Oil seepage from behind chain cover.

[madhatter]

A few weeks ago I managed to snap the chain on my Monster under acceleration. It seemed at the time to just throw itself off the rear sprocket and several hundred yards down the road..

Now I've got an annoying little oil leak that appears just behind the side stand when it is down on the floor..

It seems to me (as I can't get out in the rain to have a look) that one of two things may have happened.

1) When the chain came off it pulled on the small sprocket and the engine output shaft, thereby damaging some sort of engine seal.

2) I've cracked the crankcase when the chain flailed about as it come off.

The Haynes manual is pretty crap at showing me what sort of seal exists between the output shaft and the fresh air about the small sprocket (o-ring, lipped compression seal etc).

Has anyone got an idea what type of seal it is and how complicated it is to replace? i.e do I get to it from behind the small sprocket or do I need to come in through the gear box with a miners helmet?

Grateful of any helpful responses, please note I only have Internet access during lunch-time at the moment, so may not come back to you immediately.

Ta. Peeps.

hmmmm, my chain snapped and did the same thing some time ago. theres definately oil all over the place round my front sprocket but I think thats mostly chain lube and oil from all the other leaks round the bike. it is another possible source though. I'll give it all a good scrub down and see if i can spot anything.

[spacemonkey]

Could be a leaky clutch slave too, as this manifests itself as a dodgy oil leak in the front sprocket area. Clean the whole shebang up and investigate. However, I bent the gear selector shaft on my old DT once and that weeped oil along it's shaft in a way you described, so does it feel like the sprocket shaft is bent at all? I bent it back t'other way to cure it...

If its not chain lube or clutch fluid then its almost certainly a cracked engine case.

[madhatter]

Thanks for the replies, I'm going to clean it down and check where it's coming from this weekend. I think I'm pushing my luck doing these long runs with a steadily emptying oil sump!

Probably means that I won't be making the run to Norwich / great yarmouth now . Have a good run those of you who do go, and I'll hopefully see you locally over the next couple of weeks.

MH.

I have the same problem on my S4,
Spoke to ben at Motorapido and it is common for the gasket/sealant to perish on the engine casing.Mine is in for a service soon so it will be done then.

I have to say that i've got an ST4 and an M600 and i know quite a few other ducati owners and i have never heard of this seal failing!!

Never mind the seals leaking! what's all this chains snapping is this a common fault just on monsters? my fella's beeen riding bikes for 25 years now and he's never had a chain snap yet! Plenty of output shaft seals leaking but never a chain snappin! his current bikes a Bandit 12 with 128 hp at the rear wheel and a Buell Lightning ( saying that it has a belt!) he's had CBR 1000'S, VFR'S and even a Africa twin! But it's a bit worrying if a 750 monster will snap a chain under hard acceleration or was the chain completely knackered anyway? What sort of miles had it done?
O! an Hi everybody
:burnout:

Chains usually snap when adjusted too tight, i've never heard of one going under acceleration if it's adjusted right, too tight then very much a possibility.

Scotty, where are you? His went on the S4 challenge. Have a word.

as if my name was synonomous with snaping chains

tis indeed chain tighness lack of lube and general lack of care having 'broken' 2 or 3 chains (the last one being perticulary expensive ) i now have a scott oiler (and loads of fling on the rear wheel) and a super slack chain adjustment

[madhatter]

Originally Posted by Nuttybird

Never mind the seals leaking! what's all this chains snapping.....it's a bit worrying if a 750 monster will snap a chain under hard acceleration or was the chain completely knackered anyway? What sort of miles had it done....

The bike has done around 15,000 miles and I think the chain is the original. As for the chain snapping, the links pulled apart from one-another, despite being regularly oiled and hadn't been tightened for 3,000 miles as it appeared to be o.k.

Errm... ...I am prone to be a bit of a Wheelie-nut, particularly at times of traffic boredom, so I may have contributed to the chain eventually snapping..

Couldn't get the oil leak sorted this Saturday as I haven't got a garage and it PI55ED down most of the day, and when it wasn't doing that it hail-stoned!!!

Oh bollocks, I'll just top the oil up and go out on it until next weekend!! :twisted:

Steve,

Your welcome to 'utilise' my garage if you need to - I should have the tools you need & a pressure washer to clean the old oil and crap away.....

[madhatter]

Originally Posted by The Kevlar Kid

Steve,Your welcome to 'utilise' my garage if you need to - I should have the tools you need & a pressure washer to clean the old oil and crap away.....

Hmmmm.....just needs a couple of cold cans of beer and there could be a "Plan" developing here!!!

Must rush...just about to get my Internet Terminated by I.T!!!!

[jrpdark]

For what it's worth, I had a v similar leak on my M600 and it turned out to be the sealant/gasket on the cases leaking. The dealer I bought it from very kindly fixed it for me witout quibble! There is no gasket as such, just some sort of plumbers mate type gunk in there.

James