GSXR 750 Track Bike - Major Oil Leak!

[svern]

Hello Barfer's. Hope everyone is well and healthy. Looking for feedback and ideas on a recent issue.
After years of riding my 959 Panigale stock commuter on the track, I finally upgraded to a proper track bike, 06 GSXR 750, previously owned by fellow barfer UKtech1.
The bike had a small oil leak which I took to Performance Bike in Berkeley, they replaced the water seal o ring and clutch push rod seal. Leak was mostly fixed, just a drip or two. Rather than take issue with this, I decided to see how it did after a day at the track (bad decision).
After initial session this past Monday, leak is still there...ok I'll keep an eye on it.
During 2nd session, I get a red light on the dash. Unsure whether it was oil or temp, I slowed a bit, checked temp-ok, then finished up my lap, did one more then headed in. So about 5 min at mid B group pace with red light on (maybe 2nd bad decision).
I found oil on both boots and mostly on the left side. Two mechanics looked at the bike briefly and thought maybe the water pump seal had failed...No oil in sight glass. The oil fill cap was also not on tight (PB mechanic topped it off, I never checked it) and oil on right side presumed to come from spilling out of fill port. So I packed up and headed home.

So my uninformed questions are:
What might have caused this issue on left side of engine? Water pump seal?
Is the engine fried?
Should I return to the same mechanic or go someplace else? Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any input. The bike was a definite upgrade on the track and I was just getting the feel of it.....

 

[afm199]

A. If temp was ok engine is probably not fried.

B. Those water pumps can be tricky, seal wise. If the seal goes, oil leaks out.

C. Now that you have a proper track bike, start doing your own work. You are going to need to.

D. Sounds like the oil leak from the filler cap, which I assume ended up on the track was where the oil went. But you said it didn't, so you did not lose much oil there.

E. Clean everything up, refill oil, and run it for a while and look for leaks at the water pump. Pretty sure that is where the leak is. You can't use an off the shelf oring there. It has to be OEM, it is an odd size.

 

[ST Guy]

E. Clean everything up, refill oil, and run it for a while and look for leaks at the water pump. Pretty sure that is where the leak is. You can't use an off the shelf oring there. It has to be OEM, it is an odd size.

I'll bet it is an off the shelf size. There are many, many standard sizes in both inch and mm. Rarely will a manufacturer design something that requires a special size.

However, knowing the material is just as important and that's where one can get stuck trying to find a replacement.

 

[svern]

AFM 199, Thanks for your feedback. See what the shop says. And yes I need to expand my maintenance repertoire!
They did order an OEM o-ring, just wondering whether it was installed correctly. Thanks!

 

[svern]

AFM 199, Thanks for your feedback. See what the shop says. And yes I need to expand my maintenance repertoire!
They did order an OEM o-ring, just wondering whether it was installed correctly. Thanks!

 

[afm199]

I'll bet it is an off the shelf size. There are many, many standard sizes in both inch and mm. Rarely will a manufacturer design something that requires a special size.

However, knowing the material is just as important and that's where one can get stuck trying to find a replacement.

I'm sure there is. I never found one. Has to be Viton.

 

[Maddevill]

After you clean it up, spray the water pump area with foot powder. Any leaks will show up as a brown stain. Easy to see.

Mad

 

[msethhunter]

Get a factory service manual. The paper kind. Nothing beats it. You'd be surprised at how easy these machines are to work on.

 

[somesuch]

How did they replace the clutch pushrod seal? I am not familiar with 06 gsxr750, but on the 01-04 GSXR1000 there is case lip that prevents easy seal replacement....you have to split the cases to replace that seal. Some people grind that lip off.... and seals often pop out later....big mess

 

[Darkness!]

How did they replace the clutch pushrod seal? I am not familiar with 06 gsxr750, but on the 01-04 GSXR1000 there is case lip that prevents easy seal replacement....you have to split the cases to replace that seal. Some people grind that lip off.... and seals often pop out later....big mess

That era GSXR 600, 750, and 1000 are all pretty much the same. They all have very common, well known failure points on the left side of the bike. One is the clutch pushrod seal. On those design bikes, that clutch pushrod seal is just behind a metal bracket with 2 screws (easily reachable). Also, the other common failure points are the oil seal (o-ring type) on the shaft of the water pump (going into the crankcase) and the oil seal inside the water pump itself. If any of those fail, (or obviously two or more), the bike will leak oil from the left side and if you're riding, you'll probably notice oil on your left boot/shoe. I've had both a 600 and 1000 and they both had oil leaks at the clutch pushrod seal and/or the o-ring on the water pump assembly.

Good luck.

 

[SoDoSoPa]

Those water pumps are known for crapping out. There's a few seals in there, need to do them all.

 

[afm199]

That era GSXR 600, 750, and 1000 are all pretty much the same. They all have very common, well known failure points on the left side of the bike. One is the clutch pushrod seal. On those design bikes, that clutch pushrod seal is just behind a metal bracket with 2 screws (easily reachable). Also, the other common failure points are the oil seal (o-ring type) on the shaft of the water pump (going into the crankcase) and the oil seal inside the water pump itself. If any of those fail, (or obviously two or more), the bike will leak oil from the left side and if you're riding, you'll probably notice oil on your left boot/shoe. I've had both a 600 and 1000 and they both had oil leaks at the clutch pushrod seal and/or the o-ring on the water pump assembly.

Good luck.

Yes and no. The 600 and 750 have the two piece "unit" motors, the 1000 has the older design, the three piece, the same as the 05 and earlier 600 and 750. In 2009 the 1000 went to the two piece motor.

They are not the same.

 

[svern]

All, Thanks for your feedback.
I am happy to report that the motor was not trashed, I finished a full track this past Thursday at Thunderhill without incident or leaks!
What happened?
The water pump bolts were hand tight, likely leading to oil drips while parked from left side and then more significant leakage during track session. The mechanic claimed I messed with it...but replaced again for n/c. They ran the bike on the stand several times all good.
The engine oil level was also good. Apparently at the track we did not get it super level when checking and with all the oil leakage, assumed the worst case.
Lastly, the red light was accompanied by an 'F1' on the dash. So likely a fault code associated with the water pump or ??? It has not come on again and I have a paperclip to diagnose if it does.

Lessons Learned - Yes I bought a Haynes manual and will start doing these 2-3 wrench level of difficulty items myself. I just successfully flushed the clutch fluid on the Ducati as a starter project with my new mityvac.
I will also not return to this shop in Berkeley. Through their faulty work, I wasted an entire track day, then they blamed me for the problems. People make mistakes and I would have taken an apology. Thankfully the bike is fine and I'll move on.

 

[nakedape]

Through their faulty work, I wasted an entire track day, then they blamed me for the problems. People make mistakes and I would have taken an apology. Thankfully the bike is fine and I'll move on.

I feel you. For the epic DVT service the shop LOF whiz overtighted all my skid plate bolts, the drain plug, and failed to properly apply and cure sealant to the oil screen plate. Leak, on the newly resurfaced driveway.

Took it back and got questioned about "messing with it myself" which I didn't, because it's only on 18K services. They FUCK IT UP AGAIN but I'm off the bike for five months due to covid. New service manager really tried to brush me off, and then asked "did you mess with it when you did an oil change? M-fuckr I'm done here.

Called back the owner rep from the first fail and said just send me all the related parts they're like fifty bucks and I'll DIY. Immediately changed to the local do me dealer despite most services needing to booked a month out. No comebacks, there's a reason some shops are busier than others.