I have had my 1973 850 over a year now and will not bore you with the many experiments that did not work. I have an Alton inner primary chaincase which is perfectly flat when laid on a piece of glass
There are two factors leading to the leak free solution on my bike.
1) The Norton standard primary chaincase O-Ring seal I was using would quickly deform after one ride, likely assisted by engine and exhaust heat, and go permanently flat where the primary cover presses against it. Therefore I think it is unsatisfactory and I needed an O-Ring that was soft, but would not deform permanently. A softer, non deforming, O-Ring hopefully would spring back and could take up any gap opening up due to chaincase or cover warpage under heat
2) My primary chaincase cover, when laid on a flat piece of glass, has areas that have about 6 thou of clearance gap. The area that leaks is at about 7 o'clock as you look at the primary. Well, it seemed to leak all along the bottom and not just that area! So I needed to find something to fill the 6 thou gap.
The Solution
1) I bought some 60 thou cork gasket material (ie soft) and cut a gasket (actually in three parts) and glued the gasket to the primary cover with Permatex Aviation Form A Gasket (ie not hardening). (I first coated the chaincase cover face with sealant and let it sit three hours. Then a light coat on the cork gasket and pressed them together. I put the cover with gasket side down on a piece of glass for two days to set some more)
2) I wrapped the left side exhaust pipe to stop heat being a factor that either warps the primary chaincase cover or causes the seal to deform.
3) I bought 0.210" silicone O-ring stock from McMaster-Carr as below and put it into the inner primary case groove with a little Permatex Aviation sealant. Went immediately to step 4
4) I put a little sealant on the O-Ring where it will touch the cork gasket when assembled. Went immediately to step 5
5) Put on chaincase cover and torqued to 10 foot lbs and then waited a day for all to set. Went for a ride and it leaked. I then loosened cover bolt, torqued to 15 foot lbs.
No leaks for 4 ride cycles now. I am happy!
Here are some conclusions as I did pull it apart to check if silicone O-Ring deformed
1) It appears that a combination of a soft cork gasket and a soft O-Ring seal are working to stop leaks by compensating for the 6 thou cover gap and any heat caused warpage
2) The silicone O-Ring is not deforming at all like the stock seal does. So it may be that wrapping the exhaust pipe to cut heat is of no benefit. However, it may be that exhaust heat was deforming the primary chaincase outer cover more than it already is and is of benefit.
3) If the above solution eventually fails, there are several things I will try
A) Retorque. If retorque fails, I will inspect how much cork gasket has been compressed. It could be cork gasket degrades and destructs
over time due to vibration or heat or something.
B) Use Permatex The Right Stuff instead of Permatex Aviation to glue the cork gasket to the chaincase cover and lay on flat
glass to set as it would permanently fill the 6 thou gap (ie not deform and ooze out when chaincase cover is tightened)
C) Try a square profile O-Ring. McMaster Carr (see below) has one (I bought some of it too) This would have more surface area pressing
against the cork gasket. However it is not as soft as the silicone O-ring. It's a maybe. If anyone wants to try the
square profile O-Ring, I am happy to mail them enough of it to try !
I hope this might be useful to you and thank you all for the help you have given me since I joined the Forum!
And I will report if it fails.....
Dennis
Vancouver
McMaster-Carr part 5229T53 high temp soft silcone o-ring stock 3/16" actual 0.210" 20 foor length $42.80 Cdn
McMaster-Car part 9700K13 square profile (o-ring) is also 0.210" (but it is harder)
There are two factors leading to the leak free solution on my bike.
1) The Norton standard primary chaincase O-Ring seal I was using would quickly deform after one ride, likely assisted by engine and exhaust heat, and go permanently flat where the primary cover presses against it. Therefore I think it is unsatisfactory and I needed an O-Ring that was soft, but would not deform permanently. A softer, non deforming, O-Ring hopefully would spring back and could take up any gap opening up due to chaincase or cover warpage under heat
2) My primary chaincase cover, when laid on a flat piece of glass, has areas that have about 6 thou of clearance gap. The area that leaks is at about 7 o'clock as you look at the primary. Well, it seemed to leak all along the bottom and not just that area! So I needed to find something to fill the 6 thou gap.
The Solution
1) I bought some 60 thou cork gasket material (ie soft) and cut a gasket (actually in three parts) and glued the gasket to the primary cover with Permatex Aviation Form A Gasket (ie not hardening). (I first coated the chaincase cover face with sealant and let it sit three hours. Then a light coat on the cork gasket and pressed them together. I put the cover with gasket side down on a piece of glass for two days to set some more)
2) I wrapped the left side exhaust pipe to stop heat being a factor that either warps the primary chaincase cover or causes the seal to deform.
3) I bought 0.210" silicone O-ring stock from McMaster-Carr as below and put it into the inner primary case groove with a little Permatex Aviation sealant. Went immediately to step 4
4) I put a little sealant on the O-Ring where it will touch the cork gasket when assembled. Went immediately to step 5
5) Put on chaincase cover and torqued to 10 foot lbs and then waited a day for all to set. Went for a ride and it leaked. I then loosened cover bolt, torqued to 15 foot lbs.
No leaks for 4 ride cycles now. I am happy!
Here are some conclusions as I did pull it apart to check if silicone O-Ring deformed
1) It appears that a combination of a soft cork gasket and a soft O-Ring seal are working to stop leaks by compensating for the 6 thou cover gap and any heat caused warpage
2) The silicone O-Ring is not deforming at all like the stock seal does. So it may be that wrapping the exhaust pipe to cut heat is of no benefit. However, it may be that exhaust heat was deforming the primary chaincase outer cover more than it already is and is of benefit.
3) If the above solution eventually fails, there are several things I will try
A) Retorque. If retorque fails, I will inspect how much cork gasket has been compressed. It could be cork gasket degrades and destructs
over time due to vibration or heat or something.
B) Use Permatex The Right Stuff instead of Permatex Aviation to glue the cork gasket to the chaincase cover and lay on flat
glass to set as it would permanently fill the 6 thou gap (ie not deform and ooze out when chaincase cover is tightened)
C) Try a square profile O-Ring. McMaster Carr (see below) has one (I bought some of it too) This would have more surface area pressing
against the cork gasket. However it is not as soft as the silicone O-ring. It's a maybe. If anyone wants to try the
square profile O-Ring, I am happy to mail them enough of it to try !
I hope this might be useful to you and thank you all for the help you have given me since I joined the Forum!
And I will report if it fails.....
Dennis
Vancouver
McMaster-Carr part 5229T53 high temp soft silcone o-ring stock 3/16" actual 0.210" 20 foor length $42.80 Cdn
McMaster-Car part 9700K13 square profile (o-ring) is also 0.210" (but it is harder)
High-Temperature Soft Silicone O-Ring Cord Stock 3/16 Fractional Width, 0.21" Actual Width, 20 ft. Length |
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