An oil leak

I noticed that my 8v GRiSO has started to leak oil from the left side of the engine.
Oil seems to be coming from an allen screw:
Cleaned of the oil in this picture.
Is it safe to tighten/screw it in?

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I think that's the set screw to plug the end of the oil gallery drilled in the crankcase for the piston cooling jets.

I would remove it carefully and coat it with some kind of thread sealant before I screw it back.

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Its abit hard to believe, but after a closer look, it seems like there is a crack in the engine block
How the hell could this happen and what to do with it?
Any ideas ?

Bike is from 2008, so warranty period is over. Would there be any point of showing this to MG dealer?

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I think you are worrying a bit too much. Back the plug out. Wash the area with contact cleaner and have a really good squizz at it. Put a drop of blue Loctite on the plug threads and re-insert it. See if it stops leaking. If it still leaks? Clean the area again with contact cleaner without removing the plug and put a blob of epoxy over it, let it cure, paint it black.

Pete

I wish I were worrying to much...but after cleaning the area again with break cleaner, this black line of oil occurs after a minute or so...even with the engine off.

top:
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Center:
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Bottom:
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After an hour of riding:
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Ouch

That looks like a cracked crankcase

Later pics are clearer. OK, once again, wash it with degreaser and then contact cleaner. It has to be clean AND dry/oil free. Get some Loctite 'Super Wick-in' and dribble it along what looks like the flaw. Leave it a few hours and repeat. Then once more. Heat the area with a heat gun or blowtorch, don't overheat it, just get it warm. Allow to cool then apply epoxy over and around the flaw. Allow to set for a day or two. Take it for a good flog and see if its stopped it. If it has? Paint it.

Pete

I ever sealed a pin hole leak from the cylinder head of my other bike with threebond 1211 successfully.  Basically clean and degrease the area. Rub the sealant in with my finger and put a small blob right on the pin hole.

It stayed dry since then (3~4 years ago) even after numerous hot and cold cycles.

I am having a similar leak. Does this mean my engine is damaged. Is there any way this could be a result of map change?

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No.

I feel relieved. It is the block failure right?

Pete Roper wrote:

Later pics are clearer. OK, once again, wash it with degreaser and then contact cleaner. It has to be clean AND dry/oil free. Get some Loctite 'Super Wick-in' and dribble it along what looks like the flaw. Leave it a few hours and repeat. Then once more. Heat the area with a heat gun or blowtorch, don't overheat it, just get it warm. Allow to cool then apply epoxy over and around the flaw. Allow to set for a day or two. Take it for a good flog and see if its stopped it. If it has? Paint it.

Pete

Loctite 290 ?

Do you have any recommendation on what epoxy to use?

Try JB Weld. You don't want to gloop it on by the litre, just a smear, allow to dry, repeat, allow to dry overnight then get it hot. If the leak is cured paint over the JB Weld.

Pete

Thanks for the help.

Scratched the paint off. Placed the epoxy. Quick test ride. Its holding up. I'm still a little worried thinking about the cause. It could be related to stress concentration , and temperature related in that specific point. But how to know if the engine is building up too much temperature... By any chance could it be related to the rollerization? Also done recently.

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Stress fractures are unlikely, though possible. This crankcase design (and its ancestors) is pretty bullet proof. However, it has been known to happen that engine castings can have internal flaws, that cannot be seen, nor predicted, sometimes they are inconvenient and show up unexpectedly. Friday afternoon, grappa induced errors are also known to be in existence - it just is.

Follow the advice of the experts on this forum, for real solutions. Don't panic, have another beer and worry about it later!

Many years ago, I purchased a brand new cylinder for my BSA. Bastard leaked like a sieve through the fins and castings. It was a known issue, these porous castings. But being an old pommie bike, when it stopped dripping oil, you knew it had run out - call it a visual dipstick! I got used to it and never wore fine clothing anywhere near it.

Pete, in the past you and others have recommended people not try to pull out the grub screws. Like what seems to be a growing number of people, I have two grub screws that are weeping. I did the wicking sealant before this riding season and it seems to have fixed one, but the other still weeps. I didn't try to top off with J-B weld but I'm willing to give removal a shot. Any idea what the size is? I would probably go out and buy a brand new allen wrench or long socket for this job to ensure the best fit, most of my Allen wrenches and sockets are wellworn and I'd be afraid of rounding it out.

If I do attempt removal, do you recommend it while the engine is hot or cold?

I plan to ride the Norge through most of the winter, but I'm willing to try and tackle this. At a minimum, I will clean it try and reseal it and apply some JB weld with a toothpick to seal things off. In the past when I've done something similar, I left the Allen key in the screw while applying the epoxy to keep it from filling in the screw.

For me, YBW did not hold, it developed a crack at the same spot in a few hours, after curing for a few days.
So as a plan B, I threw on some gasket sealer silicone and black aluminum tape on top of it.
This has lasted me 2 years now.