V7 III oil leek woes

[Phil Tunbridge]

Last August I posted here about an oil leak from the right hand cylinder of my brand new V7 III Stone.
Many years experience with older Guzzis made one think of cylinder head re-torquing, but then the dealer admitted that he had overfilled the bike due to misleading Guzzi information and this was thought to be the problem solved.
Several cleanups later it was obvious that something else was the cause.  The oil was originating on the inside of the V at the base of the "Cam Tower Stud"  (the fifth stud in between the two upper main studs), where it is open to the atmosphere, and it was flowing back along the bottom two fins, around the back of the cylinder and down onto the crankcase and clutch housing, and my boot.  Inspection of the cylinder with the tank off showed that the joint at the base of the cylinder was dry.
I had my own idea about what was wrong, but the Guzzi tech centre thought it was a porous casting.  A new cylinder was shipped from Italy and duly installed.  After a 150km ride at the first opportunity last week, it was leaking again.
There is not a great amount of oil leaking, in fact after 900km there was hardly any difference on the dipstick, but it doesn't take a lot to make a mess and there shouldn't be any leaks on a new bike.
So, as I said, I have my own idea as to what is causing it, but I thought that it wouldn't hurt to run it by you guys and see if anyone had either experience with this sort of thing or just an idea about what's wrong.
TIA

Phil

[Muzz]

If it's under warranty take it back, tell them to fix in a timely manner and call you w/it's done.

 :1: A new bike as you say shouldn't leak oil.

[Huzo]

If there's oil on your leeks, don't eat any more of them...
Send 'em back.

[Muzz]

Muzz, I was thinking that the top half of block(where cyl are) splits in half length-ways w/a seam above the cam
V9 book shows 1 solid piece

For some reason I thought it was one piece.

Just had a look on the Stein-Dinse site (the latest they have is the V7 09 onwards which is not the V7111 but I suspect it would be the same) and it shows one piece. It also shows that there is an O-ring that appears to sit in a hole in the base gasket. Some of the Honda singles used a similar thing and I have known them to leak, but usually with age. This is a new machine. I would still take it back to the agents to sort.

[ChuckH]

......  If it's under warranty take it back, tell them to fix in a timely manner and call you w/it's done. 

 :1:  I agree.  It's obviously still in warranty and has not been right since it was new.  The factory has had one shot at the apple and missed. 

I'd request a complete new engine -- the old engine can go back to the factory for an autopsy there, in their facilities and on their time.  And you'll have a bike you can ride instead of being a "field-repair guinea pig". 

[750S3]

Hey Phil, sorry I even suggested to post the issue on WG, I thought you’d get some expert suggestions.

[guzzi4me]

Hey Phil, sorry I even suggested to post the issue on WG, I thought you�d get some expert suggestions.

On the contrary, I thought some good advice was given here. Try as everyone might it is not always possible to troubleshoot from keyboard info.

There are many experts here, some professional and most long term owners that can be of great help at times. The great members of this board have ALWAYS attempted to help me out with whatever issues (which have been few) on my V11's.

I appreciate their time and responses. What have they asked for in return? Nothing. The best I can hope for is buying dinner for them if I ever meet them.

I agree, let the dealer take care of the warranty issue. It is covered. Why should an owner try to fix something that has happened so soon in ownership? Just because the first fix didn't work doesn't mean the dealer shouldn't have a second chance to fix it. They are machines...things happen.

Please don't have an attitude about the members trying to help here....believe me they DO try but sometimes it's best to go the dealer route.

750S3 I see you have been a member since Jan 2015 with only 31 posts. Maybe you should go back and read some of the threads that help folks with various problems. They and this board are a great resource.

I hope if and when you have issues they WILL help you, I know they CAN!

Ride safe and often,

Jeff

[Stingray]

What the OP likely was looking to hear from all of us was that someone else has had a similar oil leak issue and how did the dealer or MG address the issue.  The dealer thought they had a fix for the leak, but no luck.
Has anyone had a remotely similar issue?

[greer]

Phil,

You mentioned having your own thoughts on the leak, what is your opinion?

Sarah

[ChuckH]

....  The dealer thought they had a fix for the leak, but no luck.  Has anyone had a remotely similar issue?   

I disagree.  IMO, the dealer had not experienced this type of failure before so they contacted Guzzi Tech.  GT thought about it for a bit and decided it was either a gasket/o-ring leak between the block and cylinder or a porous casting, either the block or the cylinder.

Plan "A" -- the easiest repair (ie; quickest/lowest cost) would be to try the cylinder first.  The gasket/o-ring would also be changed so that potential leakage path would be eliminated.  Two birds with one stone.  Unfortunately, the repair was not successful.  The problem is apparently neither the gasket/o-ring nor porosity in the cylinder.  Not too surprising, the cylinder is probably centrifugally cast and the probability of porosity is very low.

What now -- Plan "B" -- look for porosity in the cylinder block casting.  If it's one-piece, and aluminum, porosity would not be terribly uncommon.  Unfortunately, this repair is both time consuming and expensive.

So, I'm back to my original recommendation:  Since the bike is still well within its warranty period, request a factory fresh engine to be installed in the bike.  In other words, repair the customer's bike so he can ride it without getting his boot wet with oil.  Return the original engine to Guzzi for their analysis of the problem.

Ride safe out there.