Only 110 miles done on my new Stelvio, major oil leak from Engine

[TommyR]

The two responders to this post who advised to take it back and pull the check, clearly live in some sort of self induced world of perceived superiority. First that is illegal, second I didn`t write a check, third the bike is covered under warranty. So, if you can`t make decent professional / technical contributions to this post then perhaps watching children's TV cartoons might be a better reality for you....

Now lets get serious. It's highly unlikely for a brand new seal to leak right out of the factory, but this bike is a MY2017 and therefore it's date of manufacture is probably in the calender year of 2016, thus it's been sitting for about 2 to 3 years "in the system" and i got a damned good deal on the MSRP. The engine had been overfilled at some point, i found the oil level to be 0.5 inches above the max fill level on the dipstick. I also found in the trip counters that between 0 and 110 miles whewn i got it, some dude had achieved a max speed of 100mph on the bike - a worrying indication of abuse at the original dealership. There were other indications of abuse at the original dealership including a smashed corner on the left pannier bag, an incorrectly installed new left riding light, and a broken left rearview mirror wire. But at the end of the day, the bike is generally superb and these are just annoyances that will get fixed at the expense of the dealer and Piaggio. If anything else comes up on the bike, i will deal with it, fix it and keep riding with a smile.

[blu guzz]

TommyR:  That is a great outlook.  I am sure once it is sorted, you will have a great bike.  Ride on.

[Lannis]

The two responders to this post who advised to take it back and pull the check, clearly live in some sort of self induced world of perceived superiority. First that is illegal, second I didn`t write a check, third the bike is covered under warranty. So, if you can`t make decent professional / technical contributions to this post then perhaps watching children's TV cartoons might be a better reality for you....

Seems a bit harsh.   

Many of us have had experience with Guzzi over the past years (18 for me) that would indicate that the "cut your losses and start over again" path MIGHT be the only one to success.   The dealer may have all the best intentions in the world, but if Guzzi doesn't back them, and they often don't (as many owners and dealers here can attest), then the dealer will be doing every lick of work and parts buying for your bike out of his own pocket, literally.   Sometimes that doesn't end well.

Maybe not "stop payment on the check", but maybe "Hey, here's the bike, please let me have my money back, and we'll do something different."   

Or go the path you're going; it MIGHT work out and if it does, that would be great.

Lannis

[Ncdan]

I agree with Lannis about the “harshness “ of your assessment of the two members who offered possible alternatives, as you asked for opinions and advice from the forum members. Most of these guys has a vast amount collective knowledge and experience with dealing with Moto Guzzi dealerships as well as the mother company. Therefore the bottom line is simple, it’s your baby, deal with it as you see fit and if you are going to criticize the guys here for their responses, then don’t ask. No offense intended Sir.

[kballowe]

That's a really nice bike.   

 

lol - I never seem to get an oil leak when under any sort of warranty.  The most recent was a Yamaha Roadliner and I had to remove the engine from the frame.  And everything else.

Post up some pics when ya get a chance.

[Tusayan]

Now lets get serious. It's highly unlikely for a brand new seal to leak right out of the factory, but this bike is a MY2017 and therefore it's date of manufacture is probably in the calender year of 2016, thus it's been sitting for about 2 to 3 years "in the system" and i got a damned good deal on the MSRP. The engine had been overfilled at some point, i found the oil level to be 0.5 inches above the max fill level on the dipstick.

The age of the seal (three years old) is irrelevant to this situation.  It's neither common nor hugely unlikely for a brand new seal to leak out of the factory.  It happens occasionally, generally as a result of installation technique at the factory.

The seal may leak if the engine is flooded with oil, but is unlikely to be permanently damaged.

[Ryan]

I thought about a V-strom, and could have saved about $2K on one vs my Stelvio. But then I would be riding a V-strom. I am just not a V-strom kind of guy, I guess.

[oldbike54]

 Chill fellas .

 Dusty

[LowRyter]

Best of luck to you.  I hope you have many happy miles.   

[John A]

The warranty repair of my 2017 Stelvio with 611 miles on it got approved by Moto Guzzi, with Moto Guzzi paying $269.20 to the dealership for the repair. This dealership (to the south of us, @Cage Free) sent me this in an email:

"The difference that you will be responsible for is $124.37. This difference is for the extra time that the technician will need in order to complete the work that is not reimbursed my Moto Guzzi

I personally wouldn't let that stop or slow the progress of the repair.  Guzzi riders are cheap sometimes but that charge seems reasonable to me and I would even go so far as to offer a completion bonus if the repair can be done quickly.  Parts supply should not be a problem.  Otherwise sell the damn thing ,  you got a good price buying it, maybe you can cut your losses that way.  It's probly only a seal and should not be a reliability issue

[Gusable]

One thing for me personally is my guzzi is the only bike I’ve owned that had character, a “ soul” if you will.  I dunno why Italian mechanical things have it but they do!  Good luck with that stelvio!

[TommyR]

Grand update on the new Stelvio Oil Leak. My local Dealer [Detroit Iron Cycles who I have to say, are my bloody hero's...awesome guys], happily took in the bike and even though I`d brought it elsewhere, spent 32 hours over 5 days removing the engine, opening the engine, and finding that the Guzzi factory had not bothered to put any RTV gasket on the flange of the rear crankshaft bearing housing. Consequently, oil was running past the flange, filling the flywheel housing and leaking out everywhere. The oil leak looked black because it was full of worn clutch friction paper material. After rebuilding the bike the problem was solved. The dealership told me that despite his best mechanic needing 32 hours to do this job [to get the engine out requires a strip down of pretty much the entire damned bike] Piaggio only reimbursed him for 6.5 hours. However, despite that Detroit Iron Cycles were willing to bump my bike to the front of their service line so I could make a trip I had planned. A week after I got my bike back, they even called me to check in and make sure all was ok. Excellent service.

One other note towards this entire post. I have to say some of the folk who contributed notes were particularly unhelpful. Advice such as, just ignore it and keep topping up the engine is "really good advice" when the leaking oil is spattering all over the rear tire or dripping on my garage floor. I tend to use this bikes for 10 day x 3500mile tours. Good one guys!! Other advice like, take the bike back and pull the check is even more dumb. It's not legal to pull an issued check....and furthermore I didn`t write a check for it anyway. It's probably best for these guys to avoid motorbikes and stay with mowing the lawn or something.

[LowRyter]

Tom, I think you pretty much calculated the value for "free advice". 

Enjoy the ride.

[Idontwantapickle]

Grand update on the new Stelvio Oil Leak. My local Dealer [Detroit Iron Cycles who I have to say, are my bloody hero's...awesome guys], happily took in the bike and even though I`d brought it elsewhere, spent 32 hours over 5 days removing the engine, opening the engine, and finding that the Guzzi factory had not bothered to put any RTV gasket on the flange of the rear crankshaft bearing housing. Consequently, oil was running past the flange, filling the flywheel housing and leaking out everywhere. The oil leak looked black because it was full of worn clutch friction paper material. After rebuilding the bike the problem was solved. The dealership told me that despite his best mechanic needing 32 hours to do this job [to get the engine out requires a strip down of pretty much the entire damned bike] Piaggio only reimbursed him for 6.5 hours. However, despite that Detroit Iron Cycles were willing to bump my bike to the front of their service line so I could make a trip I had planned. A week after I got my bike back, they even called me to check in and make sure all was ok. Excellent service.

One other note towards this entire post. I have to say some of the folk who contributed notes were particularly unhelpful. Advice such as, just ignore it and keep topping up the engine is "really good advice" when the leaking oil is spattering all over the rear tire or dripping on my garage floor. I tend to use this bikes for 10 day x 3500mile tours. Good one guys!! Other advice like, take the bike back and pull the check is even more dumb. It's not legal to pull an issued check....and furthermore I didn`t write a check for it anyway. It's probably best for these guys to avoid motorbikes and stay with mowing the lawn or something.

Tommy,

Hat's off to Detroit Iron Cycle! That's a dealer with a good attitude!
Enjoy your Stelvio, a CARC is a wonderful thing.

Hunter

[Mr Pootle]

In England , if your buy a vehicle that proves unsatisfactory within the first 30 days, you can reject it. If something goes wrong between 1 and 6 months, the dealer has one chance to repair it, or he can replace it straight off. Thereafter, you're dependent on the warranty, but you'll not be expected to contribute to the dealer's labour charge. That's between him and the manufacturer,

[Stevex]

some dude had achieved a max speed of 100mph on the bike - a worrying indication of abuse at the original dealership

100mph on a 1000cc+ motorcycle is no great shakes, just depends where and in what circumstances it was done.
If I were buying a used bike it wouldn't worry me half as much as poorly assembled engine from the factory!
Hats off to the repairers though...above and beyond.

[TN Mark]

If over filling the engine to just over the Full mark on the oil dipstick can blow the rear main seal, that’s very likely the fault of the selling dealer.

If filling the engine to the Full mark on the dipstick can make the engine blow oil out the breather system etc, that’s the fault of Moto Guzzi.

If the local servicing dealer will correctly fix it for under $150 that’s fantastic. Sincerely thank them with a smile on your face and a hearty handshake.

If the Moto Guzzi parts supply system doesn’t have everything needed to correct this in stock; again, that’s the fault of Moto Guzzi.

Glad to read such wonderful support from Detroit Iron Cycles. Awesome.

Yes, the V Strom does very well for good reason. Great bikes with a great dealership. Imagine that.

[Dave Swanson]

It is great to hear about a superlative dealer taking care of you so well.  Detroit Iron Cycles definitely sounds like a place that should be supported!!

[severely]

Grand update on the new Stelvio Oil Leak. My local Dealer [Detroit Iron Cycles who I have to say, are my bloody hero's...awesome guys], happily took in the bike and even though I`d brought it elsewhere, spent 32 hours over 5 days removing the engine, opening the engine, and finding that the Guzzi factory had not bothered to put any RTV gasket on the flange of the rear crankshaft bearing housing. Consequently, oil was running past the flange, filling the flywheel housing and leaking out everywhere. The oil leak looked black because it was full of worn clutch friction paper material. After rebuilding the bike the problem was solved. The dealership told me that despite his best mechanic needing 32 hours to do this job [to get the engine out requires a strip down of pretty much the entire damned bike] Piaggio only reimbursed him for 6.5 hours. However, despite that Detroit Iron Cycles were willing to bump my bike to the front of their service line so I could make a trip I had planned. A week after I got my bike back, they even called me to check in and make sure all was ok. Excellent service.

One other note towards this entire post. I have to say some of the folk who contributed notes were particularly unhelpful. Advice such as, just ignore it and keep topping up the engine is "really good advice" when the leaking oil is spattering all over the rear tire or dripping on my garage floor. I tend to use this bikes for 10 day x 3500mile tours. Good one guys!! Other advice like, take the bike back and pull the check is even more dumb. It's not legal to pull an issued check....and furthermore I didn`t write a check for it anyway. It's probably best for these guys to avoid motorbikes and stay with mowing the lawn or something.

      Super glad to hear your problem was solved. And huge kudo's to Detroit Iron Cycle for stepping up and making a positive difference. A former boss of mine had a sign in his office "everyone here brings happiness; some by entering, others by leaving". Peace out man, your bike is up and running. 

[Bulldog9]

First, you need to identify the cause and location of the drip. Worst case scenario is a blown rear main seal, but if this happened every time someone or a service tech overfilled their oil, this would happen all the time.  Check your engine oil, trans oil, and try to identify exactly where it is coming from. Hard to do over the internet....

Once you confirm all oil levels are in range, and the source of the drip/leak, you will have a better idea where to go.

I had oil blown all over the left side of my motor on the MGX's inaugural ride home, turned out some of the casting on the head prevented a complete seal of the breather and thus spatter of oil. Frustrating on a new bike, but it was a 30 minute affair to remove tank, remove breather, clean things up, shave down the casting marks, then put some sealer and reattach the breather 3K miles later and all is well.

Take your time, find the source, communicate with your servicing dealer so they can document it. No need for the dram a vitriol some are indication..... Slow is smooth, smooth is fast, classy is always right...

[pebra]

Outdtanding  attitude from Detroit Iron Cycles!
Way beyond the call of duty, in my opinion.
I really hope your problem is fixed. Seems Detroit Iron now might have some risk on their hands?

[oldbike54]

 Good to see the problem has been resolved , kudos to Detroit Iron .

 Dusty

[blueguzzi]

Hi to all,
after a very spirited ride last September there was a pool of oil under my stelvio, not a drop but a 1/4 cup.
 Worries,clean ups and it stopped,reappearing from time to time but
not enough anymore to worry too much  (I also ride flat tankers and other old Brit irons so a few drops of oil dont send me into a panic.)
 Anyway by June this year it got bad again ;so tank was  off , all the breather hoses were fine but the oil pressure sender plastic cap was cracked , a 10€ fix.
the oil was squirting backwards.
 My two pence worth.

[pete roper]

Good to hear it's sorted. I hope they performed all the checks on the oil dowel length and used a new dowel o-ring as well? Also I hope the mention of RTV was your interpretation rather than what they used as it is a far from good choice of sealant for this application.







That one was off a much earlier model, a 2009 Griso from memory, that were built with a couple of defects. The bloke who butchered that one didn't have the flange puller either so he drove the flange out from the inside with a screwdriver used as a punch! This was his third attempt from memory but he kept missing the real source of the leak which was too long an oil feed dowel and bolts in the lower two flange bolt holes and he kept fitting a gasket which was deleted as part of the fix.

Pete

[Chuck in Indiana]

Ahh, Pete, you certainly have seen some shaved apery. 
RTV is not allowed here at the Ancient Airlines maintenance facility, by the way.