More issues with my Panigale..

tyguidry · Jun 6, 2017

Well, im into the third month of ownership of my Panigale (12' 10,800 odo) and am ready to pull my hair out. Rode the bike a bit this afternoon (hot day if that matters) and went outside to garage it to find yet another issue. a small amount of oil in the driveway.

I would be EXTREMELY appreciative if somebody with an eye for this condition could help me understand what im looking at. To me, it looks like very small leaks from the oil pan. not enough to pool (until today) but enough to vapor and leave residual on the bike itself. the more I look around, the more oil I find in little nooks/crannys. attached photos of the issue.

I performed an oil change roughly 400 miles ago where three bond and appropriate torque specs were used as advised and new o-rings/crush washer was installed. no oil appears to be coming from the drain or oil filter cover. most looks to pooling up near the oil filter cover/underbelly drain which I believe is for tank pressure ventilation?

This condition was obviously present when I purchased the bike. The first time I took the fairings off I noticed dried oil throughout the case/in different areas. But I thought little of it as I didn't see any fresh oil about after the first couple hundred miles.

I don't know anyone in my area with a panigale so my resources are limited to this forum. I am very thankful for anyone who affords any time to my problems (past/present

) and any insight you guys can offer me.

micao · Jun 6, 2017

I am quite new to this bike but I recently installed DP carbon generator and clutch covers. At the same time I checked torque on all magnesium engine case bolts (I could reach). I noticed that on generator side all bolts was tight but on the clutch side and oil pan I had to retighten bolts to correct torque specs.

Coming from an Aprilia RSV4 Factory I has learned that magnesium engine case covers needs to be retightened at least once a year (or rather as often as you have the bodywork off). I did not experience any oil leakages on that bike (or now on my Panigale) but sooner or later it will occur if you do not look after magnesium engine casing bolt torques.

Halo2 · Jun 7, 2017

Same thing looking for a car oil leak, degrease everywhere so its perfect then start the bike and see where the leak is coming from.

topolino · Jun 7, 2017

As has been suggested I would degrease the bike thoroughly including any dried on oil deposits, ensuring all the areas you wish to inspect are totally dry. When you run the bike place it on a paddock stand so it is level. Look for oil leaks from the top down, starting at the cylinder head cam cover gaskets and work your way down. Use some clean white lint free cloth and dab it on any areas that show any evidence of leaking. If any oils pools in that area again, you can start to pin point the source. Remember that in any airflow the oil may be dispersed over other parts of the engine, so may not necessarily emanate from where it is evident.

If an oil change was performed, did you or the previous owner/dealer change the oil filter cap O-rings? Did you re-seal the oil pan yourself? There is quite alot of bonding agent on there. You only need to use a small amount and should apply it when the engine is completely cold. Mating surfaces must be scrupulously clean before you apply it, both the engine and the pan. Torque all screws evenly as per the workshop manual. If you do decide to drop the oil pan you might as well clean the oil filter mesh inside the pan as well (again all the details are in the manual). You can downlaod a copy here: Workshop Manuals

Again, good advice to check the engine casing mag covers as well. One loose bolt is enough to cause a leak. I noticed you have also circled an area under the front cyl head, so get a decent torch in there and check the base of the barrel (where it butts up to the crankcase and the mag head cover gasket (a known weak point).

outhouse · Jun 7, 2017

use brake parts cleaner and spray the engine down, run and inspect origin of leakage

Common places are valve covers on this bike.

Halo2 · Jun 7, 2017

Don't use brake parts cleaner it will f*ck the surface/eat plastic, degreaser is cheaper and designed to degrease.

tyguidry · Jun 7, 2017

pulled the plastics off, wiped everything I could reach. phoned the dealer I purchased the bike from. It will probably go back to them for now the third time in three months. getting sick of this.

Going to put a few hundred more miles on the bike during some of the hotter days to see what results i can get, if any. Its tough because when I looked the bike over again today I can't pinpoint any one area. it just looks like the leak is subtle, vapors catch air and sticks to whatever it hits. I dont know.

Thanks a lot for all the input guys.

outhouse · Jun 8, 2017

Halo2 said:
Don't use brake parts cleaner it will f*ck the surface/eat plastic, degreaser is cheaper and designed to degrease.

Don't spray it on plastic, and good brakes parts cleaner is designed not to eat anything. If you are searching leaks you strip plastic off anyway.

Carb cleaner eats plastic.

outhouse · Jun 8, 2017

tyguidry said:
Going to put a few hundred more miles on the bike .

You should clean, ride 5 minutes and inspect, if you put a few hundred miles you will tear it a part and it will look the same as it does now.

So ride it 5 minutes and search. Repeat until you see oil and chase it back tp origin.

Not to difficult

SingleSided · Jun 8, 2017

After you clean it really really well, you can dust some baby powder around the suspected area. Run the engine and observe if the baby powder becomes moist with oil.

SingleSlided

Rinzlr · Jun 8, 2017

check all the bolts as well. the 600 mile service requires nearly every bolt to be checked with the magnesium covers. Even my 959 needed some case cover bolts tightened and i gave it good once over recently.

SuperDuc29 · Jun 8, 2017

The crush washer only goes on one way. The side with the sharp edge goes against the case.

tyguidry · Jun 21, 2017

After cleaning and riding the bike in addition to getting high-ish engine temps and parking the bike outside in the sun as opposed to in the garage I got the leak to replicate.

It looks like to me like its coming from the radiator vent hose (picture 5), which seems strange to me as it's engine oil.....

The leak always drips from that area, it is also the area where the most oil has collected. Not only that, the air conveyor housing has a thick film of oil on its bottom side directly behind the vent hole. The oil drain plug also shows the most dry oil collection which tells me it leaks from the vent, the air conveyor catches the fresh stuff, and as it atomizes it sticks to the oil drain area.....

Can anyone tell me what might cause this issue? im getting no response from my dealer. shocker. Going to call moto-corsa in portland soon and see if anyone over there can lend some advice.

MMC · Jun 21, 2017

Have you pulled the tank (takes 5") and seen if the airbox has a bunch of oil in it...excessive blow-by?

tyguidry · Jun 21, 2017

MMC said:
Have you pulled the tank (takes 5") and seen if the airbox has a bunch of oil in it...excessive blow-by?

Ive had the tank lifted, yes. i didn't inspect it for blow by. Excessive blow by would show near the PCV if there is one on the 1199, yeah? Is there a PCV unit on the 1199? The keyword search on the technical manual doesn't produce any results...

tyguidry · Jun 21, 2017

MMC said:
Have you pulled the tank (takes 5") and seen if the airbox has a bunch of oil in it...excessive blow-by?

Lifted tank. No noticeable oil inside the airbox/on any of the fueling system aside from some obvious residue on the underside of the tank which is of course part of the airbox....definitely oil and other debris. doesn't look right to me but......normal?

tyguidry · Jun 21, 2017

outhouse said:
use brake parts cleaner and spray the engine down, run and inspect origin of leakage

Common places are valve covers on this bike.

It was discovered after I purchased the bike that the vertical cover was in fact leaking. That was fixed under warranty on its second visit...this is another leak all together.

MMC · Jun 21, 2017

That's a lot of splatter. Did you inspect the bottom of the airbox with a flashlight? There's no oil puddling down in there?

endodoc · Jun 21, 2017

Welcome to mass production and hourly wages. Your motor is glued together. This in most places is done with a machine driven applicator but a human is holding the part so the process is not automated and therefore, subject to anomalies. You get a good "glue job" and a guy who remembered the torque wrench and you will probably not leak. That is not the norm. Ducati QC is dog ..... I have a hand assembled motor with almost 13K miles on it. Not a hint of oil or water anywhere. I have a stock 1299 with 3K on it with 3 oil leaks. Its that simple. Gaskets and O rings worked pretty well. Someone with a suit thought otherwise. Clean it, tighten to speck (not the Walmart torque wrench for 8 bucks)and go from there. Worse case, pull it, clean it and glue it correctly. Just a warning, there will be profanity involved.

tyguidry · Jun 21, 2017

MMC said:
That's a lot of splatter. Did you inspect the bottom of the airbox with a flashlight? There's no oil puddling down in there?

I inspected the veritcal walls and injector/fueling assembly. Ill take another look when i get home

More issues with my Panigale..

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