could tell me what the tiny hole in the front (and rear) cylinder head, pictured,

is connected to? It is below the exhaust port manifold, where the head meets the cylinder block.

My storm has developed an oil weep from this hole, and I initially guessed it is connected to the spark plug port, so working off of this theory I took off the HT lead for the front plug and examined the rocker cover gasket and there was no sign of oil on either.

Is it just a breather of some kind for the head?

I cleaned the area and checked that it was not the head gasket in that area, which it wasn't. Its definitely the hole

Cheers

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[MacV2]

Drain hole to let water out of the pulg void.

If it's deffinatly oil coming out of there you may have a bigger issue...

Sorry looking at the pic I dont think that is the drain for the plug viod. There is one but I dont think It's there.

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Which would be rocker cover seal? Plug seal?

Cheers
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[MacV2]

Which would be rocker cover seal? Plug seal?

Cheers
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The hole in the pic is under the exhaust flange... Yes ?

[stuntmonkey_ad]

Which would be rocker cover seal? Plug seal?

Cheers
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The hole in the pic is under the exhaust flange... Yes ?

Yes that's right,

[MacV2]

Strange...no idea sorry...

[sirch345]

Drain hole to let water out of the pulg void.

If it's deffinatly oil coming out of there you may have a bigger issue...

Sorry looking at the pic I dont think that is the drain for the plug viod. There is one but I dont think It's there.

Ad, after reading your original post and seeing Mac's reply, I was then unsure about this cylinder head hole in your photo.

So having a close up study of my Storm's front cylinder head, that hole you're enquiring about most certainly looks like the drain hole for the spark plug (as Mac originally thought and yourself) as there is no other open hole there in the cylinder head for that purpose.

Like you I would have thought the rocker cover (cam cover) gasket may have been allowing oil to seep out. After your inspection revealed it's not that, then I'm unsure where it's coming from exactly.

How many miles has your bike done
How quickly does it come back if you wipe if off before a ride it doesn't look like it's pouring out.

May be a CCT failed (front cylinder is more common than the rear) and an aftermarket head gasket was used and now it's not doing it's job as good as it was, only a thought,

Chris.

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Thanks Chris and Mac,

I am going along the notion that it is the rocker cover gasket, and I just can't see the leak. The whole head is very grimey from road crud, so I plan to have a good clean, investigate further with an inspection camera and hope it is the rocker cover rather than the head gasket. The crud could be a contributing factor to the seals demise perhaps? There is no oil in the water or vice versa.

I have some stick coils to fit, because it is sluggish to start, so am going to give it a strip down and do a few jobs (TPS adjustment included!!) in the coming months (I travel a lot for work and young family so don't get many evenings in the garage).

I'm not planning on using the bike until its sorted, I don't like the idea of oil on my exhaust headers! The leak is very slight, maybe 1mm every 5 days or so. The bike has done 28k and has manual CCT adjusters.

I bought it in summer for less than a grand (why are they so cheap!) so I expected to do some bits to it, its just a shame it won't be ridden for a while because I blummin love it!

I will keep you posted...

[sirch345]

Thanks Chris and Mac,

I am going along the notion that it is the rocker cover gasket, and I just can't see the leak. The whole head is very grimey from road crud, so I plan to have a good clean, investigate further with an inspection camera and hope it is the rocker cover rather than the head gasket. The crud could be a contributing factor to the seals demise perhaps? There is no oil in the water or vice versa.

I have some stick coils to fit, because it is sluggish to start, so am going to give it a strip down and do a few jobs (TPS adjustment included!!) in the coming months (I travel a lot for work and young family so don't get many evenings in the garage).

I'm not planning on using the bike until its sorted, I don't like the idea of oil on my exhaust headers! The leak is very slight, maybe 1mm every 5 days or so. The bike has done 28k and has manual CCT adjusters.

I bought it in summer for less than a grand (why are they so cheap!) so I expected to do some bits to it, its just a shame it won't be ridden for a while because I blummin love it!

I will keep you posted...

You could take the spark plug out and see if the threads are covered in oil. Hopefully it is just the rocker cover seal.
Another thought, could one of the sealing washers under the cover fixingbolts be upside down? therefore not sealing,

Chris.

[tony.mon]

If it's sluggish to start it's probably not the coils. Check the starter motor lead connection.