300ex oil problem

[99_300ex]

ok so on my 300 when your sitting on it on the right side of the cylinder that little round rubber thing leaks a little bit of oil around it so im pretty much asking what is that and what should i do? and the oil line right above it looks like it leaks just a tiny bit to cause there is dirt stuck to it so what should be done about the both of these they dont leak very much. could i just leave them alone and check my oil b4 every ride or what thanks
Jeremy

[bwamos]

The round plastic piece between the head cover and head? Basically inline with the cam, correct?

You jsut need to take the headcover off and reseal the headcover with some high temp orange liquid gasket (comes in a tube at the auto parts store).

Sounds like when someone put the head back on they jsut put the gasket seal on the headcover side.. so the bottom of the plastic piece didnt get any seal.

As a note, once you get all of the bolts off of the cover, you're gonna have to smack the headcover hard a few times with a rubber mallet to break the gasket material loose. DON'T pry with a screwdriver, aluminum is soft. ;)

You'll want to put a bead of the gasket material all the way around the head cover.. and then also all the way around that black plastic piece. Then you put her back on and hand tighten her down is fine. 7ft-lbs if you want to be precise.. but thats pretty much snug-tight with a socket wrench. Once that's done let her sit for 24hrs. Don't try to run it until, just to be safe.

Also, get a piece of cardboard and draw the bolt locations on it. and number the holes. Then tag and number the bolts with scotch tape, so you know where to put them back. Almost every bolt is a different length, lol. You can also just poke them through the hole on the cardboard. I prefer to tag them, easier to store when I have the engine tore down.

Also, back out and tighten the bolts a little at a time, in a cross-pattern, so you don't run the risk of warping the cover. Getting the piston to Top-Dead-Center will make it easier too, since the lobes of the cam will be facing down, no pressure on the rocker arms in the cover.