tach drive leak - alternate fix?

This might be an alternate, easy and cheap (compared to machining and then using the Honda seal) fix to the leak from the OEM tach drive.

Back in the old days - before someone found out a Honda seal could be used on the Norton tach drive, I too had a leaky drive. The leak manifested itself as oil coming out between the cable and the threaded housing at the cables end that holds the cable to the drive unit. Then on a good long ride oil would blow back on your shoes/pants as well as the timing side case, etc... a royal PITA.

My cheap/easy/alternate fix: I went to a local hardware store and found a small o-ring. Slipped that over the cable end so it fit up inside the threaded housing. Then when the housing screws down the o-ring gets compressed between the cable and the screw base cable end - end of leak.

This has worked for me very well - and avoids the issue that the Honda seal was said to result in a too dry cable that needed to be lubed often. Not sure if that was true, just remember reading it some years back.

If you have a leak and it's leaking from the same spot I had problems with, you might want to try my fix - costs me $0.59 at my local Ace Hardware.

And of course if you went to an electronic tach, then never-mind.

I chased oil leaks for years. Finally installed a reed type crankcase breather valve. Oil leaks gone. Got to get rid of crankcase pressure to stop oil leaks.

I've got the timed breather off the left and all original breather system on a 69. Sent the tach drive to Phil at FairSpares and he cut a notch in the drive and a real seal and no leaks. Works for me. I'm sure a proper breather would work too, just saying.

Dave
69S