Need advice - 1997 Cali EV needs rear seal - should I sell for parts?

[AustinMarcos]

1997 1998 MG California EV...

I'm a newbie here, and I have an unusual situation. A friend of mine loaned me his 1997 1998 California EV. (He lives in Europe, the bike is now in Austin, Texas.)

Can you help us decide which option is better:

Option A) Fix it and sell it
Option B) Sell the whole thing for parts

I don't know the market well enough because I don't have a lot of experience with Guzzis. My mechanic says it's better to part it out. But he doesn't really know Guzzis. Here's the deal:

• 1997 California EV, new tires
• rear seal started leaking, there's was no failure while running so everything is working otherwise
• estimated cost to repair:  $1,300
• other option is to spend $300 to drain the fluids and then sell the parts

I see a lot of variation in the price estimates in terms of selling the bike. I am taking care of this for my friend who is Europe, and trying to give him the best advice. I think if it were up to him he would drain the fluids for dry-storage and then find someone local to store it for him. I don't have a place to store the bike so this is not an option for me. And frankly, I don't want to try to find someone willing to offer free storage to a total stranger (although my friend tells me that Guzzi enthusiasts do do this sort of thing for each other).

You guys have way more experience than me in this. What do you suggest?

-Marcos

[oldbike54]

 Which rear seal ? Engine main seal , drive box rear seal , transmission . How many miles on the bike , general condition ?

 Fact is , even the engine rear main seal isn't all that difficult , patience and reading comprehension , and the tools needed are all that is necessary .

 Dusty

[cookiemech]

I'm wondering why it would cost $300 to drain the fluids. Gas goes in your lawn mower; engine, trans, final drive oils go into containers to be delivered to whomever recycles oil in your area.

But wouldn't it be easier and better to just sell the entire bike as is, with full disclosure to potential buyers? Unless the bike overall is a real mess, it would be a terrible shame to part it out over some failed seal . . .

[s1120]

Have you checked the oil level?  Just to make sure its not over filled.  Anything happan right before it started leaking??  If its a nice bike, it really doesn't make sense to just part it out for a oil leak

[pehayes]

EV didn't exist until 1998.  Likely this is model 1100i.  Picture would be helpful.
Why drain for storage?  Yes, gas for safety, but nothing else.  Worst part about dry storage is that you likely won't drain brake fluid from all the lines.  Brake fluid will absorb moisture over time and begin to corrode everything. Engine and transmission seals won't be happy either.  Lengthy storage is a bad idea all around.  Fix it and use it or part it out. 

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[Dilliw]

Leaking out the weep hole on the back?  Just make sure you don't park it any a friend's driveway :)

[John A]

How many miles on it? 

[Rich A]

I've never done this, but you might consider donating the bike and getting a tax write-off. I had a bunch of good parts, but the prospect of packing them all, shipping, etc. was not appealing, so I sold them for cheap as a package. Not worth the trouble.

Rich A

[4everJang]

Hello there Guzzi friends,

Marcos is referring to my 1998 Guzzi EV - the one that took me across the US back in 2011 and on a couple more trips in 2012 and 2015. Dusty has seen it in real life. It has a Corbin 2-up seat, Harley wind screen and extra headlights fitted. After having it stored in StormTruck's garage for a couple of years I heard Marcos was looking to buy a BMW or something similar for a cross-US trip and I told him he could use my Guzzi instead. That is how it ended up in Texas.

I have been thinking about another US trip on the bike but instead I found myself a second-hand bookstore plus bed and breakfast and a little cafe to run in the middle of the Ardennen mountains in Belgium, so it does not look like I can get to the US for at least a couple more years. I am ready to let go of the bike so that someone else in the US Guzzi community can take care of it and get it on the road a bit more.

If any of you is interested or knows someone who would want to take it for a reasonable price that would be much better than letting it sit in a garage and not getting any road fun. If you are interested - or you know someone who would be - I am sure we can get an agreement on the price. Since you guys are basically used to servicing your own Guzzi - not a lot of motor mechanics with real knowledge as we can clearly see - it would be a lot better if a more or less experienced self-servicing Guzzisti would offer the bike a new home.

PM me or Marcos if you are interested.

For those who have not seen the bike in real life, here is a picture from when I started my cross-country tour.









Jangli

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Mechanic doesn't really know Guzzis, so it may not be the rear seal. Could be the breather hose is leaking where it connects to the engine and the oil is running down into the bellhousing area. Could be a transmission seal or clutch pushrod seals leaking. Engine oil could be overfilled and is "self leveling". Leaking pan gasket or possibly front seal (and running back) as well. Really needs someone qualified (that knows Guzzis) to have a look before doing anything drastic.

[frozengoose]

If it was me, I'd clean up the bike and sell it on CL or whatever. Just disclose it has an oil leak. Hell, old Triumphs and BSA's leaked all the time and no one cared back in the day. My old T leaked for 5-6 years before I got around to replacing the seals. At work, they called my bike the Exxon Valdez, cause it always left an oil slick behind. And find out what year and model it really is, won't help selling it if you list the wrong model/year. Good luck. Jon

[4everJang]

So nice to see three Guzzi friends chime in. Antietam, pehayes and oldbike54. Greetings to you guys. It would be wonderful to get out and ride with you again, but it is unlikely to happen in the upcomng years. If you can help me find a good new home for my bike that would be greatly appreciated.

Jangli

[n3303j]

Just went through fixing this type of leak on my blue '98 EV.
It was the gasket between the crankcase and crankcase vent tube.
Might want to replace the PCV valve in the crankcase vent tube.
At 60K miles mine was worn and hanging closed.
I'm sure it did nothing good for crankcase internal pressure.
There are 6 possible oil leak sources inside of the EV bell housing.

Rear main seal.
Transmission input seal.
Crankcase vent tube gasket.
Crankcase rear cam bearing cap plug.
Bearing carrier flange gasket.
Two lowest bearing flange bolts.

AND it could leak oil at the rubber hose that joins to the crankcase vent tube and drip down the tube and through the housing. (#7) This one doesn't need an engine pull.

They all require removing the engine and separating it from the transmission.

It's a great bike when it's fixed. Just rode mine on a 7,000 cross country trip (one off the bucket list).

[oldbike54]

 Hello Jang ,

 Yes in fact I have seen the bike , and yes , it is pretty . Seems the bike has found its way from Iowa to Austin , the home of af1 racing , one of the best Guzzi shops in the country . It might be worth paying them to diagnose the issue .

 Other than that , maybe someone in the area might help out .

 Good to hear from you , it sounds like life is good , a book store in the Ardennes would be a dream for many of us , might we trouble you for some pictures ?

 Dusty

[Bisbee]

At risk of being yelled at , my 92 K75S started leaking a few drops oil from the gearbox. So, I bought new seals and all the other bits and was going to take it apart. BUT I went to the auto parts store and saw Blue Devil leak stop. We all know most is snake oil but I was reassured that the stuff works! I poured a double dose into the BMW trans , and the leak stopped immediately. I still don’t trust it but maybe it’s worth a shot.

[Wayne Orwig]

Might just be the breather hose. They leak back into the housing and look like a rear main leak. And it is common for them to fail.

Part out a bike for a leak! Sad.

[fotoguzzi]

Just how big is the leak.. just drips when hot? Keep riding.

[Muzz]

From down here on the backside of the planet, that bike looks far too nice to part out.

[normzone]

Why fix it?

Just do like I do with mine and keep riding it, take it to the car wash when it gets embarrassingly messy and clean it up.

[pehayes]

Might just be the breather hose. They leak back into the housing and look like a rear main leak. And it is common for them to fail.

Part out a bike for a leak! Sad.

+1  That big "S"  hose from the top rear of the engine up into the frame under the tank.  Cracks like crazy and  then starts leaking.  Did both of our EV's.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[Blaufeld66]

It seems a very nice bike, IMHO it is better to ascertain if the leak is a major problem or not, then try to fix it.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Mechanic doesn't really know Guzzis, so it may not be the rear seal. Could be the breather hose is leaking where it connects to the engine and the oil is running down into the bellhousing area. Could be a transmission seal or clutch pushrod seals leaking. Engine oil could be overfilled and is "self leveling". Leaking pan gasket or possibly front seal (and running back) as well. Really needs someone qualified (that knows Guzzis) to have a look before doing anything drastic.

+1  That big "S"  hose from the top rear of the engine up into the frame under the tank.  Cracks like crazy and  then starts leaking.  Did both of our EV's.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[rocker59]

Hello there Guzzi friends,

Marcos is referring to my 1998 Guzzi EV - 

If any of you is interested or knows someone who would want to take it for a reasonable price that would be much better than letting it sit in a garage and not getting any road fun. If you are interested - or you know someone who would be - I am sure we can get an agreement on the price. 

PM me or Marcos if you are interested.

For those who have not seen the bike in real life, here is a picture from when I started my cross-country tour.









Jangli

If you don't resolve the sale via PM, by all means list it in our Swapmeet section here at WildGuzzi.

It will sell quickly, if priced correctly.

Regards,

[Tom]

Locate the oil leak first.

[usedtobefast]

I'm currently in the process of doing this on my Quota (similar engine).  First time I've ever done anything like this ... took my time and it was ~6 hours to get it all apart.  That was a very casual, taking pictures, think about best approach, remove some stuff, etc.

So it would be very expensive to have a mechanic bill you for the labor, but surprisingly easy to do it yourself. 

So I think sell it as-is to some Guzzi enthusiast.

Wish the bike was closer as I would consider it ... but 1700 miles away. 

The effort to part it out would exceed the effort to fix it!  So don't do that. 

[n3303j]

This is what the job looks like halfway done.
I'm old & slow so it was 8 hours to this point.
Was a great time to REALLY clean the bike.

I planned on keeping the bike and consider time my most valuable asset so , as long as I was in there  I replaced all the seals, clutch plates and the plastic ball retainer transmission input/output bearings. I also resealed all the potential crankcase oil leak places. The factory gasket for the vent tube is poorly made. It's inner hole matches the big hole in the crankcase, not the small hole in the vent tube. When installed it had some bearing areas that were about a millimeter wide. It had failed at those areas. I cut a gasket that matched the flange and holes on the vent tube. It has better bearing areas. It was installed with Permatex and the mounting screws are secured with threadlock compound.

The bike is really too nice to consider turning into parts. That being said; the bike is under-appreciated as the market seems to be around $2,000 for this great machine that will take you anywhere you choose to go.

[4everJang]

Update: as my stepdaughter's boyfriend might be moving back to the US and she is bound to go with him, it seems like me and my wife will be spending more time over there in a year or so. With this change of future plans it look like I will have more chances to ride the bike and I should hang on to it at least until the job situation is getting clearer. That job (and our daughter's move) is supposed to happen in September - if he gets the job. So I am postponing any potential selling of the bike to after that.

If a Guzzi enthusiast in the Austin area is interested and willing to help Marcos out with assessing the cause of the oil leak that would be great. And if someone would be willing to provide a temp home for the bike (and get it on the road every now and then) that would be really good, too. PM me if you have either of those offers.

Jang

[AustinMarcos]

Mechanic doesn't really know Guzzis, so it may not be the rear seal. Could be the breather hose is leaking where it connects to the engine and the oil is running down into the bellhousing area. Could be a transmission seal or clutch pushrod seals leaking. Engine oil could be overfilled and is "self leveling". Leaking pan gasket or possibly front seal (and running back) as well. Really needs someone qualified (that knows Guzzis) to have a look before doing anything drastic.

The only thing I can rule out is that the oil is not overfilled.

The mechanic who looked at it has a good reputation (Jim at Austin Motor Sports on Manchaca), but he admits that he has nobody with Guzzi expertise. So yes, he might be diagnosing this wrong. His lack of expertise in Guzzis is also why he is cautious in his estimate and is erring on the high side on labor cost.  That's why I came to this forum. I needed you guys for a reality check.

I don't have a place to house the bike anymore now that I am in a downtown condo. And I don't have a place or tools to work on the bike. My inexperience with Guzzis limits my conversation with the mechanic. Thank you all who commented above. This has been useful.

Of course, now @4everJang has chimed in. And now it is far more clear what needs to happen. 

@4everJang is the owner.

I am happy to work with anyone who can help here in Central Texas. Jang asked above:

If a Guzzi enthusiast in the Austin area is interested and willing to help Marcos out with assessing the cause of the oil leak that would be great. And if someone would be willing to provide a temp home for the bike (and get it on the road every now and then) that would be really good, too. PM me if you have either of those offers.

Jang

Thanks to all above for my much needed  education,

Marcos

[AustinMarcos]

Just how big is the leak.. just drips when hot? Keep riding.

FYI for those of you who asked...

It's a relatively slow leak. I only noticed it because of the stain it left on a driveway after sitting there a couple of weeks. It didn't seem like oil. I couldn't tell. And that's why I hauled it to a mechanic rather than start it up. I wasn't sure what had leaked. Well, now I know.

Thanks to the good advice above, I am definitely not going to part it out. And I am going to find a mechanic who actually has experience with Guzzis to get a 2nd opinion on what is actually the source of the leak. You can see @4everJang post above for more history.

-M