Oil Leak from Manual CCT (Rear)

[wall.j]

Hi guys,

I've noticed a small amount of oil around where the rear Manual CCT is... It's not a lot, but when I rub my finger up the thread of the CCT I get a finger covered in oil. Question is, what would be the best way to stem the leak? Short of stripping it all down again. I didn't fit them myself, so not sure if they used thread lock or what they used for a gasket. Is it possible to loosen it off insitu, put some sort of thread lock on the thread and do it up again?

Thanks in advance,

Jamie

[lumpyv]

I wound it out a bit , noting the position then put a little clear silicon on the thread then wound it back in. that was about 4 years ago and hasn't leaked yet

[popkat]

Loosen the lock nut wind it back a bit then put some RTV or silicone sealant on the thread, do the nut back up then leave over night to go off.
Important bit ...Some how you need to mark the main bolt so that if it moves you can get it back in exactly the same place, and try not to move it in the first place..


RTV is best and oil resistant, but it can be expensive, if you use a silicone sealant make sure it's oil resistant.



.

[tony.mon]

Looking at your photo, it looks as though the oil could be weeping out of the speedo sensor o ring.

[wall.j]

Thanks for the tips.

It does seem to collect around speedo sensor ring, but I'm pretty sure it's coming from the CCT... Could be both. Could I loosen that off too and use some high temp sealant on that too? I'll try the CCT first and see if that stops it. Think it's dripping down that black cable (looks like a ground cable) from the CCT.

[Varastorm]

I'm with Tony, are you sure its the cam tensioner bolt?

If it was me, I'd ty wrap a condom on it & take it for a ride

Seriously though put a bag or similar over the tensioner to catch any oil weep & take it for a small ride.

Just to make sure the tensioner is the culprit. Not somewhere else, like the speed sensor.

If it is the tensioner & you do play with the tensioner nuts, I'd highly recommend you remove the cam cover to check the cam chain up/down play afterwards.

Adjusting that bolt with a wing & a prayer can have seriously bad consequences, a whole lot more than a weep of oil.

Good luck

[adewhitmarsh]

If you had replaced your auto's with a pair of my manual ccts,they come with a o-ring to stop leaks.

[wall.j]

Hmm... I think you're right. It's pretty much away for the winter now, and I intend to give it a full service before next summer. I'll do it all at the same time, makes sense. It'll also give me several months to go over the walkthrough again and again. With still a few rides left in this season, I'll give the condom a go just so I know where it's coming from.

Thanks Marsh, but as above I they came fitted to the bike. I'm sure your manuals are the best

[VTRDark]

It does not matter which brand MCCT's you have the first thing you are going to want to do is rip the poxy pain in the butt O ring off it and use some sealant instead. Much more reliable than an O ring that squishes up and splits as the nut is tightened down onto it. If you don't, when that O ring splits you will have.....you guessed it, an oil leak.

Even worse is when badly made MCCT's don't have the recessed groove for the O ring to sit in and/or the O ring is too big to comfortably sit in the groove causing it to split when the nut is tightened down onto it. Much better to use some high temp exhaust silicone or my personal preference some good old fashioned gasket sealant.

Oh did I mention that O rings perish, especially the cheaper ones that are often used. Not only that, but sealant will naturally get inside the hole that the thread runs through when tightened back up so it helps slow things down and acts as a brake if the nut happens to work it's way loose for some reason.

I'm with Vara and Tony on this one and the condom is a great idea. I'm sure johnny would appreciate it.

(:-})

[wall.j]

Haha. I'll give it a clean this weekend and bag it... That way I'll know for sure... Thanks guys, although I'm a little nervous at the prospect of stripping it right down the check the tension just yet. Just out of curiosity, is this o ring you talk of between the locking nut and the CCT? It doesn't look like there is anything there

[Varastorm]

Just out of curiosity, is this o ring you talk of between the locking nut and the CCT?

The "0" ring goes in-between the flanged lock nut & the main body of the tensioner

I also used the original auto cam chain fastening bolts. I had to cut them down 5mm as the mcct bodies are thinner, making the bolts too long.

I also cut/made some new gaskets from an old cereal packet, as the old oe ones on the auto's broke on removal.

Correct me if I am wrong Ade, but think the older (first type) mcct did not have a groove for the "0" ring & it caused all sorts of issues.

He's now addressed the issue & the later mcct have an "0" groove machined in them & the oil leak issues have been sorted

[Wicky]

From wall.j's original post with pic he has bazza mccts fitted. ASFAIR he doesn't use an o'ring* as ideally they should have been installed with thread lock/sealer.

*

There's no fitted o-ring, and so a smear of silicon is essential, but this is completely effective, no leaks once installed.

http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic ... 16&t=22720

[wall.j]

Okay. So either the sealant has perished or wasn't used in the first place... So, if I tool off the cam covers, unwound the thread and put a generous amount of sealant on it and wound it back in, this should solve my problem. Also gives me a good chance to check and adjust them if necessary. I'll change the oil, plugs and filter whilst I'm there. I'll also read up on valve clearances... I've heard this thrown around, and guessing it'll be best to check this at the same time. I'm not massively mechanical minded (an electrician) but it's all a learning curve right!

[popkat]

Bazza's modded tensioners are the easiest to adjust on the front cylinder, they don't have an O ring but there's no problem if a sealant is used, you don't need to use loads of it just put some on the thread where the nut sits and I little on the front of the nut, you can mark the position of the bolt to the cct body then carefully undo lock nut, clean up oil with some brake cleaner, apply sealant to thread and carefully do nut back up noting marked position, put a little more sealant around the thread when the nuts done up then let it cure over night. easy job and you don't need to remove anything.

keeping it all adjusted....Wrap some masking tap on the thread and on the cct body and pencil a line, when you loosen lock nut hold the bolt with a spanner, if your careful it won't even move, do same when tightening up noting your pencil line.


I always dab a bit of RTV on the back of the locknut when fitting manual tensioners regardless of weather it has an O ring or not, I do this so the nut can't loosen off with vibration

.

[wall.j]

That's great Popkat.

I think I'll give that a go for now, that'll get me through until I do a full service next year. As you say, as long as I've got the position marked and it doesn't move I'll be fine.

I'll give it a go this weekend and let you know how I go!

Thanks again