Stator cover leak after getting transmission work

Speedin44

Registered
Back in January my 2005 busa had 2nd gear undercut by a shop that is a 4 hour round trip drive. I took it there because of recommendation from a couple of guys on local community FB group. I could go on and on about how the service from this shop is incredibly bad but I'll just explain the biggest issue.

I started having a minor oil leak after they worked on it. I noticed it after my first ride when I brought it home. I took it back to the shop to get it fixed and they said the leak was because of the stator cover gasket. They replaced it and I brought it back home. Well, the leak continued. I took it back to them 4 or 5 times in total. 6 times including when I dropped it off the very first time. They kept saying it was that gasket each time I took it and they kept doing things to claim it was fixed (I'm trying to make this post short as possible).

The last time I took it there I told them to keep bike until they fixed it. Told them to ride it for about 30 minutes because it only leaks after riding. They claimed it was fixed again for about the 5th time. I brought bike home and it is still leaking! I refuse to take it back there. I took it to another local shop for a quick visual inspection without removing anything. A certified mechanic that works in service said he's 99.9% sure the leak is coming from that gasket. He asked if it was paper or copper gasket that the other shop installed. I told him I was almost certain it was the best gasket possible considering how many times I took bike back. They also said they put some sort of sealant on with gasket. Local shop said only other thing he can think of is that the actual cover may need replaced. I have an appointment with that shop on 20th.

The bike has 40,000 miles. I'll keep riding without fixing the leak if that stator cover/gasket is the real problem so that I can save some money because the leak isn't that big and it only leaks after riding. I was just concerned that it may be another issue that's more serious. If it is, I'll take that shop to court.

The circle looking cover on left side is where leak is.
What do you guys think or suggest?
20210417_183630.jpg
 
If it were me, I'd pop off the stator cover and check it for trueness...it could have a slight warp to it...

Then get a new gasket, clean the surfaces really good and re-apply the gasket.

One thing is if they applied a new gasket and put on sealant, did the sealant get time to dry before the oil got to it?

The stator side it tough due to oil being present on the side stand...
 
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I removed my stator cover and it's not easy to pull it off far enough to break the magnetic force. Maybe they pried with a steel tool tool and scraped the macined surfaces. I used a plastic handle to pry mine off. You are supposed to use a sealant on the areas where there is a seam in the engine cases. I'd think using that all around (if that's what they did) would seal it at least for some time.

Sealant, step 28. This is a Gen2
 
Back in January my 2005 busa had 2nd gear undercut by a shop that is a 4 hour round trip drive. I took it there because of recommendation from a couple of guys on local community FB group. I could go on and on about how the service from this shop is incredibly bad but I'll just explain the biggest issue.

I started having a minor oil leak after they worked on it. I noticed it after my first ride when I brought it home. I took it back to the shop to get it fixed and they said the leak was because of the stator cover gasket. They replaced it and I brought it back home. Well, the leak continued. I took it back to them 4 or 5 times in total. 6 times including when I dropped it off the very first time. They kept saying it was that gasket each time I took it and they kept doing things to claim it was fixed (I'm trying to make this post short as possible).

The last time I took it there I told them to keep bike until they fixed it. Told them to ride it for about 30 minutes because it only leaks after riding. They claimed it was fixed again for about the 5th time. I brought bike home and it is still leaking! I refuse to take it back there. I took it to another local shop for a quick visual inspection without removing anything. A certified mechanic that works in service said he's 99.9% sure the leak is coming from that gasket. He asked if it was paper or copper gasket that the other shop installed. I told him I was almost certain it was the best gasket possible considering how many times I took bike back. They also said they put some sort of sealant on with gasket. Local shop said only other thing he can think of is that the actual cover may need replaced. I have an appointment with that shop on 20th.

The bike has 40,000 miles. I'll keep riding without fixing the leak if that stator cover/gasket is the real problem so that I can save some money because the leak isn't that big and it only leaks after riding. I was just concerned that it may be another issue that's more serious. If it is, I'll take that shop to court.

The circle looking cover on left side is where leak is.
What do you guys think or suggest?View attachment 1634477
The rubber plugs are known to allow some oil out even @c10 had to seal his when rj was pretty new. If they used a paper gasket and sealant that could be the issue and actually even if they did that with a graphite gasket it'd cause a leak. Paper gaskets actually absorb some oil and seal up by putting rtv on it especially on one side it'll give the oil a route to leak thru. If your at all mechanically inclined id just pull the cover and replace the gasket yourself is not that hard just need to be careful of the force of the magnets. Either way let us know what u find out.
 
Forget that shop. you ride a 4 hour return trip only to find it appears they have done nothing to solve the oil leak issue?? And how many times ? ?
Seriously, they are not interested in sorting it out otherwise they would have fixed it first time.
Take the side fairings off and clean that cover and all surrounding area down with brake clean, then ride it and recheck where EXACTLY the leak is originating from . .
then you will know for sure if it's the rubber grommet (harness grommet) or if it's at the cover to crankcase gasket sealing surface.
If it's the latter, remove the cover and check the gasket and surfaces . . . if it's a new gasket it will be obvious when you look at it, if the the sealing surfaces are scratched or damaged, that will also be obvious to see.
Then call that shop and speak to the OWNER of the business and let him know what you found and that you want compensation . . . then either repair it yourself or take it to someone you trust to do a good job putting it right.
Good luck and let us know the outcome . .
 
Well you're a long way from Las Vegas, or I'd ask you to bring it over.
 
Pull off the fairing and find out exactly where it is leaking from. I replaced my stator just a few weeks ago and had to re-open it to add more Loctite to the stator bolts. I drained the oil the first time, but not the 2nd time and I have no leaks with just a regular gasket (no sealant).
 
That shop did a HORRIBLE job putting my bike back together. I noticed a few faring nuts were loose when I was at the shop picking up bike the first time. I pointed it out to the mechanic and he said some lame excuse. I didn't think much of it because minor mistakes can happen. Well, the bolts on my seat were also loose and the hooks for the seat weren't set in the hole to secure the seat to bike. After getting home, I also noticed that they also cross threaded and striped 1 of my faring bolts and they claimed they didn't do it. There were other minor issues also. I started to have doubts about the shop at this point but I still didn't believe they would be so careless as to leaving the bolts loose that goes into top part of engine. That's exactly what they did and that's where the oil was coming from. I believe there were 4 bolts that were loose. Argh!

Thanks for all the input guys!
 
but I still didn't believe they would be so careless as to leaving the bolts loose that goes into top part of engine. That's exactly what they did and that's where the oil was coming from. I believe there were 4 bolts that were loose. Argh!
So which bolts were left loose?
Can you describe exactly which bolts?
Have you contacted the shop's owner and complained?
 
After getting home, I also noticed that they also cross threaded and striped 1 of my faring bolts and they claimed they didn't do it.
well who TF did it then? Hayabusa gremlins?
I started to have doubts about the shop at this point but I still didn't believe they would be so careless as to leaving the bolts loose that goes into top part of engine. That's exactly what they did and that's where the oil was coming from. I believe there were 4 bolts that were loose. Argh!
The valve cover bolts? Yes, that might continue to leak some even after you torque it properly. If oil found its way past the gasket, it might continue to seep slowly eve with the bolts tight. Is there a proper tightening sequence on the valve cover bolts? I wouldn't worry about it for now but maybe expect to do a valve cover gasket replacement in the future.

You learned your lesson. If you can't find a mechanic you trust 100%, just do the work yourself. t might take 10x as long but at least you know it's right.
 
So which bolts were left loose?
Can you describe exactly which bolts?
Have you contacted the shop's owner and complained?
I'm not too mechanically inclined haha but I sat there with the guy (last shop that diagnosed) and he showed me the bolts that were loose. I asked him exactly what does the bolts screw into and I was sure he said top part of engine. He only removed the left side faring and the gas tank.

It's still not leaking so that definitely was the problem. After sending the other shop a long email, the owner did reimburse me $150 after I asked for it.
 
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