JeepFiend

A bit of tech advice needed from you guys....

I recently bought 1985 XL 600r. The bike runs great. When I first purchased it it was just as clean as a whistle. I'd been just doing 1-3 mile jaunts around town and had no issues whatsoever with it, until I began using it for my daily commute. I commute about 60 miles each day (30 to work/30 to home). After the second day I noticed some oil spray on my jeans. The next morning I noticed oil leaks on the ground.

I started the bike up and let it warm up to see if I could see where the leak was coming from. The high pressure oil hose has an obvious but small leak where it connects from the hardline to the steel braided hose....oil is coming up thru the nut around the actual hardline....assuming a bad seal. I've also found oil coming out of two nuts which seem to mount the head on the block (using car terminology for lack of any motorcycle knowledge). I also have this little chrome thing on the right hand side of the head, looks like an inset screw/plug of some sort which is also leaking oil. On the left side oil is leaking out of one of two allen screws. It also appears that there may be some minor gasket leaks.

Now to the questions....

Would it be more intelligent to tackle the leaks one at a time or obtain an entire top end gasket kit? Second, how difficult is it to change the gaskets in a bike? I've been doing engine work on Jeeps for a while now, but never did any service to a bike. Finally, does anyone know what the littl chrome plug and allen screws are to? Can they be removed without doing damage? Are they set to a certain torque spec that must be reset or can I pull em out, change the o-rings and reinsert em till they're tight.

Any advice or aid is greatly appreciated.

TIA

bird_man1800

I dont know alot about your specific model of bike, but do want to offer some advice. Wrenchin a bike is different than wrenchin a Jeep/cage. When you work on your bike, go slowly and take your time, there is alot more aluminum on a bike than there is in a cage. Dont force bolts to thread into the aluminum. Lots of guys strip the aluminum, also get a good impact driver. You will find alot of soft steel phillips head screws that will not budge. Give them a firm yet gentle wack with the impact driver, otherwise you will strip the head out of them. It seems like the steel and aluminum become one over time. Try to find a parts supplier other than the dealer, as you know they can be very expensive. Lastly find a Haynes, Clymer or factory manual.

Good luck.