oil leak...please help

[Prince]

im familiar with street bikes but new to quads- i have a 05 pred 500- was riding today for about 35-45 min and stopped for a sec and noticed that there was oil all over my engine...cleaned it off and started it up to see where it was coming from but couldnt tell so far. Any suggestions? I did check the oil and it was still full. I have had it for about 2 months and have rode it several times without any probs. Any help or suggestions on what to look for is appreciated. Thanks.

[katch26]

attached to your airbox ithere should be a black hose....is it still there? it should attach to the crankcase right in front of the starter. Thats your cran kcase breather line and will purge out any excess oil. I would venture to say you overfilled it if you dumped a bunch and it still showing full....JMO

[Prince]

Thanks for the response. I will check after work and let you know.

[katch26]

yeah LMK.......if the hose is attached that oil should purge into the airbox normally.

[Prince]

so, the hose is attached...its coming from somewhere else- when I get a chance Im gonna take the front plastic and gas tank off to look around. Thanks for the help though

[Prince]

so I found what I think is the problem- I took off the front plastic and the gas tank since it seemed that the oil leak was coming from the head...on top of the head is 4 silver bolts and a rubber grommet... but I am missing a silver bolt and grommet. What are these bolts to? Is this something major that has happened...any feedback is appreciated.

[ZsPred]

Those are the valve cover bolts. The bolt the valve cover to the head.

Have you have the cover off or anyone work on it? I cant see how one would back out as there really is no room for it under the tank. Stranger things have happened before.

Chris

[Prince]

thanks....yeah, the guy who I bought it from had some engine work done- I wonder how long those bolts are since, like you said, there is hardly any room for it to back out. If the bolt is pretty long then it must have broke off- hope not. After Thanksgiving Im gonna get a replacement bolt from the dealership, clean the oil up and test it out- thanks for the help everyone.

[ZsPred]

I wanna say they are like 2"+ long.

I would take the valve cover off to make sure there is nothing in there and clean it up. Should be ok as its a pretty tight place to get crap in, but dirt finds it way into every place.

Chris

[Prince]

Cool...Im guessing that I have to change the gasket/seal if I take the valve head off...also, is it safe to use locktite on the bolt or is it not a good idea.

[ZsPred]

No that gasket is reusable. Its rubber, just be careful when you take it off and when putting it back on that its placed correctly.

I think whomever messed with it last just left that bolt out and didn't bother to tell ya. Loctite is not needed.

Chris

[katch26]

they probably stripped the screw out. The dealer I took mine too ONCE did the same thing. I had to use helicoils and thread it back in. The cam cover that those bolt into is part of the head and cant be bought seperatley so you need to find a way to make it work. You can get a new bolt from Polaris.

[Prince]

Originally posted by katch26
they probably stripped the screw out. The dealer I took mine too ONCE did the same thing. I had to use helicoils and thread it back in. The cam cover that those bolt into is part of the head and cant be bought seperatley so you need to find a way to make it work. You can get a new bolt from Polaris.

Good info- I ordered the bolt and gromet today- when I get time Im gonna check to see if it is stripped and if so repair the thread- still wondering what exactly happened, did the bolt somehow come out, did it break off, or did someone "forget" to replace it....not sure that someone forgot to replace it since I didnt have any oil leak problems the rides before last....

[katch26]

its next to impossible for it to fall out....they either forgot it or damaged it and forgot to tell him

[Prince]

Originally posted by katch26
they probably stripped the screw out. The dealer I took mine too ONCE did the same thing. I had to use helicoils and thread it back in. The cam cover that those bolt into is part of the head and cant be bought seperatley so you need to find a way to make it work. You can get a new bolt from Polaris.

Just checked and that is exactly what has happened- they stripped the cam support- guess im gonna have to helicoil it- did you run into any problems when you used helicoils- any problems after?

[dcc1089]

Heli-coil will work just fine. There isn't much stress on the valve cover bolts. Put the coil in with your new bolt and grommet and you should be good to go.